Queensland regained its crown as Australia’s cannabis capital in March as Special Access Scheme approvals across the country continued to rise.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) rubber stamped 11,260 prescriptions, up 3% on the previous month and 25% higher than January.
The figure was in line with the March 2022 number.
Having lost top spot for medicinal cannabis prescriptions for the first time in four years in February, Queensland returned to the summit with 5,100 TGA approvals from 248 prescribers, an average of 20 scripts per prescriber.
Victoria, after a brief reign as top prescribing state, received 3,940 approvals from 255 prescribers – an average of 15 per prescriber – while 245 medical practitioners in New South Wales generated 1,520 approvals, an average of six each.
Just over half of SAS-B approvals were for oil, 37% for flower, 6% for inhalation and 2% for capsules.
Chronic pain, anxiety, sleep disorders, PTSD and depression were again the main conditions treated with medicinal cannabis.
