The bill that would legalize medical marijuana for Ukraine’s citizens has now cleared a major legislative hurdle. It passed through the committee, and is now waiting to be approved by the parliament.
The cannabis legislation, which was first considered in July, has now been finalized and approved by the National Health, Medical Care and Health Insurance Committee. The Verkhovna Radia, the unicameral parliament, is expected to give it its final approval before it could be sent to the President.
The bill would establish a national medical cannabis program that would provide access to patients suffering from conditions like cancer or post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) resulting in war. This proposed reform comes at a time when Ukraine is still experiencing violent conflict following the Russian invasion of the country last summer.
In a post on Facebook, Olga Stefanyshyna, Ukrainian MP said that the committee had agreed to send the legislation for second and final reading to the parliament after nearly 1,000 amendments.
Translation: “We did all we could to ensure that patients received their medication as quickly as possible,” said the woman. “Medical cannabis has never been part of the history in Ukraine.” We are waiting for the second reading and believe that it will be successful this time!
The bill’s revision in committee is not entirely clear. It is not clear when a vote on second reading will take place.
While the legislation, as it was introduced, only lists war-borne PTSD and cancer as conditions that medical cannabis can be prescribed to patients, in July, the chairperson of the health panel said that legislators hear from patients daily with other illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s and epilepsy.
Mykhailo Radutskyi’s panel , which advanced this bill , said : “We understand there are today more than 2 million people in Ukraine that desperately need medicinal cannabis products.” We realize that even more people will need such medicine after the war is over. This includes defenders suffering from PTSD and the wounded.
Viktor Lyashko said in a Wednesday press release that the law will allow cancer patients to access medical cannabis, as well as people suffering from “many other illnesses.”
The draft law No. stated. “At the very same time, this is about medical use and not recreational.”
In June , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed support for the legalization of medical marijuana. He stated in a speech to the Parliament that “all best practices in the world, all most effective policies and all solutions, however difficult or uncommon they may appear to us, should be applied to Ukraine in order to prevent Ukrainians from suffering the stress, pain and trauma caused by war.”
He said: “We must, in particular, legalize cannabis-based medicine for all who need it, with scientific research that is appropriate and controlled Ukrainian production.”
Zelensky, during his presidential campaign, also expressed support for the legalization of medical cannabis. He said that it would be “normal,” in 2019, to allow access to cannabis “droplets,” a possible reference to marijuana tinctures.
This policy change will put Ukraine in stark contrast with its longtime aggressor Russia. Russia has taken an especially strong position against the reformation of cannabis policy on the international level via the United Nations. The country has condemned Canada’s decision to legalize marijuana across the board.
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Photo by Philip Steffan.
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