A quarter of all advertising complaints received by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) concern medicinal cannabis, it has emerged.
In a meeting with Medicinal Cannabis Industry Australia (MCIA), the regulator’s advertising compliance branch said the department is resourcing up to better handle the workload.
MCIA had what it described as “a robust discussion” regarding the TGA’s draft updated advertising guidance for businesses involved with medicinal cannabis products, and how it could provide members with a better understanding of advertising compliance and leverage its code of conduct to support the industry.
MCIA executive officer Patty Holmes and chair Peter Crock visited Canberra recently for meetings with the TGA – including a first face-to-face with new boss Professor Tony Lawler – government advisors and the Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis Group (PFMCG).
MCIA described the meeting with Lawler as “positive and wide-ranging”. While acknowledging the complex working environment, they took the opportunity to flag how the legislative framework has inconsistencies and inefficiencies that continue to create issues for companies working in the sector.
Key topics included the publication of industry data and visibility for companies to track progress on cultivation/production and manufacture permits.
In a meeting with the GMP branch, MCIA discussed how it could develop educational content to assist the industry on topics like the role of the responsible person (specifically on release for supply steps), GMP vendor qualification and label content.
Holmes said: “They also advised us that they have been issuing GMP warning letters and infringement notices to companies and will be gearing up for this compliance activity.”
MCIA also had discussions with advisors to health minister Mark Butler, assistant minister Ged Kearney, and PFMCG chair Warren Entsch.
