The National Measurement Institute (NMI), within the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, has expanded its medicinal cannabis testing capabilities and increased its scope of Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) accreditation.
The Institute said it now had a suite of tests for medicinal cannabis products to ensure they were safe for people to use and met strict potency standards.
“These changes meet the needs of industry and the community,” the NMI said.
“Strict medicinal cannabis testing has led to this pharmaceutical product becoming more available,” it said.
“People with terminal illnesses use it to help ease their suffering.”
The NMI said people had used cannabis as a mind-altering drug since prehistoric times.
“However, along with the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, more than 100 cannabinoids are present in the plant,” it said.
It said cannabis extracts could treat epilepsy, chemotherapy-induced nausea and assist with chronic pain management.
“An entire industry has grown around cannabis-derived medicinal products,” the Institute said.
“These products must be licensed for use in a medical setting. Cannabinoid compounds must undergo the same rigorous testing required for any pharmaceutical product in Australia.”
The NMI said its scientists conducted tests on cannabis plants to ensure the plants oils contained enough cannabinoids to be beneficial and that the oils didn’t contain psychoactive substances, harmful microbes or harmful toxins like pesticides and heavy metals.
