The founder of patient-focused product review platform Canna Reviews has taken to Reddit to confirm the website will be back online early next year, following a period of restricted access prompted by concerns raised by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Canna Reviews was among several companies that received a TGA warning letter in September over the alleged promotion of medicinal cannabis.
In the aftermath, the site's availability was "briefly paused", according to a post by founder Steven Ng on Reddit.
Addressing community speculation that the TGA had forced Canna Reviews to shut down permanently, Ng told Reddit users that was "categorically" not the case.
"Due to notices received from the TGA, access has been briefly paused while we worked with them to gain clarity on a way forward to continue to support the patient community," he wrote.
"I have since had that meeting and now have a path to getting things close to how they were. This is currently being developed and should be completed in the new year."
Ng said the relaunched site will require users to go through a verification process to gain access — something he acknowledged "may not be ideal" for those who prefer to stay anonymous.
"But we have to follow the rules and regulations," he said. "As a positive though, all feedback and reviews will now be 'verified' by default. To reassure everyone, private info won't be shown publicly as part of the feedback."
While the TGA draws frequent criticism from Reddit's medicinal cannabis community over its regulatory approach, Ng pushed back on that sentiment, insisting the agency is "not the bad guys".
"The people that I have communicated with have all been very accommodating, understanding and kind," he wrote. "They have provided guidance as much as possible within their means, and I think they get it.
"They are just doing their jobs within the current framework and might just be as frustrated as you and I.
"If you want to see change, please contact your MPs and politicians to make change happen. Things can always be better!"
