Some people want to find out about using cannabis for medical purposes.
What is it?
Cannabis is a plant that contains chemicals called cannabinoids, which act on certain receptors found on cells in our body. Cannabinoids can also be made in a laboratory.
Medicinal cannabis contains standard amounts of cannabinoids. Two cannabinoids commonly used in medicinal cannabis are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
What is the evidence?
There is no evidence that medicinal cannabis can treat or cure cancer.4 Research studies have looked at the potential benefits of using medicinal cannabis to relieve cancer symptoms and treatment side effects. There is some evidence it may help people with certain symptoms and side effects (e.g. nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy) if conventional nausea treatment doesn’t work.
To date, published studies have shown medicinal cannabis to have little effect on appetite, weight, pain or sleep problems. Research is continuing in these areas.
Legal access
Medicinal cannabis is legal in Australia when prescribed by a medical practitioner registered to prescribe it. Most medicinal cannabis products in Australia are unapproved, meaning that your doctor must get approval from the government before prescribing.
If your doctor doesn’t prescribe medicinal cannabis, they may still support your decision to use it, so tell them if you get a cannabis prescription elsewhere.
The laws about access to medicinal cannabis vary in each state and territory, which may affect whether it can be prescribed for you.
The TGA allows low-dose CBD products (up to 150 mg of CBD a day) to be listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) and sold over the counter by pharmacists. At the time of publication (December 2025), no product has been approved via this pathway.
Medicinal cannabis may interact with some medicines and affect your driving. Visit Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and search “medicinal cannabis” for information.
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Key resource
Download a PDF booklet on this topic.
More resources
A/Prof Geraldine McDonald, Director Patient Experience and Wellbeing, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Laura Carman, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Victoria; A/Prof Christine Carrington, Senior Consultant Pharmacist Cancer Services, Princess Alexandra Hospital and Metro South Health and The University of Queensland, QLD; Kellie Giannarelli, Consumer; Dr Suzanne Grant, Senior Research Fellow, Integrative Oncology, NICM Health Research Institute, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Vivienne Hansen, Bush and Western Herbal Medicine Practitioner, WA; Karla Jaji, Administration Officer, Nepean Cancer and Wellness Centre, NSW; Dr Laura Kirsten, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Nepean Cancer Services, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, NSW; A/Prof Judith Lacey, Director of Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Adjunct Professor Danforn Lim, Western Sydney University and University of Technology Sydney, NSW; Dr David Mizrahi, Senior Research Fellow and Accredited Exercise Physiologist, The Daffodil Centre, University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW; Professor Avni Sali AM, Founder and Director, National Institute of Integrative Medicine, VIC; Gillian Thompson, Consumer; A/Prof Kate Webber, Medical Oncologist, Monash Health, VIC; Tanya Wells, Integrative Oncology Consultant and Naturopath, Melbourne Integrative Oncology Group, VIC; Prof Kate White, Professor Cancer Nursing, Cancer Care Research Unit, The Daffodil Centre, University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW.
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