Douglas A D Skene, Iain S McGregor, Lisa Todd, Anastasia Suraev
{"title":"2023-2024年澳大利亚社区使用药用大麻治疗癫痫：一项横断面调查","authors":"Douglas A D Skene, Iain S McGregor, Lisa Todd, Anastasia Suraev","doi":"10.14581/jer.25006","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and purpose: </strong>Epilepsy is a common indication for medicinal cannabis (MC) prescription in Australia. Despite legal MC products being available for 8 years, some individuals continue to rely on illicit cannabis. Here, we conducted a survey of Australian persons/people with epilepsy (PWE) and caregivers of a PWE to assess whether the current legal framework supports PWE and/or their caregivers to access prescribed MC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The cross-sectional survey consisted of five sections examining sociodemographics, medical history, history of MC use, attitudes towards MC, and barriers to accessing MC.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 126 respondents included in these analyses, 102 were PWE (mean age, 40.9±12.3 years) and 24 were caregivers of a PWE (mean age of PWE, 14.1±8.9 years). Among PWE, 27.5% (28/102) had only used illicit MC products, 27.5% (28/102) had transitioned to prescribed MC products, and 16.7% (17/102) used both. Most caregivers 70.8% (17/24) had only accessed prescribed MC products. Most respondents 77.0% (97/126) reported using MC as an adjunct to conventional anti-seizure medications. Caregivers were more likely to administer prescribed high-cannabidiol products to children using oral routes of administration (<i>p</i><0.001). In contrast, PWE often used inhaled cannabis (<i>p</i><0.001). Overall, 67.0% (83/124) of respondents reported that MC \"improved\" or \"greatly improved\" their epilepsy, irrespective of MC type. The main barrier to accessing prescribed MC was \"cost\" (69.0%, 87/126), while tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-related driving restrictions were also a significant concern for PWE.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The current regulatory framework in Australia supports MC access for PWE and their caregivers, primarily through cannabis clinics. However, cost remains a significant concern. The prevalent use of Δ9-THC-containing and inhaled MC products, either illicit or prescribed, highlights the urgent need to further investigate their safety and efficacy in epilepsy.</p>","PeriodicalId":73741,"journal":{"name":"Journal of epilepsy research","volume":"15 1","pages":"56-69"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12185916/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Use of Medicinal Cannabis for Epilepsy in the Australian Community 2023-2024: A Cross-Sectional Survey.\",\"authors\":\"Douglas A D Skene, Iain S McGregor, Lisa Todd, Anastasia Suraev\",\"doi\":\"10.14581/jer.25006\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><strong>Background and purpose: </strong>Epilepsy is a common indication for medicinal cannabis (MC) prescription in Australia. Despite legal MC products being available for 8 years, some individuals continue to rely on illicit cannabis. Here, we conducted a survey of Australian persons/people with epilepsy (PWE) and caregivers of a PWE to assess whether the current legal framework supports PWE and/or their caregivers to access prescribed MC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The cross-sectional survey consisted of five sections examining sociodemographics, medical history, history of MC use, attitudes towards MC, and barriers to accessing MC.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 126 respondents included in these analyses, 102 were PWE (mean age, 40.9±12.3 years) and 24 were caregivers of a PWE (mean age of PWE, 14.1±8.9 years). Among PWE, 27.5% (28/102) had only used illicit MC products, 27.5% (28/102) had transitioned to prescribed MC products, and 16.7% (17/102) used both. Most caregivers 70.8% (17/24) had only accessed prescribed MC products. Most respondents 77.0% (97/126) reported using MC as an adjunct to conventional anti-seizure medications. Caregivers were more likely to administer prescribed high-cannabidiol products to children using oral routes of administration (<i>p</i><0.001). In contrast, PWE often used inhaled cannabis (<i>p</i><0.001). Overall, 67.0% (83/124) of respondents reported that MC \\\"improved\\\" or \\\"greatly improved\\\" their epilepsy, irrespective of MC type. The main barrier to accessing prescribed MC was \\\"cost\\\" (69.0%, 87/126), while tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-related driving restrictions were also a significant concern for PWE.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The current regulatory framework in Australia supports MC access for PWE and their caregivers, primarily through cannabis clinics. However, cost remains a significant concern. The prevalent use of Δ9-THC-containing and inhaled MC products, either illicit or prescribed, highlights the urgent need to further investigate their safety and efficacy in epilepsy.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":73741,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Journal of epilepsy research\",\"volume\":\"15 1\",\"pages\":\"56-69\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-06-10\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12185916/pdf/\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Journal of epilepsy research\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.14581/jer.25006\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"2025/6/1 0:00:00\",\"PubModel\":\"eCollection\",\"JCR\":\"\",\"JCRName\":\"\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of epilepsy research","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.14581/jer.25006","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/6/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
Use of Medicinal Cannabis for Epilepsy in the Australian Community 2023-2024: A Cross-Sectional Survey.
Background and purpose: Epilepsy is a common indication for medicinal cannabis (MC) prescription in Australia. Despite legal MC products being available for 8 years, some individuals continue to rely on illicit cannabis. Here, we conducted a survey of Australian persons/people with epilepsy (PWE) and caregivers of a PWE to assess whether the current legal framework supports PWE and/or their caregivers to access prescribed MC.
Methods: The cross-sectional survey consisted of five sections examining sociodemographics, medical history, history of MC use, attitudes towards MC, and barriers to accessing MC.
Results: Of the 126 respondents included in these analyses, 102 were PWE (mean age, 40.9±12.3 years) and 24 were caregivers of a PWE (mean age of PWE, 14.1±8.9 years). Among PWE, 27.5% (28/102) had only used illicit MC products, 27.5% (28/102) had transitioned to prescribed MC products, and 16.7% (17/102) used both. Most caregivers 70.8% (17/24) had only accessed prescribed MC products. Most respondents 77.0% (97/126) reported using MC as an adjunct to conventional anti-seizure medications. Caregivers were more likely to administer prescribed high-cannabidiol products to children using oral routes of administration (p<0.001). In contrast, PWE often used inhaled cannabis (p<0.001). Overall, 67.0% (83/124) of respondents reported that MC "improved" or "greatly improved" their epilepsy, irrespective of MC type. The main barrier to accessing prescribed MC was "cost" (69.0%, 87/126), while tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-related driving restrictions were also a significant concern for PWE.
Conclusions: The current regulatory framework in Australia supports MC access for PWE and their caregivers, primarily through cannabis clinics. However, cost remains a significant concern. The prevalent use of Δ9-THC-containing and inhaled MC products, either illicit or prescribed, highlights the urgent need to further investigate their safety and efficacy in epilepsy.
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