Country profile · Asia-Pacific
Australia
Adult possession legal in the ACT only.
Adult-useDecriminalisedAdult possession legal in the ACT only.
MedicalEstablishedA functioning prescription market with domestic or imported supply.
RegionAsia-Pacific
Last reviewedStatuses reviewed quarterly by our newsroom
The law in brief
Medical cannabis legal since 2016 and now one of the world's largest patient markets, supplied mainly through the TGA's special access schemes. The ACT allows adult possession and home growing; elsewhere adult use is illegal or decriminalised for small amounts.
Our classification for Australia: adult use decriminalised, medical cannabis established.
Adult-use: DecriminalisedPossession of small amounts carries no criminal penalty, but supply remains illegal.
Medical: EstablishedA functioning prescription market with domestic or imported supply.
Key dates and latest developments
‘Legislation Opens a Market, It Does Not Build One’: APAC’s Future Leaders Will Be the Ones Who Do
Opinion
Australia’s Medical Cannabis Reforms to Target ‘Closed Loop’ Prescribing
International Regulation
Ananda Pharma Confirms Safety of MRX1 CBD Drug, as Clinical Pain Trials Approach
Pharmaceutical
From Land to Brand: Why Cannabis’s Next Generation Is Going Asset-Light
Interviews
