Ukraine legalizes medical cannabis

The Ukrainian parliament has approved a bill on the legalization of medical cannabis in the second reading. 

MPs Yaroslav Zhelezniak and Iryna Heraschenko shared the news, Rubryka reports.

A total of 248 MPs voted in favor of the bill, No. 7457. This bill regulates the circulation of cannabis only in medical, industrial, and scientific activities.

The document simplifies the medical use of cannabis-based medicines and delegates the government to expand the list of medications. According to the explanatory note of the bill, citing scientific studies, cannabis is beneficial for neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, gastrointestinal diseases, and side effects related to HIV/AIDS treatment, narcotic dependence, and mental health issues. Additionally, it can be effective as a substitution therapy for opioids, stimulants, and alcohol, as well as for overcoming anxiety, PTSD, and sleep disorders.

The bill also specifies that the distribution of marijuana for recreational use will continue to be considered a crime and will be investigated by the police according to the law. The production of medicines will be rigorously controlled at all stages, with only legal entities obtaining a license and GMP certification under 24/7 video surveillance accessible to the National Police. Each plant will have individual coding to track the movement of plants to the patient.

Medications based on medical cannabis will only be obtainable with an electronic prescription. This prescription will be issued by a doctor based on the patient's condition, similar to the current process with morphine.

The law will come into effect six months after its publication. The "European Solidarity" party abstained from voting because the amendments of the political force were not taken into account.

Heraschenko notes that the law contains many contradictory norms and does not consider the necessity of obtaining permission for premises used in the circulation of narcotic substances. She added that currently, the National Police requires hospitals, pharmacies, and pharmacists to obtain such permission.

As reported earlier, on June 28 this year, addressing the Verkhovna Rada, Zelensky urged lawmakers to support the bill. He emphasized the need to implement the best world practices in Ukraine to provide relief to Ukrainians and mitigate the impact of war-related stress and trauma.

All comments on the previous bill were considered in the new draft law No. 7457, registered in the Verkhovna Rada in June 2022. However, MP Olha Stefanyshyna from the "Holos" party reported that almost 900 amendments were submitted by deputies before the second reading of the medical cannabis bill. Many of these were classified as spam, and Stefanyshyna believes they were submitted to simply waste time during consideration.