Medical cannabis use has a growing acceptance, with legislative changes revealing a new era of treatment for Australians.
Chronic pain, insomnia and bad appetite were issues for medical cannabis user Nathan Mileto, 22, who prior to taking the drug had relied on cortisone injections, anti-inflammatories, massages, physiotherapy, melatonin and herbal teas.
Within the last two years data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), on Australia’s estimated cannabis use, shows numbers have risen for the 2022-2023 year period, with approximately 14,000 kilograms of cannabis consumed.
For Mr Mileto his use of medical cannabis is frequent. He uses the form of a medical cannabis flower, approximately five to seven times a week at night. This is so he can get through the day without pain and also so he can work to his best potential. He uses the drug to get adequate sleep, increase his eating and suppressing his chronic pain.
“My moods are also very lifted due to not being in constant pain and being extremely tired and anxious all day,” he said.
However, Mr Mileto has noticed a gain in tolerance for the medical cannabis and has slightly increased his dose from 0.1 grams to 0.3 grams of the flower in a Dry Herb Vapouriser.
In relation to Nathan’s frequent use, data below reveals results that in the 2022-2023 period over 40 per cent of people surveyed used cannabis for medical purposes everyday.
The age bracket that uses cannabis recreationally the most and the peak use for all medical cannabis are the 30-39 year olds.
The data also shows that the 20-29 year age bracket uses cannabis for medical purposes sometimes, but other times for other reasons. This could correlate to that age bracket not being known to suffer from chronic pain, as the AIHW reveals ‘Chronic Pain in Australia’ being mostly individuals aged 45 and over.
Ultimately, it is evident that medical cannabis is becoming more popular and is evolving as a medical treatment, based on the data above. With the growing popularity, could it the future of medicine?