Reliable Sources: Where to Find Trustworthy Cannabinoid Information

Start with official sources

These organisations are the best places to check facts that can change, such as rules, approvals, registered trials and published research. Each link opens the organisation’s own website.

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)tga.gov.au
Australia’s regulator for medicines and medical devices. Go here for questions about what is approved, how medicines are regulated, and consumer safety notices.
Australian Government health departmenthealth.gov.au
The national health department’s website, with information on health programs, public health and policy.
healthdirecthealthdirect.gov.au
A national service with plain-language health information and guidance on when and where to get advice.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registryanzctr.org.au
A public register of clinical trials. Useful for seeing what research is registered and how a trial describes itself. See how clinical trials work.
PubMedpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
A free search site for published biomedical research. See finding and reading published research.
Cochrane Librarycochranelibrary.com
A collection of systematic reviews that bring together the evidence on health questions using a strict method.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)nhmrc.gov.au
A national body whose website publishes guidance on how health and medical research should be carried out, including ethical standards.

How to read a regulator page

Pages from a regulator can feel dense. A few habits make them easier.

Check the date. Look for “last updated” or “reviewed”. Rules and notices change.
Check who it is for. Some pages are written for the public. Others are written for health professionals or businesses. Both are public, but they answer different questions.
Note the exact words. “Approved”, “registered”, “listed”, “permitted” and “allowed” can mean quite different things in regulation. Do not assume they mean the same thing.
Follow the links to the source. A good page links to the rules or decisions it describes.
Write down your question. If the page does not answer it, take it to your doctor or pharmacist rather than guessing.

How to judge any source

Not everything useful comes from a government site. Universities, hospitals, charities and journalists can all produce good work. Ask the same few questions of each.

Who is behind it? Can you find out who wrote it and who runs the site?
Why does it exist? To inform, to persuade, or to sell?
Where does it get its facts? Does it point to original studies or official pages you can check?
Is it balanced? Does it mention limits, risks and things we do not yet know?
Is it current? When was it last updated?

Red flags in health claims

Be careful when you see any of these. One alone is not proof of a problem, but several together are a good reason to slow down.

Promises that something works for many different conditions.
Words like “miracle”, “breakthrough” or “secret”, or claims that doctors are hiding the truth.
Stories from individuals offered in place of studies.
Pressure to act fast, or a link between the claim and something for sale.
No way to tell who wrote it or who paid for it.
A study cited, but no link to it, or a link that says something different.
Advice to ignore or stop what your own doctor has told you.

Questions to take to your doctor

If something you have read raises a question about your own health, write it down and take it to your doctor or pharmacist. Here are some to start with.

What does the evidence say for someone in my situation?
What kind of study is this based on, and how strong is it?
What are the risks, and how might this interact with my other medicines?
Are there other options I should know about?
How would we know if it was or was not helping?
Where can I read more from a source you trust?

Questions about starting, changing or stopping any medicine are for your own doctor or pharmacist. They know your history and can look at the whole picture.