Medicinal Cannabis in Australia with Dr Orit Holtzman, Vice President of the Australian and New Zealand College of Cannabinoid Practitioners

In this latest podcast, Dr Orit Holtzman – Vice-President of the Australian & New Zealand College of Cannabinoid Practitioners (ANZCCP) – explores the grounds for prescribing medicinal cannabis in Australia, including the common challenges faced by primary care doctors and how to overcome them.

In the podcast, Dr Holtzman talks about her own journey applying medicinal cannabis into her day to day medical practice, including the “not so easy” step of becoming a cannabis prescriber in Australia. She describes how she put it in the “too hard basket” – a common sentiment among many practitioners in Australia – until some of her patients began asking whether they could be treated with medicinal cannabis to help with their conditions. Rather than turn them away, Dr Holtzman sought to help these patients achieve the best possible outcomes.

Dr Holtzman talks about her journey getting approval for her first medicinal cannabis application, undergoing further training in the field, and then actively prescribing medicinal cannabis as part of her day to day work.

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Dr Orit Holtzman is a medical doctor with a special interest in functional medicine and medicinal cannabis. She holds a Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology from the University of Tel Aviv, a PhD in neuroscience from the University of NSW, and an MBBS from the Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney. After working in the public hospital system, Dr Holtzman has begun exploring wholistic health solutions and become passionate about utilising medicinal cannabis as a therapeutic agent. She began prescribing cannabis in 2019 under the mentorship of Dr Teresa Towpik, when she joined Compass Lifestyle Clinics. She now has more than 200 patients that have been approved for medicinal cannabis for various indications under her care, and is an authorised prescriber for multiple conditions. She also works as a medical educator, teaching doctors about medicinal cannabis and the endocannabinoid system.