Medical Cannabis Law: Is There Hope for Patients?

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An event that is really significant for millions of Ukrainian patients and hundreds of thousands of veterans has received insufficient attention in the news. Namely, the Committee on the Health of the Nation approved the text of the draft law on medical cannabis and recommended that it be submitted to the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada.

Behind this sentence, simple in form and meaning, is a lot of work and a lot of hope that the cause to which we have given so much effort will finally end in victory. Finally, all the disputes that existed between all those who are related to this case and this bill have been resolved. Compromises were found, and the text of draft law 7457 finally suits almost everyone.

I will remind you of the history of our struggle – because patient organizations have been fighting over the legalization of medical cannabis since 2018. It was then that we first raised this topic and brought it into the public space.

A lot of prejudices, a lot of stigmatization of cannabis as a narcotic plant did not allow the general public to look at it as a medical tool – but even then there were people who understood that international experience and scientific research allow considering medical cannabis precisely as an effective medicine against many diseases.

Then our petition gained 25,000 votes long before the deadline. As a response to it – and by the way, this was the first precedent of the so-called direct democracy – a draft law was developed. But it so happened that he did not have time to vote before the elections of the new Verkhovna Rada.

We, like millions of patients in Ukraine who suffer from pain, were forced to wait. But the next bill, which we called “Sophia’s Law” – after a little girl with drug-resistant epilepsy who was helped only by cannabis-based medicine – was never passed due to political reasons, because it was submitted by an “unpopular” party. By the way, Sofiyka’s family left Ukraine and moved to Poland – in order to have access to the only medicines that help the girl.

But we did not lose hope, so half a year ago, a new draft law No. 7457 was developed “On regulation of the circulation of cannabis plants for medical, industrial purposes, scientific and scientific and technical activities to create conditions for expanding patients’ access to the necessary treatment.”

It was put to a vote and passed in the first reading! This meant that the text of the draft law was sent for finalization and coordination with all committees and ministries, and it was submitted for public discussion by the public and activists.

You won’t believe it, but 838 amendments were made to the bill! They mostly concerned the control over the production of raw materials and patients’ access to medicines. After the adoption of this draft law in Ukraine, strict control over the production of medicinal products containing medical cannabis will be established at all stages of their production.

For example, the cultivation of plants will only be possible for legal entities that have the appropriate license, permit and certification, and this can only be done using registered seeds.

Strict requirements for grow rooms will include 24-hour video surveillance with access for the National Police, security (which will also be carried out by the National Police) and others. Each plant and batch of medical cannabis will be coded to track its movement to licensed dispensaries. Patients will be able to get these drugs in pharmacies with a license to sell narcotic drugs, using an electronic prescription.

In addition, the public was worried about the issue of making changes to the List of narcotic drugs. According to the draft law, the Cabinet of Ministers is obliged within three months to make changes to the List of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, which was approved by CMU resolution No. 770. These changes involve the transfer of cannabis, resins, extracts, tinctures and THC from schedule I (prohibited drugs) to schedule II (drugs that are allowed to be sold but under strict control).

After the adoption of the law and the development of the necessary by-laws, Ukraine will have the opportunity not only to manufacture substances from medical cannabis independently, but also to import them, if they are registered as medicinal products. In addition, the import of cannabis plants will remain prohibited. This means that patients will not have to wait for cannabis-based medicines to be manufactured in Ukraine, and they will have the opportunity to immediately get the necessary medicines in pharmacies. In general, this law will reduce the waiting period for obtaining medicines from 5-7 years to almost instant access.

War has given us a lot of pain to overcome – so any help for traumatized people would be appreciated. These are almost all Ukrainians – many have suffered personally, many have lost relatives and loved ones, military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder, injuries, contusions, etc. All these people have the right to a dignified life without pain and suffering.

We sincerely hope that Ukraine will finally bring its legislation in line with international standards, people’s deputies will listen to the demands of patients and adopt this draft law, which will allow access to treatment for millions of patients!

Dmytro Sherembey, the head of the BO “100% Life”, especially for UP. Life

Publications in the “View” section are not editorial articles and reflect exclusively the author’s point of view.

Read also: How marijuana affects, whether the herb is addictive and why cannabis should be legalized in Ukraine

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