Australia’s medicinal cannabis market has exploded since legalisation in 2016 — but the system is starting to strain.

One high-volume telehealth doctor, responsible for tens of thousands of prescriptions, has been banned from prescribing after regulators questioned prescribing limits. Pharmacies were forced to urgently move patients to new doctors to keep treatments valid, exposing just how dependent parts of the industry have become on a handful of prescribers.

Behind the scenes sits a billion-dollar supply chain built on telehealth approvals and imported products — and regulators now face a difficult question: how do you control access without cutting off patients?