Australian cannabis usage pattern - insights from over 3,300 Australian respondents on their cannabis use
Article Written By Adam Isaac Miller
Findings from the Cannabis as Medicine Survey 2022–2023 (CAMS-22) were recently published in the Harm Reduction Journal—a great outcome for the research team! The survey addressed both prescribed and illicit medical cannabis use in the country and provided insight into the usage patterns of Australian cannabis users.
The survey was conducted from December 2022 to April 2023 and included 3,323 adult Australian respondents who had used cannabis for medical purposes in the previous year. What is interesting to note is that more than 158,460 SAS approvals and the Authorised Prescriber six monthly reporting—over 322,770 scripts—were generated since that period. Of these, 2,352 (73%) primarily used prescribed medical cannabis, while 871 (27%) mainly used illicit cannabis for medical purposes.
Key Findings
Who is using cannabis, and for what reasons?
Prescribed users were more likely to be male, employed, and have tertiary qualifications compared to illicit users.
The most common conditions treated with medical cannabis were pain (37%), mental health (36%), and sleep disorders (15%).
Prescribed users were more likely to treat pain and sleep conditions, while illicit users were more likely to treat mental health conditions.
What are the patterns for use?
Prescribed users started using cannabis for medical reasons later in life and were less likely to have used cannabis non-medically before medical use.
Prescribed users consumed cannabis on more days for medical reasons but fewer days for non-medical reasons compared to illicit users.
What are the preferred administration methods?
Prescribed users were more likely to use oral (33% vs. 21%) or vaporised (44% vs. 13%) routes of administration.
Illicit users were more likely to smoke cannabis (65% vs. 22%).
What were the reported side effects and effectiveness of cannabis?
Prescribed users reported significantly fewer side effects than illicit users.
Both groups overwhelmingly endorsed the effectiveness of medical cannabis, with over 95% reporting improvement in their conditions.
What is the preference for legal VS illegal access?
Prescribed users were significantly more certain about the composition of their medical cannabis.
Among "dual users" who had experience with both prescribed and illicit cannabis, there was a strong preference for prescribed cannabis in terms of consistency, ease of access, effectiveness, and side effect profile.
Which option (legal VS illegal) is more expensive?
Prescribed users paid $10.40 less per week on average than illicit users.
Survey Results VS Previous Years
What I enjoy about the CAM surveys (here is a link to the others) is that the results provide helpful insights regarding the evolving understanding and adoption of cannabis by users in Australia. Here are some key differences between the CAM22 and previous surveys.
Dramatic Increase in Prescribed Cannabis Use
CAMS-16 and CAMS-18: <3% used prescribed cannabis
CAMS-20 (2020): 37.5% used prescribed cannabis
CAMS-22 (2022-2023): 73% mainly used prescribed cannabis
This shows a rapid and significant shift towards legal, prescribed medical cannabis use in Australia over a short period.
Changing Demographics
CAMS-20 found that prescribed-only users were older, more likely to be female, and less likely to be employed compared to illicit users.
CAMS-22 confirmed this trend, with prescribed users more likely to be male, employed, and have tertiary qualifications.
This suggests the demographic profile of medical cannabis users is evolving as it becomes more mainstream.
Conditions Treated
Across all surveys, pain, mental health, and sleep disorders remained the top conditions treated.
CAMS-20 and CAMS-22 both found prescribed users more likely to treat pain, while illicit users were more likely to treat mental health conditions.
This consistency suggests these remain the primary drivers for medical cannabis use in Australia.
Overall, these surveys document the rapid evolution of medical cannabis use in Australia, showing a clear trend towards prescribed use, with associated benefits in terms of safer consumption methods, better product knowledge, and fewer side effects. As the medical cannabis landscape continues to evolve, ongoing monitoring and research like this is truly helpful!
Adam has spent over eight years working with unregistered medicines. With a specialization in Cannabinoid Therapeutics, Adam has supported the development, implementation, and market entry of multiple cannabinoid product portfolios in markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Brazil. Before working in the medical cannabis field, Adam spent almost a decade building various B2B businesses within education, investment, and medicinal cannabis, with progressive roles including business development, strategy, product development, and project management. He has consulted private and listed cannabis producers and ancillary businesses since 2015 as one of the early entrants and experts in the burgeoning Australian cannabis industry. Adam founded and sat on the board of The Medical Cannabis Council, Australia’s first not-for-profit industry body. He is a frequent public speaker and publishes a widely read industry newsletter. Adam earned a Bachelor of Entrepreneurship from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Adam has appeared in several major news outlets, including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review, Nine News, Startup Smart, SBS, SkyNews, MJBizDaily, and other major publications.
Disclaimer: This information is shared with a global readership for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or business advice. All patient-related information has been de-identified OR fictional to protect privacy. Nothing in this article is intended to promote the use or supply of medical cannabis to members of the public.