Medicinal cannabis prescriptions being dispensed from Ballarat pharmacies are rapidly growing despite a limited number of prescribers in town.
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UFS pharmacy operations manager Peter Fell said despite the complexities of the medicinal cannabis industry there was strong demand from consumers.
"It's really complicated, with hundreds if not thousands of products and dozens of companies, but probably 90 per cent of our products come out of one or two main suppliers," Mr Fell said.
"One of our bigger pharmacies like Sturt Street is probably dealing with many different companies and ... regularly we see a script for a new patient where it's quite likely we have to open an account with a new supplier because the number of products is increasing so quickly."
Mr Fell said medicinal cannabis had offered "some spectacular health outcomes" for patients with some conditions, but the complexity of regulations around its prescription was creating "a degree of uncertainty or discomfort" among a lot of doctors making them reluctant to offer it to patients.
Regulations around the prescription of medicinal cannabis changed in February 2022.
It is estimated that by 2028, there will be more than 241,000 patients on medical cannabis for conditions including chronic pain, sleep disorders, migraine, cancer and anxiety.
Mr Fell said many people seeking medicinal cannabis were older, particularly those living with chronic pain.
"One of its big advantages is in managing chronic pain, and that older group is more highly represented in that condition," he said.
"There's increased pressure to reduce opiate prescribing and an increased number of opiate products being withdrawn from market. There's a cohort of patients who might have been stable on an opiate for some time but not able to continue to access it ... and may have to work with their GP to explore alternatives.
"It's an area you are going to see pretty much exponential growth in."
Ballarat is set to become a hub for medicinal cannabis production and education, with Federation TAFE to introduce Australia's first nationally accredited course in medicinal cannabis cultivation and production.
The course has been developed in partnership with agri-tech business GemKom who is relocating to Ballarat with plans to build a large scale, high-tech, indoor, highly automated, climate-controlled cultivation facility.
From late 2024, Federation TAFE will offer a Certificate III in Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation and Production traineeship program. GemKom will employ the students as trainees, enabling them to work and study toward a qualification at the same time.
And from 2025 it will deliver a Certificate IV course aimed at supervisors and managers responsible for ensuring workplace processes and operations comply with the legislative, regulatory and quality requirements.
Australia's medicinal cannabis industry is worth around $258 million a year, but projected to grow 40 per cent per annum for the next five years, with Victoria's medical cannabis industry expected to meet 30 to 50 per cent of national demand.
"GemKom identified the opportunity to relocate to Ballarat and they will need skilled staff here, so it's a perfect opportunity to work with them and their industry advisor group members to develop a course bespoke for that market of medicinal cannabis," said Federation University provost Liam Sloan.
"The design and development of these courses presents many opportunities for Federation TAFE and the communities in which we operate, including the potential for hundreds of jobs in manufacturing, agriculture, research and development," he said.
Staff for the new medicinal cannabis courses will be drawn from the organisation's existing agricultural and horticulture experts, who will undergo professional development to update their skills in the sector, and could also include GemKom employees with the necessary knowledge who complete a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
