Patient frustration over large margins on medicinal cannabis

Pharmacies are charging large margins on medicinal cannabis products, resulting in frustration for patients.

Pharmacies can set their own prices for these medicines, reports journalist Tony Wall, as they are not government-subsidised – and because they cannot be advertised, as unapproved drugs, “there is no transparency around pricing”.

One pharmacy owner, Ian Edward, said that deciding on a fair price had caused some difficulty.

“It was a rare product for us to access in the first place, we were absolutely flying blind,” he said.

“You’ve got variable products coming on to the market, at variable prices for variable quantities, none of which have existed probably two years ago – everything’s changing. It creates confusion for everybody.

“The question from our industry’s point of view is, what is a reasonable price to put on to it – and there is no answer to that.”

The Pharmacy Guild and Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand have disputed the claims of “price gouging”.

Source: https://ajp.com.au/news/world-news-wrapup-10-december-2020/ , viewed December 12, 2020.