Cannabis In Australia | Buy Cannabis In Australia | Recreational Cannabis | Medicinal Cannabis
Cannabis is made from the dried flowering heads and leaves of a plant called Cannabis sativa.

Cannabis contains a complex mix of approximately 60 unique ‘cannabinoids’ along with many other chemical compounds. The main active ingredient responsible for the ‘high’ produced by cannabis is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Other related substances in cannabis include cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN), both of which have quite different pharmacological effects. These are collectively known as ‘cannabinoids’. Different strains of cannabis produce different amounts of these chemical substances.

What is Medicinal Cannabis?

‘Medicinal cannabis’ is a term that refers to legal, high quality and standardised products made from crude or raw cannabis. Crude cannabis is a difficult drug for doctors to prescribe because the dose and potency of the drug in each case is not tested or known.

Pharmaceutical preparations of cannabis use modified active components of cannabis in medical formulations, which maximise the therapeutic benefit and minimise side effects. Pharmaceutical preparations, such as a tablet, capsule or spray, mean the concentration can be standardised and the dose controlled.

Many medicinal cannabis products contain a combination of THC and CBD. Some products contain CBD only and others contain predominantly THC.

There may be different rules about the availability of cannabis products in other countries and products which are available without a prescription overseas may require a prescription in Western Australia. For example, products labelled as containing CBD Oil cannot be sold as dietary supplements in Australia. A CBD Oil product could only be legally obtained as a prescription medicine.

Difference Between Medicinal And Recreational Cannabis

Medicinal cannabis is legally produced under strict pharmaceutical conditions.

Doctors and pharmacists know exactly what the medicine contains.

The ingredients, potency and quality of illicit recreational cannabis are untested. Contamination with microbes, pesticides and heavy metals can occur.

In Australia, medicinal cannabis products are most commonly available as oils, sprays, tinctures and capsules. Doses are usually taken orally or sublingually (under the tongue).

By contrast, illicit cannabis is usually smoked. Smoking is a harmful way of using cannabis. People who smoke cannabis frequently develop the same breathing problems as people to smoke tobacco, such as cough, wheezing, excessive sputum and chronic bronchitis.

These differences mean cannabis sourced through illicit channels cannot be described as ‘medicinal cannabis’.