A new report from Prohibition Partners indicates Australia is one of the medical cannabis market leaders internationally.
Legislation was passed in Australia to enable the supply of medicinal cannabis products in 2016. Things got off to a slow start – but have been picking up pace, particularly in the last couple of years.
Prohibition Partners’ Global Cannabis Report: 5th Edition provides analysis and insight into the world’s key cannabis markets and looks at possible future developments on the international scene.
In terms of Australia, the report indicates domestically produced cannabis saw a 6.7% increase in 2023; reaching 26.6 tonnes. In 2022, 24.9 tonnes was produced.
While domestic production has been growing (slowly), imports of medical cannabis skyrocketed in 2023 to 42.1 tonnes; a 69% increase compared to 2022 (24.8 tonnes) and an all-time high.
In terms of units of medical cannabis sold, the first half of 2024 saw 2.87 million units shifted, representing a 58.5% increase compared to the second half of 2023’s 1.68 million units. But local cultivators and producers have been disadvantaged by imports pushing down prices; with wholesale prices roughly at AU$6 a gram in 2023 plummeting to AU$4- $4.50 in 2024.
The vast majority of imports (80%) come from Canada.
“The increase in Canadian imports has sparked an outcry of frustration from Australian cultivators/producers who claim that they are competitively disadvantaged as importers are using a loophole in which lower quality and lower cost products, imported from Canada, are being dumped in the market through GMP-compliant packaging facilities,” states the report.
After Canada, the next five leading import countries in 2023 were South Africa, Denmark, Portugal, North Macedonia and Columbia. Australia also saw its first medical cannabis imports from Thailand (just 11 kilograms) and Uruguay (120
kilograms) that year.
As for exports, they were still low but growing quite rapidly. In 2023, exports reached just over 2 tonnes, a 36.8% increase compared to 2022 (1.5 tonnes). Germany was the top export destination, followed by the UK and New Zealand.
While the Australian market is taking off, so is scrutiny; with concerns raised over some medical cannabis telehealth service focusing on profits over patient well-being. One investigation found some practitioners were issuing up to 90 prescriptions to patients daily.
Much more information on the Australian and international scene is available in the free and premium versions of the Global Cannabis Report: 5th Edition; which can be accessed here (the free version requires registration).
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