Australian Cannabis Trends 2021: Adoption Growing, Regulatory Changes Still Needed

Australian cannabis trends 2021: New batch of numbers points to growth

According to a report from FreshLeaf Analytics on how the Australian cannabis industry fared in the second half of 2021, revenue for the domestic market came in at AU$230 million for the year.

Alongside the financial increase for the market there was a substantial uptick in patient count. Nearly 100,000 patients were expected to be registered in the Australian system by the end of the year, as per FreshLeaf.

Each one of these patients spends, on average, AU$278 per month on medical cannabis.

The research firm explains that its methodology accounts for patients “who have filled a prescription or consulted with a doctor about medicinal cannabis in the past six months.”

Australia's patient growth indicates a key change in perspective on the medical applications of cannabis, with experts continuing to note that this is a slow-moving process that will pay off in the long run.

"(Medical professionals) haven't gone through that usual path of learning about how cannabinoids work, what you prescribe them for, how you prescribe them, what you should be monitoring for in terms of adverse events and side effects," Dr. Yvonne Bonomo told ABC News. Dr. Bonomo is a physician and researcher at the Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence.

Australian cannabis trends 2021: Regulations still complicated despite progress

On a similar note, a report from Forbes indicates that public support for cannabis in Australia has gone up as general understanding of the drug continues to increase.

Specifically, 41.1 percent of Australians are now in support of legalizing recreational cannabis use, according to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey. The most recent results are from 2019.

While current regulations don't allow for adult use and place heavy restrictions on medical applications, access to medical cannabis has gradually improved as clinicians register as authorised prescribers.

In 2021, authorised prescribers saw major growth. FreshLeaf Analytics states that at the end of September 2021, 430 doctors were allowed to prescribe the drug, a 40 percent increase from only three months before.

“There is clearly a growing subset of clinicians who are committed to utilising medical cannabis as a regular treatment option for their patients,” the report from the Australian analytics firm explains.

In an interview with ABC News, Josie Hamlett, compliance and logistics officer with domestic producer Tasmanian Botanics, said that despite all the progress seen in the market, it's challenging to manage a cannabis operation in the country due to the current landscape of regulation.

"We definitely have a lot of hoops to jump through, working in the industry that we do ... particularly in some cases when federal and state legislation doesn't align," Hamlett said.

Australian cannabis trends 2021: Investor takeaway

Australia’s cannabis market continues to show signs of improvement, and it also has the numbers to back it up. Even so, the domestic landscape has a long way to go to reach maturity — education of the public and regulatory progress at the governmental level will be key moving forward.