In two to three months time, Australians may be able to buy cannabis cosmetics products as medicinal and cosmetic cannabis company MGC Pharmaceuticals is seeking approval to do so Down Under. The company wants to grow medicinal cannabis in Australia, pursue research opportunities with Australian universities, extend its medical marijuana clinical trial program to include Australia and sell its cannabis-based cosmetics products in Australia.

MGC’s initial cannabis-based products include anti-ageing mask, sun-protective moisturiser, eye serum and facial cream. While the company awaits Australia’s regulatory approval, it has signed a distribution agreement in the Czech Republic. It is also pursuing such agreements for cosmetic products in the United States, France, Germany and Poland. However, MGC’s main focus is on growing medicinal cannabis in Australia and elsewhere.

It also wants to sell an extract from cannabidiol for medical use. It is a non-psychoactive compound. MGC has identified cannabidiol may be useful in treating Alzheimer’s, cancer and epilepsy. According to SBS, MGC’s managing director Nativ Segev said that the company has already applied to Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and US regulator for approval to sell cannabis cosmetics.

Segev believes that in Australia, approval will take two to three months. He added that while MGC pursues its aspirations in the medical field, selling cannabis cosmetics will be a revenue-generator for the company. The European Commission has already approved some of MGC’s cannabis cosmetic products for selling in the European Union. Medical cannabis sector in Australia is still at its infancy but with tremendous potential.

Segev is waiting to see how Australian governments would regulate cannabis cultivation in the country and whether they would allow import of cannabidiol extract for clinical trials. Universities, research institutions and the medical profession must become more knowledgeable of the numerous benefits of medicinal cannabis use. MGC is looking to raise funds by selling company shares.

It would use the funds to develop its Australia strategy, construct a marijuana-growing facility in Slovenia and also fund genetics and breeding research by its Panax Pharma subsidiary in Czech Republic.