US Pharmacist Urges Australians to Be Cautious About Expanding Access to Medicinal Cannabis

A U.S. pharmacist is warning Australian authorities against legalising the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes saying there are more negative consequences than positive.

Recreational use of cannabis is illegal in most parts of Australia, except in the Australian Capital Territory, where it is legalised for personal use. While in the Northern Territory and South Australia, small amounts have been decriminalised for personal use.

In the United States, cannabis use for recreational and medicinal purposes is legal in 42 states, as well as Washington D.C.

Yet California-based clinical pharmacist and oncology specialist Dr. Phillip Drum said the drug has too many impurities.

“It has over 100 cannabinoids. It has pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, bacteria, fungus on the product. And we in pharmacy cannot touch it because, number one, it’s a controlled substance one in the United States, meaning it has no medicinal use,” he told The Epoch Times.

While most medicinal cannabis products are not approved medicines in Australia, doctors and nurses can prescribe them only after standard treatments for a limited number of condition and their symptoms have failed, the TGA website states.

In March, a study conducted by the University of Sydney and published in Lancet Psychiatry found little evidence medicinal cannabis effectively treats common mental health conditions.

The components of cannabis (or cannabinoids)—specifically the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and the non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD)—are indicated for a limited number of medical conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, per the TGA.

For chronic musculoskeletal pain, the TGA said that there is no scientific data to support use of medicinal cannabis.

Professor John Toumbourou, immediate past professor in health psychology at Deakin University, said that the public needs to have an understanding of pain science, especially those with chronic pain.

“Basically, unregulated painkillers, such as the cannabinoids, have absolutely no role in modern pain science,” he told The Epoch Times.

“For painkillers, the pain science is increasingly saying it [such as opioids] should be used for chronic pain to help you do your therapies, so that you can taper off and eventually not use them—becoming abstinent from them is the goal of pain science.”

Abstinence is the national health guideline for tobacco, cannabis, and for illicit drugs, he said, adding that there is “no safe level” for recreational use.

THC concentrations in cannabis plants have increased significantly over the years, such that a higher dosage and concentration is needed for a user to get the same dopamine releases in the brain, Drum said.

“Back in 1995, it was 3.75 percent, and in 2018, it’s up to 15.8 percent. A five-fold increase in THC.

“So the issue becomes that your brain is 60 percent fat. And so this THC molecule is going up to the brain. And so when you’re trying to get somebody to go off cannabis, it takes a while for the THC to leave the brain,” Drum said.

Moreover, the higher concentration of THC has led to conditions such as Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), where a person can no longer stop vomiting.

“Hyperemesis has caused death. People’s electrolytes then become out of whack, their potassium has dropped, their magnesium, calcium, and those are regulators of our heart and our heart rhythms. And if those values then start going out of whack, the person can start having heart attacks, and they do, and they die, as well as dehydration, because they’re vomiting. They can’t keep anything down.

“And so with the cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, that was created as a result of legalisation of marijuana [in California] because they started creating these huge percentages of THC that has led to this syndrome. Prior to 2004, we had never heard of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome.”

He said conditions that resulted from the legalisation of cannabis include: psychoses, schizophrenia, mental health disorders, spontaneous abortions in women, lower testosterone rates in men, abnormalities in DNA and sperm, increases in childhood cancers, and an increase in autism rates.

“This is also happening again in the workplace, that we’re seeing workplace issues with regards to absenteeism over the health issues. It’s affecting all parts of society,” Drum said.

Additionally, he said THC is lipid-soluble, meaning fat-loving, is stored in the fat tissues of the body, and slowly leaches back out after it’s gone into the fat stores.

He said that it is very difficult to get users to withdraw from cannabis use, and it has to be done with professionals who can help manage effects while also motivating them to get off the drug.

Drum used the example of his sister, who was hit and killed in 2012 by a driver that used cannabis for medicinal purposes, and only got a four-and-a-half year sentence for reckless driving.

He added the example of the stabbing attack that took place at the Westfield Bondi Junction in April 2024, where a 40-year-old man who killed six people and injured 12 before being shot by an officer, was found to have cannabis in his system.

Jason Bryant, a retired federal agent with the Australian Federal Police who has been involved in some high-profile illegal drug seizures, told The Epoch Times that cannabis can cause great harm to an individual and to society at large.

He gave advice to those who advocate for the legalising of cannabis: “If you have seen what I have seen in my career, you would not think what you do. You would think differently—that’s what needs to be told to people. And I’m damn sure most coppers will think the same thing, experienced coppers [that is].”

Current Laws, Proposals in Australian States

In Victoria, the state Labor government in October 2025 rejected recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry that called for the state to adopt ACT-style decriminalisation for small amounts of cannabis.

In August, state Labor, along with the Liberals and the Nationals voted down a proposal for a plebiscite on cannabis legalisation that was pushed by the Legalise Cannabis Party, 27 to 8.

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll reportedly said he was open to decriminalising cannabis.

In New South Wales, the state Labor government is proposing changes to its drug driving laws where drivers prescribed with medicinal cannabis would be exempt from drug driving charges if they are detected with a certain level of THC present.

In Queensland, possessing, supplying, producing, and trafficking cannabis for recreational use remains illegal. In June, the state Liberal National Party (LNP) government introduced tougher laws on dangerous driving, and said it will continue its zero-tolerance approach to drug driving, including for medical cannabis prescriptions.

In a submission (pdf), Australian Medical Association (AMA) Victoria cited evidence from Canada and certain U.S. states where an increase in cannabis-related health issues were observed, including acute cannabis poisoning and a higher prevalence of cannabis-impaired driving.

“The risks of cannabis use, particularly in vulnerable groups like adolescents, pregnant individuals, and those with preexisting health conditions, are well-documented and must be carefully considered in any policy decisions,” AMA Victoria said.

“Additionally, the rise in cannabinoid-related hospitalisations and cannabis-impaired driving in legalised areas has placed considerable pressure on healthcare systems, particularly in under-resourced sectors like mental health and addiction services, which are already strained in Victoria.”