BMJ Open study analyses medicinal cannabis approvals for Australians aged 25 and under, 2016–2024
A peer-reviewed study in BMJ Open analysed 52,419 approved TGA applications for medicinal cannabis for Australians aged 25 or younger from 2016 to 2024, and found most were for people aged 20 to 25.
Research Digest — peer-reviewed observational study
A study published in the journal BMJ Open on 25 October 2026 analysed Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) data on Special Access Scheme Category B (SAS-B) approvals for medicinal cannabis for people aged 25 years or younger in Australia, from February 2016 to May 2024.
The study is a national descriptive (observational) analysis of 52,419 approved applications, obtained from the TGA under freedom of information. The journal states the paper was externally peer reviewed. The authors note the data are application-level, so the total is not a count of individual patients, and that an approval does not show a product was later prescribed or used.
The study found approvals rose over the period, with a sharper increase from 2021, and that 71% of approvals were for people aged 20 to 25. Anxiety (43%), chronic pain (28%), neurodevelopmental conditions (10%) and sleep disorders (9%) were the most commonly recorded indications. According to the study, approvals for younger children more often involved CBD-dominant products and oils, while older age groups more often involved THC-dominant product categories and inhaled formulations.
The authors wrote that approvals were "occurring for conditions with limited evidence" and called for improved clinical guidance, age-specific oversight and monitoring of outcomes. The study did not assess whether medicinal cannabis is effective for any condition.
Source: BMJ Open — Medicinal cannabis approvals in Australian children and young people, 2016–2024: a national analysis of Therapeutic Goods Administration data by age, indication and cannabinoid category (published 25 October 2026; doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-121855; PubMed 42927876)