Approvals of medicinal cannabis prescriptions in April dipped to their lowest level this year, latest figures have shown.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) endorsed 8,520 scripts during the month, down almost a quarter from March and a fall of 5% and 22% from January and February respectively.
It is unclear if there are underlying reasons for the decrease other than Easter and Anzac Day falling in the month.
The share of Schedule 4 approvals climbed higher than usual, accounting for 21%, three or four percentage points above historic levels.
Oil remained the prevalent dosage form with 51% followed by flower with 38%.
But more detailed analysis illustrated differences between age groups and gender.
Flower accounted for 45% of prescriptions among 18 to 44-year-olds, rising to almost 50% for males in that age group, but falling to 37% for women.
Of the 547 people aged between 65 and 74, only 14% were prescribed flower.
The geographical spread of approvals followed a familiar pattern, with 40% of prescriptions originating in Queensland, followed by Victoria (37%), New South Wales (16%) and WA (4%).
A WA Select Committee chaired by Legalise Cannabis MP Brian Walker last month tabled a series of recommendations to ease strict regulations surrounding medicinal cannabis in the state.
