A coalition of researchers, healthcare practitioners, industry advocates and patients has launched a nationwide campaign aimed at ensuring patient perspectives are central to the Therapeutic Goods Administration's (TGA) ongoing public consultation.
The brand-neutral initiative — The Patients — provides downloadable letters, purpose-built surveys and additional resources intended for distribution across patient and prescriber networks.
Clinical researcher Dr Janet Schloss said patients must be at the heart of any policy changes.
"These surveys are designed to amplify patient voices to provide regulators with the real-world insights needed to protect patients and support healthcare practitioners," she said.
Medical practitioner Dr Alistair Frame added: "Meaningful progress demands honest dialogue between patients, clinicians and regulators. This campaign builds that bridge, so regulators can be confident in the foundations of safe and compassionate access."
The campaign is expected to be welcomed by industry leaders who have called on patients to play a direct role in communicating to the TGA the benefits they have experienced from medicinal cannabis.
The Patients also contends that Australia risks undermining its medical cannabis framework if adult-use legalisation moves forward without adequate safeguards in place.
The group argues that no jurisdiction has successfully maintained a viable medical market alongside open recreational retail access, and is calling on policymakers to craft a patient-centred alternative instead.
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