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Cannabis growing at Victorian producer ECS Botanics

Investigation

Cannabis Inc: Australia’s booming medicinal weed industry

Australia’s medicinal cannabis industry has taken off since legalisation in 2016 – but the growth in the industry is raising questions for many in the health sector.

14 stories
Raphael Strauch is the majority owner of Australia’s biggest medicinal cannabis company, Montu, which is being pursued by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for illegally advertising its products.

Medicinal cannabis is booming, but the biggest player is under fire

Montu’s legal battle with the TGA exposes the high stakes in Australia’s booming medicinal cannabis industry, where ethics, advertising, and profits collide.

  • Clay Lucas
Medicinal cannabis being grown in September 2024 at Victorian cultivator ECS Botanics.
  • Exclusive

Medicinal cannabis crackdown looms as high-strength products hit market

Leaked TGA document reveals concerns over the surging number of high-strength products given to Australians.

  • Clay Lucas
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  • Exclusive

The cannabis factory: How one doctor wrote 72,000 scripts in two years

Medicinal cannabis giant Montu’s doctors are issuing prescriptions at an alarming rate, prompting strong criticism from the federal government.

  • Angus Thomson and Clay Lucas
Dominic McCabe, who took his life in February, with dog Billy. The NSW man had long struggled with mental health and was on prescription medicines via his NSW doctor and psychiatrist. Unbeknownst to his family or doctors, he was also prescribed cannabis by Melbourne-based provider Dispensed.

Man’s death sparks questions on medicinal cannabis oversight

The death of a man with mental health issues who took his life after cannabis was prescribed by a Melbourne company has thrown a spotlight on a booming industry.

  • Clay Lucas
Australian medicinal cannabis company Montu sells the Circle brand of cannabis.
  • Exclusive

Seven-minute scripts: How top cannabis company encourages quick consults with doctor bonuses

Doctors at Australia’s top cannabis firm can see up to eight patients an hour in quick consults, with incentives tied to patient volume targets.

  • Clay Lucas
Canada supplies 70 per cent of the medicinal cannabis now in Australia. Image created by Marija Ercegovac for a story on the glut of Canadian cannabis now flooding the world, but particularly Australia.
  • Exclusive

As Canadian cannabis conquers Australia, local growers face tough rules

Canadian cannabis is flooding Australia’s medicinal market, leaving local growers struggling to compete with looser standards and raising concerns about quality.

  • Clay Lucas
Hawthorn doctor Frank Barbagallo, who in 2020 bought 400,000 shares in Montu for 15 cents each.

‘Fishy from the outset’: Millions in crowdsourced cannabis cash sparks landmark battle

A crowdsourcing investment initiative by fast-growing market giant Montu’s has descended into acrimony and unprecedented action from a corporate regulator.

  • Clay Lucas
Medicinal cannabis.
  • Exclusive

Ninety patients a day: Telehealth tick-and-flick cannabis scripts under fire

One GP wrote an average of one script every five minutes, fuelling concerns over money on offer, as online job ads for doctors offer up to $350 an hour.

  • Clay Lucas
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Photos taken during a police raid on a Taylors Lake “grow house” in 2023. Melbourne University economists estimate Australia’s cannabis market to be worth upwards of $5 billion annually.

Criminalising cannabis: How Australia’s war on weed hurts the poor

Most cannabis possession arrests happen in Victoria’s poorest suburbs and towns. A new approach is needed, says the Penington Institute.

  • Clay Lucas
Will Williams lost his licence - and his business - after testing positive for cannabis in a drug test.

Victoria may end automatic licence loss for drivers testing positive for cannabis

Advocates and patients say it’s time the law was modernised to reflect the use of medicinal cannabis.

  • Broede Carmody and Clay Lucas
Australian medicinal cannabis company Montu sells the Circle brand of cannabis.
  • Updated

The Age wins court battle over medicinal cannabis investigation

A judge has dismissed a bid by Australia’s largest medicinal cannabis company to force The Age to take down a story revealing allegations about the company’s cannabis referral system.

  • Liam Mannix
ECS Botanics, a medicinal cannabis farm located near Swan Hill. The company, which is listed on the ASX, grows hundreds of kilograms of legal cannabis each year.
  • Updated

Australia’s biggest medicinal cannabis company launches legal action over news story

Montu is demanding The Age take down a story about its contentious customer referral system and reveal the sources behind it.

  • Liam Mannix
Medicinal cannabis being grown in September 2024 at Victorian cultivator ECS Botanics.
  • Exclusive

Medicinal cannabis crackdown looms as high-strength products hit market

Leaked TGA document reveals concerns over the surging number of high-strength products given to Australians.

  • Clay Lucas
cannabis
  • Editorial

The medicinal cannabis business risks going up in smoke

There are legitimate reasons cannabis has been legalised for medicinal purposes, but the industry has serious questions to answer about regulation, medical ethics and risks to consumers.

  • The Herald's View

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