A System Built on Sentiment, Not Science: What began as a compassionate response to desperate families seeking relief for children with epilepsy has morphed into what critics aptly describe as “a commercial monster” – a barely regulated medicinal cannabis industry where doctors write cannabis prescriptions every four minutes and patients receive “Chernobyl-strength” products after brief phone consultations with non-medical staff.
The numbers are staggering and speak to a system utterly divorced from proper medical oversight. One doctor issued 17,000 scripts in six months – mathematically impossible to provide adequate patient care. Eight practitioners each churned out over 10,000 prescriptions for the highest-strength THC products in just half a year. A single pharmacist dispensed nearly one million cannabis products annually – that’s 2,600 products every single day for an entire year without a break.
These aren’t the statistics of a carefully managed medical programme. They’re the hallmarks of a prescription mill operating under the thin veneer of healthcare legitimacy.
The “Vote for Medicine” Deception: The rot began with what the Dalgarno Institute correctly identifies as the “vote for medicine” protocol – a deliberate strategy to bypass rigorous clinical trials and scientific evidence in favour of emotional manipulation and political pressure. The Victorian Law Reform Commission’s 2014 consultation was a masterclass in manufactured consent, drawing from a mere 99 submissions and poorly attended public hearings dominated by cannabis advocates.
Policymakers staged political theatre, disguising the legitimisation of a recreational drug as compassion and medical necessity, abandoning evidence-based policymaking. The consultation process heavily favoured bias, systematically marginalising and silencing the Dalgarno Institute’s representative when they presented evidence-based research on cannabis harms. Meanwhile, cannabis advocates freely made unsubstantiated claims such as “Many, many people have been cured – from just about anything and everything” – statements now debunked by a decade of disappointing clinical outcomes.
Doctors as Drug Dealers: The transformation of medical practitioners into what one doctor described as “glorified cannabis dealers” represents a fundamental corruption of the medical profession. Dr Claire Noonan’s experience exposes the insidious pressure applied to healthcare providers: “There was a bit of pressure to be, perhaps more of a dealer… it’s more being used for my signature on a script.”
When doctors earn money based on the number of prescriptions they write, when companies pressure practitioners to override their clinical judgment, and when nurses without medical training conduct “consultations,” it stops being medicine. It’s a sophisticated drug distribution network masquerading as healthcare.
The conflict of interest is breathtaking: companies pay doctors to write prescriptions, then directly sell and ship the products to patients. This vertically integrated drug business model operates so efficiently and with such legal protection that it would make any street dealer envious. Some companies even pay commissions to shop owners who host their iPad kiosks, creating a multi-tiered financial incentive structure that has nothing to do with patient care and everything to do with maximising drug sales.
The Australian Medical Association has recognised this perversion of medical practice, with doctors coining the phrase “I’m a healer not a dealer” – yet the system continues to pressure practitioners into exactly that role. Young doctors and those without specialist training are particularly vulnerable to these pressures, potentially compromising an entire generation of medical professionals.
A tragic accident in Bexleyheath has shed new light on drug-driving risks as a bus driver, Martin Asolo-Agogua, pleaded guilty to causing the death of nine-year-old Ada Bicakci. The Bus driver cannabis death occurred when the driver, high on cannabis, struck Ada and her brother on Watling Street on the 3rd of August 2023. The heartbreaking incident resulted in Ada’s death two days later, while her younger brother survived the hit.
The cannabis use disorder (CUD) treatment market is on the brink of rapid expansion, reflecting a global trend towards recognising the health implications linked with cannabis dependency. Accelerated by increasing cannabis consumption, legislative movements, and a heightened awareness of usage-related risks, the market is forecast to grow from a valuation of USD 1.7 billion in 2025 to USD 2.7 billion by 2035, with a CAGR of 4.7% during the period.
(We must avoid this here – Do not legalise cannabis)
Cannabis impaired driving is emerging as a critical concern in the UK and beyond, especially as a new marijuana driving study reveals more than half of cannabis users get behind the wheel just hours after consumption. New data from AAA and the University of Illinois Chicago shed light on risky driving behaviours and growing misperceptions around marijuana’s effects on road safety. These findings point to a need for better education, enforcement, and responsible cannabis use among the driving public.
