There is preliminary government approval for Polish cultivation of medical marijuana and a limit of 0.3% THC in cannabis seeds, MP Jaroslaw Sachajko informed us. As we reported a few days ago, yesterday there was a scheduled meeting between MP Sachajko and representatives of the health and agriculture ministries, where the issues of raising the THC limit in fiber hemp from 0.2 to 0.3% and the possibility of growing medical marijuana in Poland were discussed. Here are more details.
Jaroslaw Sachajko: There is preliminary government approval for Polish cultivation of medical marijuana and 0.3% THC in hemp seeds
As we reported earlier this week, a meeting between Kukiz'15 MP Jaroslaw Sachajko and representatives of the health and agriculture ministries was scheduled for yesterday. Asked by us how he assesses the chances of success of the talks on hemp issues, MP Sachajko replied that he assesses them very positively, and spoke of preliminary agreement on the two issues under discussion.
Yesterday late afternoon, we received information from the MP about the course and results of the talks.
There is a preliminary agreement of the ministries of health and agriculture to raise the permissible limit of THC in hemp seeds to 0.3% and to cultivate medical marijuana in Poland
-informed us in a telephone conversation MP Jaroslaw Sachajko
In January of this year, the Health Minister announced that there would be no change in either of the two issues under discussion. So what caused government representatives to change their position?
Grassroots work, numerous discussions with the heads of relevant ministries, and numerous materials presented by Mr. Sachajko at a number of committees led to an agreement and calmed ministers' concerns about the proposed changes.
The Kukiz'15 MP managed to make ministers aware that the current limit is a threat to Polish farmers for several reasons, and the topic of subsidies, which are problematic precisely because of concentrations, was also raised, a good example being Finola, which lost its subsidies precisely because of subtle exceedances of the permissible THC concentration, which is currently 0.2%. Raising the level is also intended, among other things, to protect farmers from a situation in which a few years after receiving subsidies - they will have to return them precisely because of the exceedances, raising the permissible concentration to 0.3% will solve this problem," Mr. Sachajko told us.
Cannabis cultivation for medical purposes
In this case, the health minister's biggest concern was the suspicion that with the production of medical marijuana, it could be a cover for the illegal production of marijuana not for medical purposes, the minister said in January.
MP Sachajko therefore proposed that the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes be carried out by government institutes. He succeeded in making the authorities realize that someone in this matter should be trusted and that the illegal use of a permit to grow cannabis for medical purposes should not be assumed in advance. This is precisely the kind of trust that can be placed in government institutes. The deputy health minister has expressed the ministry's preliminary approval for such a solution.
The deputy health minister and the deputy agriculture minister participated in yesterday's talks. Both expressed their ministries' preliminary agreement to the solutions proposed by Mr. Sachajko.
The next meeting on this issue will take place in a few days, and will be attended by the heads of both ministries, and they will talk not about whether to introduce changes, but under what rules to do so.
Big and much-needed changes are coming, which we have been waiting for for years. We will keep you posted on everything.