Data from Canview’s online portal has shown that despite the high prices of medical cannabis in Australia, end costs to patients are slowly coming down.
Canview is a platform developed by Burleigh Heads Cannabis for patients, pharmacists, and medical practitioners to prescribe and order cannabis medicines. Information released on July 6th showed more than 95 cannabis products available, a huge jump from the 46 available in August last year.
Comparing the two periods reveals 29 products were available during both reports.
| Product | Aug-20 | Jul-21 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDA CBD 990-Crystal | $149 | $69 | -53% |
| CDA CBD 33-Capsule | $149 | $99 | -33% |
| Tilray Purified CBD 100 | $435 | $300 | -31% |
| CDA CBD 30-Oil | $69 | $49 | -29% |
| LGP Classic 20:5 | $245 | $175 | -28% |
| CDA CBD 240-Oil | $269 | $199 | -26% |
| Tilray Purified 2:100 | $465 | $350 | -24% |
| Medicabilis 100 CBD Isolate 25ml | $284 | $229 | -19% |
| CannaTrek T15 Flower | $210 | $170 | -19% |
| LGP CBD 50 | $265 | $225 | -15% |
| LGP Classic 10:10 | $195 | $175 | -10% |
| LGP Classic 1:20 | $195 | $175 | -10% |
| Medicabilis 100 CBD Isolate 50ml | $463 | $423 | -8% |
| Tilray Full Spectrum WF 10:10 | $135 | $125 | -7% |
| Tilray Purified CBD 25 | $175 | $169 | -3% |
| MedCan FX02 | $89 | $89 | |
| MedCan GC01 | $109 | $109 | |
| Tilray Full Spectrum 10:10 25ml | $110 | $110 | |
| MedCan FX01 | $115 | $115 | |
| Tilray Full Spectrum WF 25:0 | $125 | $125 | |
| MedCan GC02 | $129 | $129 | |
| ANTG Mariposa | $130 | $130 | |
| MedCan CC01 | $149 | $149 | |
| Tilray Full Spectrum 1:25 | $150 | $150 | |
| Tilray Full Spectrum 5:20 | $150 | $150 | |
| Tilray Full Spectrum 10:10 40ml | $160 | $160 | |
| Tilray Full Spectrum THC 25 | $175 | $175 | |
| ANTG Solace | $180 | $180 | |
| Tilray Purified CBD 100 | $300 | $300 |
Note that the prices are ‘Price to Patient’ and are only recommended prices. Individual pharmacies may charge different prices.
The drop in prices can be explained by a number of factors such as the market becoming more competitive, as companies age and their industry experience grows they become more efficient at producing their products – lowering the cost of manufacturing, and changes in licensing regulations are reducing the administrative burden on companies.
Medical cannabis’ high price tag has received constant criticism with some patients reportedly paying upwards of $380 per month. This is leading to thousands of Australians still turning to the black market to source their medication, even with the recent warning from the Australian Border Force that any illegally imported CBD medicines will be seized and those who import them ‘may be prosecuted’.
Australian born-and-bred NimbinCann is one of the few companies looking to vastly reduce the cost to Australian patients by producing medical cannabis in regions where manufacturing costs are up to 94% lower.
Thanks for the article guys, we’re big fans of Pondering Pot.
It’s important to understand the difference between Full Spectrum and Isolate products. Many companies are selling cheap CBD oil products in isolate form in Australia. An isolate is incredibly cheap to produce as the CBD is extracted and ground into crystal form easy to scale and reproduce.
From what I can see, the 11% yearly price reduction has come about largely because medical providers are selling previously incredibly overpriced isolate products at a much cheaper rate.
While it’s cheap, it does not have all the benefits of the plant that come from its natural, full spectrum state. You are missing out on all the wonderful terpenes, flavonoids etc. It’s also been shown that all the cannabinoids come together to form a synergistic ‘entourage effect’ whereby the combined compounds have and effect far greater than the individual compounds combined. Mother nature’s magic.
If the medical pathway is going to promote ‘cheaper products’ they should have the responsibility of educating their patients more about the plant and the cannabinoids.Â
It doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to see what could potentially go wrong here.
I personally think we’re entering the early stages of a very degenerative battle. Medical cannabis is going to continually attempt to reduce product costs to compete with the green market by creating isolate products and reducing the quality of service and education.
Wonderful to hear Brad! Glad to have you around these parts. Your recent Youtube videos are a great source of information as well.
Interesting take on the potential price wars. The cost is still a major topic in conversations at the moment, and it can be difficult for patients to understand that cheaper =/= better.
Thankfully there are plenty of educational resources around. And yes, producers themselves should be required to educate what their medicines do.
$380 per month? And the rest! I can walk down the road and organize an ounce of 23% THC bud for that much, or I can get a half ounce + 30ml 25% THC de-carbed oil from the pharmacy. That’s TWO WEEKS of conservative use. I am being exploited by the government and the cannabis industry.
I’d hazard a guess it’s govt regulation that creates most cost. Regulate according to the benefits and risks. If it were regulated more like alcohol, perhaps would reduce costs substantially? Also, removing low thc (hemp) products from licencing and tga processes (eg US) would help. Power to those trying to do good with this plant.
Grow it yourselves.
I did. It’s not hard. It’s a bloody weed.
And then you’ll get the benefit of the full, unadulterated plant – rather than these ridiculous extracts, ‘concentrates’ and tinctures at stupid ‘gov-approved’ prices.
You’d grow your own carrots, tomatoes, and spuds, wouldn’t you?
What’s the bloody diff?
Prison. That’s the difference.