Medicinal cannabis prescriptions approved under the Special Access Scheme reached their second highest monthly total of the year in May, according to the latest data.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration approved 11,000 scripts from 882 prescribers — trailing only March in terms of volume for the calendar year so far.
The May figure was nearly 2,500 approvals ahead of April, which had recorded the lowest tally of 2023 to that point.
Schedule 8 medicines accounted for more than eight in every ten approvals, with schedule 4 medicines making up the remainder.
Oral solutions made up 52% of all approvals, while flower-based products accounted for 34%.
Chronic pain was the most frequently cited indication, with 4,790 approvals, followed by anxiety at 3,500, sleep disorders at 1,080, and PTSD at 231.
The state-by-state distribution continued to follow the pattern seen in prior months, with prescribers based in Queensland and Victoria generating the largest share of approvals.
Even with one fewer SAS-B prescriber active in May, Queensland was responsible for 43% of all approvals, while Victoria contributed 36%.
