MEDICAL CANNABIS —
PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME
325. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I
thank the minister for his answer to my question without notice 282 on 16 June
on medicinal cannabis and the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. Further to his
answer, and the correspondence tabled and date stamped 14 November 2018,
will the minister list this as an agenda item for the next Council of Australian
Governments Health Council meeting; and, if not, why not?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer is provided on behalf of the
Minister for Health.
No. There is an established and
legislated process for medicines to be assessed, recommended and listed on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. To maintain the
integrity of the PBS, medicinal cannabis products should be required to
meet the exact same standards of quality, safety, efficacy and value for money
as other funded medicines.