NSW Cannabis Medicines Prescribing Guidance
In 2018, ACRE received funding through NSW Government’s Clinical Cannabis Medicines Program to develop practical NSW Cannabis Medicines Prescribing Guidance to provide interim information to support NSW medical practitioners in prescribing cannabis medicines to patients for conditions where cannabinoids are perceived to have some benefit.
A suite of six (6) Prescribing Guidance documents have been developed, focused on the following indications:
- Anorexia Cachexia in Advanced Cancer
- Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV)
- Nausea in Palliative Care
- Dementia
- Non-Cancer Pain
- Spasticity
The NSW Cannabis Medicines Prescribing Guidance are intended to give interim practical information to assist medical practitioners in their decision-making around prescribing and managing the use of cannabis medicines for NSW’s patients within current regulatory frameworks and clinical practice. Further, the NSW Cannabis Medicine Prescribing Guidance documents have been developed to align with the way that the use of new therapeutic products are communicated to prescribers.
Who developed these prescribing guidance documents?
- Professor Jennifer Martin
- Dr Catherine Lucas
- Associate Professor Jennifer Schneider
- Dr Joanne Patel
- Dr Jessica Ryan
- Myfanwy Graham
The Prescribing Guidance documents were also provided to the ACRE Clinical Advisory Group (CAG), comprised of relevant subject matter specialists for review and feedback.
ACRE is sincerely committed to fostering collaborative relationships with all stakeholders, including patients, consumers and their representatives who have an interest in the therapeutic use of cannabis medicines. On this basis, the draft NSW Cannabis Medicine Prescribing Guidance documents were purposefully promulgated to over fifty individuals and stakeholders for input and feedback as part of a Stakeholder Consultation process in early 2019 to ensure that key stakeholders, including medical practitioners, pharmacists, and consumer advocacy groups, were also provided with an opportunity to inform these final documents.
The NSW Cannabis Medicines Prescribing Guidance are intended to be dynamic documents and will be reviewed and updated annually and/or as new evidence emerges.
Funding
NSW Government through the NSW Clinical Cannabis Medicines Program supported development of the NSW Cannabis Medicines Prescribing Guidance.
ACRE was establish and is funded through the National Health and Medical Research Council Centres of Research Excellence scheme.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.