Pastilles are becoming an increasingly popular medicinal cannabis dosage form among both doctors and patients, according to the latest Special Access Scheme data released by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Although the format still accounts for a modest share of SAS-B pathway approvals — 525 of the 14,219 recorded in April — the cumulative figure for the first four months of 2024, at 1,470, has already exceeded the entire 2023 total of 811.
Monthly pastille approvals have climbed consistently throughout 2024, moving from 150 in January to 360 in February, 430 in March, and 525 in April.
The continued rise of the dosage form had been anticipated by honahlee co-founder Tom Brown, who said at the ACannabis conference in March that pastilles are set to be the "new big thing".
"This isn't very surprising as patients have been asking for them for quite some time now," he said.
Total approvals dipped slightly from the March figure of 14,790, yet came in 67% higher than April 2023.
The result extended a solid run for 2024, with the TGA having greenlit nearly 52,000 SAS-B prescriptions across the year to date — a 31% increase on the same period in the prior year.
Oil held its position as the most-prescribed dosage form in April, capturing 44% of the market, while flower accounted for 40%.
Inhalation approvals came in just under 1,000, followed by pastilles and capsules.
Victoria retained its lead over Queensland, recording 6,010 approvals, with Queensland following at 3,870 and New South Wales at 3,640.
A total of 933 prescribers lodged medicinal cannabis applications with the TGA during the month.
THC-only, category 5 medication dominated overall approvals, contributing more than half the total, while one in five approvals was for a CBD-only product.
