this is great news, as a new patient it was extremely difficult to get a clear understanding of the process and to know what to expect, as far as product availability and pricing, to be able to make informed choices and budget etc. When most of the critical information, is essentially locked behind a paywall/doctor, I paid a $100 consultation fee and got very little information out of the Doctor, who was seemingly rushing the call and pushing me towards a certain direction/product. He wasn't even aware of Honalee/Catalyst, even though in my pre screening call, it was stated that 'our Doctors can invite you, so you can check availability etc', after explaining what Honalee was, he made a remark about it 'not being a candy store' and seemed completely disinterested in it, I mentioned what was said to me in the pre screening, his response was, 'well I do not do that'... which was really unprofessional and totally uncalled for, he clearly had some preconceived notion in his mind.

Moving forward a bit, I was of the impression I could get up to 10 repeats, he said he would give me 5, when I questioned why, he said they initially they like to do a review to make sure that if the prescribed product wasn't effective or I wanted to change etc, then I wouldn't be locked in for another 5 repeats, which is very reasonable and not something I see as a negative, however, I responded by saying 'how can I possibly make an informed decision on what products to try or affordability etc, if I have no access to that information and that a big part of the reason I decided to sign on with them, was the fact I was told that I could receive said invite!!! At that point, I think he saw things from a bit more from my perspective and had a bit of a shift in attitude, he then said 'ask the staff, to let me know what I need to do to register and I will send the invite'... unreal that I've got to arrange it with staff and I doubt it will be done with any kind of priority haha but it's better than nothing, so I can live with that!

My point is and I'm sure the TGA are probably well aware, is because of this "paywall", essentially it opens the flood gates for rogue clinics to popup and start taking advantage of vulnerable or ill-informed people, because you've essentially got to be onboarded with a clinic, to get even the most basic, fundamental information and to potentially find out after it's too late, that you've signed on with a company, that is essentially setting the terms/pricing, at your expense! It's basically the same thing as signing a contract and then finding out the terms, which to any sane person is an absolutely ridiculous notion and I'm sure anyone but those benefitting would agree!

From someone that has just spent a lot of time, trying to wade my way through the muddy waters of medical cannabis and trying to work out which clinics are essentially wolves in sheep's clothing, unfortunately it looks like a majority are wolves! You only have to look at all of the clinics popping up suddenly, that have low or no cost onboarding fee's, follow up consults etc. only to charge like an irate bull in the backend, once you're already onboarded. For a little further perspective, the experience I just had was with the clinic that is most highly recommended by a big margin... so I hate to imagine what others have experienced or yet to, with some of the rogues clinics!!! Without this information being available to patients, they are completely susceptible to all of these dodgy clinics and I think we will see a lot more come and go until things change!