October 4th Highlights

• Another record month in Australia for SAS-B medical cannabis approvals - As of 30 September 2020, the TGA has approved over 67,000 SAS Category B applications for unapproved medicinal cannabis products. Sept is the new record month for approvals with over 6,200 authorisations granted approvals - 641 more than in the previous record month July (5564 approvals). Approvals this month are 82.4% higher than the 2,889 approvals recorded a year ago. By the end of 2019, over 28,000 prescribing approvals had been issued to patients, involving more than 1400 doctors, mostly GPs. More than 70,000 approvals are projected by the end of 2020.
• The growing CBD market - Aat 52%, the majority of consumers are using CBD to help with sleep and relaxation while 51% of consumers are using CBD to manage health & wellness and to treat various health conditions. The OTC CBD market is expected to be worth US$5.8 billion in 2020 with the potential to grow by 16% over the review period to US$6.79 billion. From more info on the CBD consumer market - check out the new CBD report from Prohibition Partners

Medicinal cannabis patient numbers grow as Australians stay at home

Gone to pot: New Zealand cools on legalising cannabis

BOD launches Hemp range of products in Hong Kong

New poll: Kiwis back euthanasia, support for legalising cannabis going up in smoke