Australian medicinal cannabis growers are warning of "catastrophic failures" in the local industry if the government doesn't change how it regulates and supplies the product. A group representing licensed medicinal cannabis producers say too many products are imported which is putting the local industry at risk.
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00:00Producer Cade Turland is passionate about bringing high-quality medicinal cannabis to the Australian market.
00:10But he says that is at risk.
00:12What we find is that this bulk of flood of imports is ultimately squashing the ability for domestic producers to meet domestic demand.
00:21In 2023, 61% of medicinal cannabis in Australia was imported.
00:27We have more control around the quality, who's producing it in this country.
00:31And in this country, we can produce all of the product subsets that are being imported at the moment.
00:37According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, all medicinal cannabis products must comply with the Australian quality standards.
00:45And in 2023, requirements for overseas manufacturers came into effect following concerns that Australian producers had higher regulatory burdens.
00:56But Mr Turland says the playing field still isn't equal.
01:00So he's joined 80% of licensed Australian producers who've written to the Health Minister calling for a domestic first policy.
01:09Really having concept around a cap.
01:11So the Australian producers produce this much, let's say it's 50 tonnes, there's a 20 tonne gap and that's given to importers.
01:18It's a more positive story for Tasmanian botanics.
01:22This facility both grows the plant and produces the product, such as oils, meaning they're not reliant on international imports.
01:31From our personal point of view, it doesn't really affect us too much.
01:34We're vertically integrated and we're sort of set to compete.
01:38Green Senator Peter Wish Wilson was the first politician to openly discuss their use of medicinal cannabis.
01:45He says the structure of Tasmanian botanicals is ideal, but isn't achievable for many smaller growers.
01:52It's a high value product in a massively burgeoning growing market.
01:57I'd hate to see them go to the wall because governments haven't checked the settings after five years of very rapid growth.
02:04Senator Wish Wilson says he'll take the growers' concerns to the federal parliament.