Solutions from Ukraine: new law legalizing medical cannabis comes into effect

On August 16, 2024, Ukraine officially implemented a law legalizing the use of medical cannabis. This significant change will significantly improve the medical sector by granting doctors the ability to prescribe cannabis-based medications for a wide range of illnesses. Yet, under the new regulations, these drugs can only be obtained with an electronic prescription.

The Ministry of Health reported that.

What is the problem?

As Rubryka wrote, earlier on June 28, 2023, Zelensky called on parliamentarians to support the draft law, speaking in the Verkhovna Rada [Ukraine's parliament—ed.].

"All the world's best practices, all solutions, no matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied in Ukraine so that Ukrainians do not have to endure the pain, stress, and trauma of war. In particular, we must finally legally legalize for everyone who needs cannabis-based medicine," Zelensky said.

What is the solution?

On July 13, 2023, at the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada, deputies supported the draft law on the legalization of medical cannabis.

On February 15, 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on legalizing medical cannabis in Ukraine. It was supposed to come into effect six months after its promulgation, on August 16.

How does it work?

• Changes in legislation

As per the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (MoH), the primary modifications to the legislation pertaining to allowing the distribution of medical cannabis. The law does not address the recreational use of cannabis-derived medications.

Before cannabis, its resin, extracts, and tinctures were listed as hazardous substances, and their distribution was prohibited. However, they have now been removed from this category but are still subject to regulation and limited circulation.

• Forms and accounting of medicines

Cannabis-based medical products will be available in the form of oral drops, hard capsules, and toothpaste.

They can be purchased only with an electronic prescription specifying the form, dosage, and active substances. Patients can store and transport such drugs in the amount determined by one prescription.

All information about these medicines will be registered in a specially created accounting system. Each bush of cannabis will be individually coded to track its movement from cultivation to patient, and the product will be marked with a barcode.

• Licensing and control

Patients will need an electronic prescription to receive medication, and it will be possible to buy it only in pharmacies with the appropriate license. The law restricts the use of cannabis exclusively for medical, industrial, scientific, and technical purposes.

• Distribution and possession of cannabis for recreational use remains a crime.

Shortly, the Cabinet of Ministers [Ukraine's government – ed.] will consider licensing conditions for the cultivation of medical cannabis in Ukraine. The entire chain of circulation of medical cannabis – from import or cultivation to sale to the patient in a pharmacy – will be subject to license inspection.

Hemp plants must be grown in closed soil under 24-hour video surveillance, to which the National Police will have free access.

Laboratory testing of medical cannabis will be conducted exclusively in state laboratories, and all medical cannabis transactions must be registered in an electronic system within the next day of the transaction.

• Import and use

The law also allows the import of cannabis plant substances for the manufacture of drugs in pharmacies. Importers must obtain permission from the State Health Service and adhere to the established quotas.

Medical cannabis contains less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which induces euphoria and alters consciousness, and more cannabidiol, which helps relieve pain and improve sleep and appetite.

The Ministry of Health notes that cannabis is effective in the treatment of more than 50 pathological conditions, including chronic pain, arthritis, rheumatism, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's diseases.