Will the war speed up the legalization of medical marijuana in Ukraine? The process had already begun a few years ago because in 2019. Since then, Ukraine has taken a few small steps forward. Unfortunately, despite the support of changes by President Volodymyr Zelensky or the Minister of Health, there has been no change in the law. Interestingly, the law on medical marijuana was passed last year and then rejected by the parliament there. Now, there are many indications that due to the war, work on new legislation has accelerated. In June, Ukraine's Health Minister, Viktor Liashko, announced that the government had endorsed a law legalizing medical marijuana. Here is more information.
Ukraine: will war accelerate legalization of medical marijuana?
Ukraine's Health Minister, Viktor Liashko, announced on June 7 that the government supported a law legalizing medical marijuana, amid the war with Russia.
We understand the negative impact of war on mental health. We understand the number of people who will need treatment for this exposure. We understand that there is no time to wait.
- informed the minister on Facebook .
The Ukrainian bill legalizing medical marijuana aims to improve the quality of medical services for people undergoing palliative care, as well as push the topic of medical marijuana research forward.
"The government's bill on legalizing medical marijuana has already been published and submitted for discussion. This document will be registered and included in the work of our committee. I hope that the committee members will support it,"
- Mykhailo Radutskyj, MP for the Servant of the People party and a member of the Supreme Council for Public Health, Medical Aid and Medical Insurance, said in an interview with Ukrinform.net.
"There has been a lot of commentary in society that this will supposedly be a legalization of drugs. Neither the law sent for revision nor the new government's law contains a single word about drug legalization. It's just medical marijuana,"
-added Radutskyj.
Radutskyj also expressed hope that the Verkhovna Rada will adopt the document later this year.
The bill provides access for patients requiring necessary treatment for more than 50 conditions, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), neurological diseases and chronic pain of neuropathic origin.
Ukrainian politicians stress that medical marijuana could help at least two million Ukrainians struggling with health problems resulting from the war, whether mental (PTSD) or physical.
In October 2020, President Volodymyr Zelenski held a referendum on the issue, the results of which showed that a majority of Ukrainians support legalizing cannabis for medical purposes. When asked whether they support legalization of medical cannabis, 64.88% of respondents answered "yes," while 29.53% said "no."
