Cultivating and producing cannabis for medicinal or scientific purposes

A medicinal cannabis licence may authorise either cultivation (the growing of cannabis plants) or production (the separation of cannabis and cannabis resin), or both. It may also authorise manufacture activities. These activities may be authorised either separately, or all under the one licence.

In order to be able to cultivate and/or produce cannabis for medicinal or scientific purposes, a cultivator will need to hold a medicinal cannabis licence, granted under the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 (Cth) (the ND Act) by the Office of Drug Control (ODC), which authorises cultivation and production activities.

While there is no restriction on the number of licences that can be granted in Australia, under international conventions, the overall quantities produced must not exceed domestic requirements. Therefore, the number of cultivators that will be licensed to grow and supply cannabis will depend on the demand for medicinal cannabis (considering prescribers and the patient groups they treat).

In all cases the licensee will need to hold a relevant permit issued under the ND Act before any cultivation or production commences.

When applying for a permit, a licensee will need to have, and submit to ODC, a contract with the producer/manufacturer and certain other documentation that satisfies any requirements set out in the ND Act and Narcotic Drugs Regulation 2016 - external site.