Coming soon Cannabis Education at the Institute
Cannabis, taught from the plant to the prescription
A university-level course for prescribers, pharmacists and researchers, and a free program for patients, carers and anyone curious. It starts with the plant's chemistry, follows each compound through the body, and ends at the prescription pad, written for Australian law and referenced to the primary literature.
Register your interestSee the curriculum
- 12modules
- 2programs
- Gradedby pharmacognosists
- Freefor the public
Why the Institute
Cannabis is a plant drug. It should be taught by the people who study plant drugs.
Medicinal cannabis has moved fast in Australia. A great many Australians now hold a prescription, and the prescribers, pharmacists and manufacturers who serve them have mostly had to teach themselves from scattered papers, sponsor material and forum posts.
Pharmacognosy is the science of drugs that come from plants: which compounds a plant makes, how much of each ends up in a given batch, how they are absorbed, and what they do once they are in the body. Cannabis sativa makes more than a hundred cannabinoids alongside its terpenes and flavonoids, which puts it among the most chemically complex medicines a prescriber will ever write for. The Institute's botany, phytochemistry and quality-control work is the ground this course stands on. Every module grades its evidence, cites the primary papers, and says plainly where the research is still thin.
Coming soon · Enrolment
For healthcare professionals
The professional course
For medical and nurse practitioners, pharmacists, researchers and the people who make and test cannabis medicines. A structured course taught at university level, completed online at your own pace.
- Twelve modules, each with learning outcomes and set readings
- Quizzes through every module and a final assessment
- A certificate of completion from the Institute
- Taught, assessed and graded by pharmacognosists, the scientists who study drugs from plants
- Australian law, scheduling and prescribing pathways throughout
Enrolment is fee-paying. Fees and the opening date will be published here before enrolment opens, and everyone on the interest list hears first.
Register for the courseComing soon · Free
For patients, carers and the public
Free cannabis education
Plain-English guides for anyone who has been prescribed cannabis, cares for someone who has, or simply wants to understand it. Free to read, with no account needed for most of it.
- How the body's own cannabinoid system works
- THC, CBD and the other cannabinoids, explained simply
- How legal access works in Australia
- Driving, work and travel with a prescription
- Side effects and medicine interactions, in calm and accurate terms
Guides go live one at a time as each one passes the Institute's review. Register and we will email you when the first ones are up.
Tell me when it opensThe curriculum
Twelve modules, from receptor to repeat prescription
The professional course covers all twelve in depth. The public program draws on the same material in plain English.
- 01
The endocannabinoid system
CB1 and CB2 receptors, with GPR55, TRPV1 and the PPARs. Anandamide and 2-AG, how they are made on demand and broken down by FAAH and MAGL, retrograde signalling and endocannabinoid tone.
- 02
The plant and its chemistry
Cannabis sativa L. as a medicinal plant: trichomes, chemovars and why strain names say little about what is in the jar. How cannabinoids and terpenes are made in the plant.
- 03
Phytocannabinoids
THC, CBD, CBG, CBN, CBC and THCV: receptor pharmacology and what each is known to do. The acid forms THCA and CBDA, and how decarboxylation by heat converts them.
- 04
Pharmacokinetics by route
Vaporised, oral, oromucosal and topical use compared: onset, peak and duration, first-pass conversion to 11-hydroxy-THC, the effect of food on oral CBD, and distribution into fat.
- 05
Terpenes
Myrcene, limonene, beta-caryophyllene, linalool, pinene, humulene and terpinolene. The physiology, aroma and flavour of each, what has been reported, the grade of that evidence, and an honest assessment of entourage claims.
- 06
Drug interactions
CBD and the cytochrome P450 enzymes, especially CYP3A4, CYP2C19 and CYP2C9. The pairs that matter in practice: clobazam and other antiepileptics, warfarin, sedatives and alcohol, and immunosuppressants.
- 07
Australian law and prescribing
The TGA Special Access Scheme Category B and the Authorised Prescriber Scheme, TGA product categories 1 to 5, Schedule 4 and Schedule 8, and how each state and territory regulates prescribing, supply and real-time prescription monitoring.
- 08
Driving, work and travel
Driving law in every state and territory, roadside saliva testing, workplace drug testing, and carrying prescribed cannabis across state lines and overseas.
- 09
Dosing and titration
Starting doses, titration schedules for THC-dominant and CBD-dominant products, choosing a route, tolerance, and stopping well.
- 10
Safety and adverse effects
Common effects such as drowsiness and dizziness, effects on the heart and mind, liver enzyme changes with CBD, cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, dependence and withdrawal, and how each is recognised and managed.
- 11
Special populations
Pregnancy and breastfeeding, older adults, young people, liver and kidney impairment, heart disease, and people with a history of psychosis or substance use.
- 12
Evidence by condition
Graded summaries of the trial evidence for epilepsy, chronic pain, nausea with chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis spasticity, palliative care, sleep and anxiety, with what is known and where the gaps are.
From module 05
The terpenes, graded honestly
Terpenes give cannabis its smell and taste, and many of the same molecules turn up in hops, citrus, pepper and pine. Most of what is said about their effects comes from cell and animal studies, and the course marks the difference every time.
| Terpene | Aroma and flavour | Also found in | Where the evidence stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myrcene | Earthy, musky, ripe fruit | Hops, mango, lemongrass | Preclinical Sedative effects reported in rodents |
| Limonene | Bright citrus | Orange and lemon peel | Early human A small trial in healthy adults reported that vaporised limonene eased anxiety brought on by THC |
| Beta-caryophyllene | Peppery, woody, clove | Black pepper, cloves | Preclinical Binds the CB2 receptor in laboratory studies |
| Linalool | Floral, lavender | Lavender, coriander seed | Preclinical Calming effects in animals; human data come from lavender oil itself |
| Alpha-pinene | Pine, fresh resin | Pine needles, rosemary | Preclinical Memory and airway effects proposed from laboratory work |
| Humulene | Woody, hoppy, herbal | Hops, sage | Preclinical Anti-inflammatory activity in animal models |
| Terpinolene | Fresh, piney, slightly floral | Tea tree, lilac, apple | Preclinical Sedation reported in mice |
From module 07
How access works in Australia
Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medicine here. A few products are registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. Most of what is prescribed is unregistered and reaches patients through two TGA pathways run by the prescriber.
- Special Access Scheme B
- The prescriber applies to the TGA for an individual patient.
- Authorised Prescriber
- The prescriber is authorised to prescribe a product to a class of patients.
- Categories 1 to 5
- The TGA groups products by CBD content, from CBD at 98 per cent or more of the cannabinoids (category 1) to THC at 98 per cent or more (category 5).
- Schedule 4 or 8
- Products in which CBD makes up at least 98 per cent of the cannabinoids are Schedule 4. Most products containing THC are Schedule 8, with stricter storage and supply rules.
- Driving
- In most of Australia it is an offence to drive with any THC in saliva or blood, prescription or no prescription. The rules differ between states and territories, so patients need to know the law where they drive.
Register your interest
Be first through the door
Leave your details and we will write when enrolment opens for the professional course, or when the first free guides go live. One email when there is news, nothing in between.
Your details are held securely by the Institute and its service providers, which may store them outside Australia. They are used only to tell you about the Cannabis Education program, and you can ask us to remove them at any time through the contact page. See the privacy policy.
About this program. Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medicine in Australia. Cannabis Education teaches the science, the law and safe practice. It does not promote, recommend or supply any product, brand or supplier, and nothing on these pages is medical advice for any individual. For advice on herbal medicines alongside your treatment, consult a degree-qualified herbalist with competencies and adequate training in pharmacognosy.
Prepared by the Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy. Program team: Dr Luke Iggulden, Chief Scientific Officer (program direction); Dr Thomas Ridley, Education and Research (curriculum); Dr Eleanor Whitcombe, Medicine (clinical review); Jesse Kirby, Community Outreach (public program); Priya Raghunathan, IT (this section and registration).