UKRAINE is poised permit the use of medical cannabis opening up the potential treatment to over two million people.
The country’s multimedia news platform ukrinform informs that the country;’s one-tier parliament – the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine – will consider a bill proposed by its Cabinet over the coming weeks.
Mykhailo Radutskyi, MP from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, told the publication the following.
“The government bill on the legalization of medical cannabis has already been published for discussion… This document will be registered. It will come to our committee. I hope that the committee’s members will support it.
Not Drug Legalization
Mr Radutskyi said that the adoption of the relevant legislation could provide more than two million Ukrainians with access to cannabis medicines.
He added: ”There were many narratives in society that it was allegedly the drug legalization…the bill has (not) a single word about drug legalization. It’s just medical cannabis,” he said.
Mr Radutskyi expressed hope that the Verkhovna Rada would adopt the bill in 2022.
The Portuguese hemp industry has raised concerns that new regulations run contrary to the rules of the European Union.
Of particular concern to the Industrial Hemp Trade Association of Portugal (ACCIP), is a new rule prohibiting the transportation of hemp flowers from the farm where they are grown – essentially banning trade for one of the most valuable parts of the plant.
Humberto Nogueira, vice president of the Industrial Hemp Trade Association of Portugal (ACCIP), said: “There is no legal basis to limit the trade of the entire hemp plant.
“At the same time, it limits the profitability of producers and farmers, something that is reflected in less hired labor and less fixed and seasonal employment.”
Boost For Italian Hemp
There was better news for the Italian hemp industry with The Ministry of Agriculture saying the country’s farmers set to receive up to €300 in public aid per hectare up to a maximum limit of 50 hectares.
Italian minister Stefano Patuanelli said he hoped the cash would help the industry develop in many different sectors such as construction, pharmaceuticals, bio-plastics and food and ‘not just fun as some would like to belittle it’.
Italy has a growing hemp sector with Calabria, in southern Italy, nicknamed by some “the valley of the CBD”. It is the only country in the European Union (EU) where farmers can grow hemp with 0.6% THC.
Canadian company Xebra Brands says it has commenced cannabis cultivation in the Netherlands, as one of the companies to be selected by the Dutch government to participate in medicinal cannabis trial.
Czech Republic doctors can now prescribe medical cannabis via electronic prescription and no longer only on a secure physical prescription, up to a maximum of 180 grams per month.
Czechia Changes
From January to November 2021, more than 99 kg of medical cannabis were prescribed in the Czech Republic to some 4,370 patients, a hundred times more than in 2015, when the use of medical cannabis was introduced for around 30 patients.
Currently, around 200 doctors are authorized to prescribe medical cannabis in the Czech Republic, reports Kafkadesk.
The new laws will also see private companies permitted to cultivate cannabis under the same conditions as any other medical substance.
The Czech health ministry expects this change to increase competition and lower the price of prescriptions, 90% of which are covered by public health insurance .
The new law, introduced on January 1, also defines industrial hemp as containing up to 1% THC.
In January 2021, Czech lawmakers rejected a proposal to legalize the production and consumption of cannabis for adults.
