Medicinal Cannabis Clinic
Medicinal Cannabis can only be prescribed by a registered medical or nurse practitioner after a thorough health assessment to decide if the treatment is appropriate for the patient’s condition and individual circumstances.
Medicinal Cannabis is not a ‘first line’ treatment and will not fix or cure your illness. Medicinal Cannabis is rather a treatment which provides relieve from chronic symptoms to assist in daily living for the individual.
We offer a full service from assessment, TGA application, approved scripts, and ongoing monitoring of Medicinal Cannabis treatment. We ask that each participant makes a commitment to treatment as a strong partnership is required for best outcomes.
We only prescribe client’s with reputable products which offer appropriate ‘Certificate of Analysis’, common companies used have been; Entoura, Cannatrek & Little Green Pharma.
Please feel free to contact us if further information is needed.
What is Medicinal Cannabis?
Cannabis – a flowering plant in the Cannabaceae family and one of the world’s oldest cultivated plants – has been used by humans for multiple purposes over thousands of years.
Cannabis contains chemicals called phytocannabinoids (‘phyto’ is a Greek word meaning ‘of a plant’). Cannabinoids can also be found within the human body (endocannabinoids) and can be produced synthetically in a laboratory (synthetic cannabinoids).
Medicinal Cannabis products are predominantly extracts from the cannabis plant – called ‘phyto- cannabinoids’ – used to treat an expanding list of medical conditions including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic non-cancer pain, nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, and palliative (end-of-life) care. Medicinal Cannabis products include oils, capsules and sprays.
Medicinal Cannabis as a medicine?
Medicinal Cannabis may offer benefits, but it may also cause harm. Medicinal Cannabis is a therapeutic good, which means it is regulated to ensure its safety for those Australians for whom it is prescribed.
Pharmaceutical quality Medicinal Cannabis that has been developed to treat an illness or reduce symptoms is required by law to meet stringent Australian quality and safety standards. This includes having a known dose of cannabinoids – the chemical components of cannabis – and not containing any moulds, fungi, bacteria, pesticides, heavy metals, or other potentially harmful substances.
It is important to note that Medicinal Cannabis is not considered a ‘first line’ treatment for any health condition. Treatment with medicinal cannabis should only be considered by a prescribing doctor once all other standard, approved treatments have been unsuccessful.
How does Medicinal Cannabis work?
Cannabis contains chemicals called phytocannabinoids (‘phyto’ is a Greek word meaning ‘of a plant’). There are more than 100 different types of phytocannabinoids which are commonly referred to simply as ‘cannabinoids’. Two of the most common cannabinoids used in medicinal cannabis are:
> THC (delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol) may be used to reduce symptoms of nausea, vomiting, pain and muscle spasticity, as well as to improve sleep and appetite. In some individuals THC may cause a ‘high’*
> CBD (cannabidiol) does not cause a ‘high’* and may reduce the unwanted adverse effects of THC. Research is continuing into the medicinal uses of CBD and THC combined, but it is thought to be useful in the management of seizures and pain and may also reduce anxiety.
Cannabinoids act on receptors in the brain – and in other parts of the body – by mimicking naturally occurring cannabinoids (called ‘endocannabinoids’). In the human body, the endocannabinoid system affects physical processes including appetite, sleep, memory, pain and inflammation.
