Connect with us

International

Australia: $1 million in fines for 'false' health claims

Published

em

Listen to this article

Australia's drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), has issued 73 infringement notices over claims by medical cannabis companies in their products that they could treat "serious diseases such as cancer and epilepsy". According to The Guardian Australia, three Australian cannabis drug companies, MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a cannatrek ltd and Little Green Pharma Ltd, were fined a collective $972.360 by the TGA for illegal advertising, both on their websites and social media platforms, where they claimed that the use of their products could help treat certain serious illnesses.

Although the scientific evidence is already considerable regarding the therapeutic potential of cannabis in diseases such as cancer or epilepsy, it should be noted that, in Australia, it is illegal to promote prescription drugs. The purpose of the law is to protect consumers from false and/or misleading claims about its effects, to ensure that proper medical advice comes only from healthcare professionals who have actually seen patients and know their medical histories.

"Furthermore, some of the advertising allegedly suggested or implied that certain medicinal cannabis products were recommended or approved by a government authority," the TGA said in a statement, quoted by The Guardian of Australia.

"Using claims about a serious illness or condition in advertising is also illegal without express authorization from the TGA, because Australians facing a serious illness or condition are a particularly vulnerable consumer group."

Professor Karen Price, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, said that cannabis for medical purposes is sometimes prescribed as a “medicine of last resort for specific diseases” and that, depending on the medical condition, “the quality of evidence varies. and in some cases it is inconclusive or insufficient to suggest any benefit to patients,” he said.

As for the companies targeted by fines, only MGC Pharmaceuticals, which is also based in Europe and currently has its website under maintenance, said in a statement that it had “fully cooperated with TGA to remedy the issues raised, including the removal of all publications of concern from its media channels, some of which were third-party publications, and the placing of the company's website under maintenance”. The company added that “the website will be online again in November, after the rebranding, with new internal guidelines implemented, to avoid repeating the occurrence”, tells The Guardian. The full article can be read on this link.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

If you like CannaReporter, please consider supporting independent journalism by making a donation on our Patreon account.

From just €3/month!

________________________________________________________________________________________

[Disclaimer: Please note that this text was originally written in Portuguese and is translated into English and other languages ​​using an automatic translator. Some words may differ from the original and typos or errors may occur in other languages.]
Click here to comment

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertising


Watch the Documentary "Patients"

Documentary Patients Laura Ramos help us grow

Mais recentes

Events1 hours ago

EVO NXT: Next Generation Products Festival returns to Malaga and Cannabis will be in the spotlight

The 2nd edition of the Business Festival for Next Generation Products, EVO NXT, returns to Malaga this...

International7 days ago

It's official: Germany is the third country in Europe to legalize the recreational use of cannabis

The Bundesrat approved today, Friday, the bill to regulate the use of cannabis for recreational purposes in the country....

BusinessCann1 weeks ago

Germany: Cannabis legalization on the brink? Bundesrat votes on bill tomorrow

Most media outlets announced the legalization of cannabis in Germany as a fait accompli, but...

National1 weeks ago

Portugal: Medicinal cannabis on Madeira Island with autonomous licensing process from the mainland

The Autonomous Region of Madeira is taking over the licensing of activities related to medicinal cannabis in the archipelago, in accordance...

International1 weeks ago

Norway: Activists send 200g of cannabis to the Prime Minister and other politicians by post

Norwegian activists from the Alliance for Human Rights-Oriented Drug Policy (AROD) sent 10 letters with 200...

Events1 weeks ago

Spain: Exponential growth of Spannabis dictates expansion to Bilbao in September

The 20th edition of Spannabis 2024, one of the oldest and largest cannabis fairs in the world, ended yesterday with...

International1 weeks ago

Morocco enters the cannabis race with the first legal cannabis harvest

The year 2023 will go down in Morocco's history as the year in which the first legal harvest of...

Hemp2 weeks ago

USA: USDA announces investment of 10 million in hemp research

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released the “Hemp Research Needs Map” and announced a...

Interviews2 weeks ago

Jacqueline Poitras: “Doctors are painfully ignorant when it comes to cannabinoids and their effects on the human body”

Founder of 'MAMAKA- Mothers for Cannabis', an association for medical cannabis patients in Greece, Jacqueline Poitras has been a...

International2 weeks ago

Understanding the UN System & Our Role at CND67 - Midterm Review

The United Nations, in Vienna, hosts annual sessions of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). These sessions provide opportunities for organizations without...