What to do when your pharmacy receives a script for medicinal cannabis?

When you receive a prescription in your pharmacy, you can take the following steps to fill the script and dispense the prescribed product with confidence:

Step 1
Open account at tilray.com.au

Step 2
Check script and TGA approval

Step 3
Once your account is created, simply log in and order prescribed products via Tilray Direct.

Step 4
Dispense product from pharmacy

What are the side effects and contraindications of cannabis?

Just like any prescription medicine, some patients may experience certain side effects when using medicinal cannabis products.

The known side effects for medicinal cannabis, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) are:

• Fatigue and sedation
• Vertigo
• Nausea and vomiting
• Fever
• Dry mouth
• Decreased or increased appetite
• Diarrhoea

The TGA also suggests that cannabis medicine is not appropriate for:

• People with an active or previous psychotic or active mood or anxiety disorder
• Women who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or breastfeeding
• People with unstable cardiovascular disease

What schedule is medicinal cannabis categorised under?

Currently, most medicinal cannabis products fall under either Category 4 or Schedule 8 medicine. As CBD and THC are the two main compounds found in the cannabis plant that are prescribed to patients, the drug schedule depends on the content of CBD and THC in each product.

Each script and TGA approval should specify which Schedule each product is classified in, as well as the category it falls under.

Here's a quick guide

• Category 1: CBD >98% (Schedule 4)
• Category 2: CBD >60% - ~98% (Schedule 8)
• Category 3: CBD >60% - <40% (Schedule 8)
• Category 4: THC 60-98% (Schedule 8)
• Category 5: THC >98% (Schedule 8)

How can I recruit my local prescriber to prescribe medicinal cannabis?

If your local prescriber is not already prescribing medicinal cannabis, there are a few different ways you can get them on board to grow the reach of design reserved in your pharmacy.

As some prescribers may still be hesitant to prescribe medicinal cannabis to patients, directing them to information and educational resources is a great place to start.

Here are a few facts you can share with prescribers to help alleviate any potential concerns they may have about prescribing medicinal cannabis:

• Medicinal cannabis is legal in Australia and can be prescribed by any Australian registered prescriber
• Most medicinal cannabis products are currently unapproved but can be accessed via the TGA
• The most common access pathways are:
  
  Authorised Prescriber pathway
  SAS Category B application pathway
  Tilray Medical offers a free medicinal cannabis Confident Prescriber Course available for prescribers to learn about medicinal cannabis and how to prescribe it confidentially to their patients
  
  

How can I learn more about medicinal cannabis?

To help you and your team become experts in cannabis medicine and have the knowledge to confidently counsel patients before they enter your pharmacy with a script, the first step is to register with Tilray Medical.

By registering with Tilray Medical, your pharmacy team will receive free access to educational material including a medicinal cannabis training course, downloadable resources, educational videos, plus all the products and information you require to fill scripts and dispense medicinal cannabis.

Please refer to the Therapeutic Goods Administration website for further information.

tga.gov.au/medicinal-cannabis-information-health-professionals