Australia originally adopted its current medical cannabis legalization policy in 2016. The approved 2016 medical cannabis measure permitted registered healthcare professionals to prescribe cannabis-based products to suffering patients.
Since that time, Australia’s medical cannabis market has increased in size and market value, and according to recently reported statistics, Australia is on pace to set a new record for medical cannabis prescription approvals in 2025.
“Medicinal cannabis approvals hit new highs in the first half of 2025, with doctors continuing to turn to the plant for anxiety, sleep and depression – as flower-based products overtook oil to become the most prescribed dosage form.” reported Cannabiz in its original coverage.
“More than 113,000 SAS-B applications were approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) between January and June, a 27% increase on the same period last year.” the outlet also reported. “At the current rate, 2025 is set to eclipse 200,000 approvals by year’s end, easily beating last year’s record of 177,762.”
Cannabis flower was the most common form of cannabis consumption around the world for many years, but in recent years it has ceded market share to other forms of consumption, such as cannabis oils, tinctures, edibles, and topicals.
However, some patients prefer cannabis flower over other forms of consumption for various reasons. Inhaling combusted or vaporized cannabis flower provides more immediate relief than other forms of consumption. Inhalation takes seconds for a patient to experience the effects of cannabis, whereas other consumption methods can take as long as an hour and a half to take effect.
A survey of Australian medical cannabis patients conducted in 2018-2019 by researchers affiliated with the University of Sydney found that 71.4% of survey participants preferred inhaling cannabis instead of ingesting it. The same survey found that medical cannabis patients were spending an average of AUD$82.27 ($101.27) per week on their medicine.
Australia’s medical cannabis industry imported over 42,000 kilos of medical cannabis products in 2023 alone. By comparison, Australia’s domestic medical cannabis growers produced a total of 26,593 kilograms in 2023, of which 2,066 kilograms were exported to other markets.
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