A GP and former director of an online telehealth clinic has been fined $450,000 over unlawful advertising of medicinal cannabis which included claims that it could help treat cancer, meningitis and autism.

Dr Benjamin Jansen, who was sanctioned for “aiding and abetting” the conduct of CDA Express, told the Federal Court that the fine was “immense” and would take him “a decade to pay off, if not more”.

The company itself was ordered to pay a $6.5 million penalty. 

The advertisements and blog posts were originally published on CDA Express’ website between April and July 2021 and also made numerous therapeutic claims about medicinal cannabis in the context of fibromyalgia, epilepsy, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain and seizures.