All medicinal cannabis products supplied to Australian patients must meet quality standards

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is aware of recent media reports regarding questionable medicinal cannabis products being supplied in Australia. The TGA would like to confirm that regardless of whether cannabis oil or cannabis flower medicine comes from overseas or here in Australia, it must comply with the relevant quality standard. 

In Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Order 93 (TGO 93) is the relevant standard that sets out the testing, labelling and manufacturing requirements for medicinal cannabis products. Products that do not meet these requirements may not be safe or deliver the intended therapeutic effect. 

Professor Anthony Lawler, head of the TGA, said “if these requirements are not met, the product might not contain the right amount of the cannabinoids, such as THC or CBD, or may be contaminated. Substandard products could have a serious impact on the health of patients”.

The TGA strongly encourages consumers and healthcare practitioners to report poor quality medicinal cannabis products to the TGA. If the consumer or health professional sends the product to the TGA, it can be tested for compliance with TGO 93 requirements. Where poor quality is confirmed, the TGA has powers to recall that batch from the market to help keep Australians safe.

As well as investigating reports, the TGA routinely conducts testing across a range of products to help detect poor quality products being sold.

Companies or individuals supplying products that do not meet TGO 93 requirements can be subject to fines or other penalties under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.  These offence provisions apply to everyone in the supply chain, not just the importer or sponsor. 

Further information on the responsibilities for supply of medicinal cannabis products in Australia is available on the TGA website at Medicinal cannabis hub.

Contact for members of the media:

• Email: news@health.gov.au 
• Phone: 02 6289 7400