Hemp Prospects: Legalizing marijuana in Ukraine and its operation abroad – Ukrainian

On January 30, a petition was published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, whose authors are legally required to legalize cannabis for scientific purposes and medical . This initiative was immediately supported by the Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine, Ulyana Suprun. At the time of publication on February 8, 16,463 people signed the petition. To put this question before the parliament, it usually takes 25,000 votes. The collection of signatures will last until April 30.

The authors of the petition note: today in Ukraine, more than two million people are denied access to effective treatment.

Among them:

• more than 20,000 children with drug-resistant epilepsy;
• Hundreds of thousands of cancer patients;
• more than one hundred thousand patients in palliative care;
• Tens of thousands of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sixteen civic organizations and charitable foundations that signed the petition need legislation regulating patient access to cannabis drugs in the treatment of various serious diseases, and point out that the use of Cannabis for medical and scientific purposes is regulated by the legislation of many countries, especially developed countries. The countries of the West

TSN.ua decided to examine whether Ukraine actually needed the legalization of marijuana and what it was. was doing abroad.

The position of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

The day after the registration of the petition in Parliament expressed support ochilnytsya MH Juliana Suprun. She pointed out that "the use of marijuana for medical purposes is justified and that it is a normal practice in the world".

Suprun pointed out that medical cannabis had a number of proven therapeutic and palliative effects and that the substances it contained had an analgesic and relaxing effect. "The access of patients to cannabis drugs is the realization of their right to medical care," she said, urging Ukrainian citizens to support the petition.

How to prescribe and when to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes?

There are different ways to consume cannabinoids: oils, pills, ointments, smoking and spraying. For example, children with epilepsy prescribe cannabinoids orally.

Medical cannabis is usually used in the following cases:

• Alzheimer's disease. There is substantial evidence that a regular moderate intake of cancers helps slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases
• . The main value of medical cannabis lies in the palliative care of cancer patients. However, clinical studies in humans have shown the possibility of using cannabis in the treatment of basal cell carcinoma.
• Chronic pain. Large-scale double-blind randomized clinical trials have shown the efficacy and safety of cannabis in chronic pain
• Irritable bowel syndrome, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Half of the patients with Crohn's disease are completely cured and 90% have seen significant improvements.
• Multiple sclerosis (MS). Cannabis is an effective and safe palliative remedy for this disease. In addition, studies indicate that cannabis may have a medical effect on the restoration of the myelin sheath of neurons in the case of MS.
• Epilepsy in the adult and the child. Medical cannabis reduces the frequency and duration of epileptic seizures, especially in cases of non-medicated epilepsy
• Nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy
• In the United States, medical cannabis is also prescribed in cases of post-traumatic syndrome and glaucoma
• Works that studied the effectiveness of medical cannabis in case of anxiety, sleep disorders, appetite in people infected with HIV, depression.

How to use cannabis safely?

Not quite. Medical cannabis also has side effects – dizziness, indifference, memory and addiction disorders, effects on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Among the negative effects of cannabis use, doctors also emphasize anxiety and paranoia and advise against consuming it at the same time as smoking.

What is the difference between conventional and medical hemp?

As a narcologist at the medical clinic "Boris", says Alexander Ivanov, Marijuana for medical purposes contains 1% <span class = "c-hint-text" data-body = "

The main component psychoactive cannabis

"Data-title =" Tetrahydrocannabinol "> tetrahydrocannabinol while the usual" wild ", which grows" under the barriers ", contains about 5% of this substance, no more.Gashish, which is mainly produced in Afghanistan, contains about 10% of this substance -11% of TGC and about 35% of hydroponic plants (genomodified plants) .The higher the concentration of this substance, the more the experience of the person who consumes it is bright. 1% can relieve pain, everything else causes a feeling of intoxication. with all the consequences of that. That's all the difference, "says the doctor.

Ivanov also explained that the concentration of TGC in marijuana grown specifically for medical purposes is closely monitored.If the tetrahydrocannabinol content in cancers is excessive, they perform the same manipulations as, for example, with coffee, when the amount of caffeine in the beans is too high

According to the lawyer Andriy Turia, there is a list of normative acts who explain the use of narcotics, and one of the possible ways to legalize it. He added that it is also possible to allow limited use of cannabis to prescribe prescription drugs to sick patients. In this case, an exhaustive list of diseases for which the use of marijuana for medical purposes is authorized must be approved separately.

According to Turia, the development of relevant legislation falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health with the participation of the National Police Unit in charge of the fight against drug trafficking. "For example, law enforcement officers have captured a man who has a small amount of marijuana and it is helpful to understand how much is allowed and what list of documents should be used to confirm that person is using cannabis for needs. for which she actually has a disease and for which marijuana is prescribed recipes. "

Which countries have already legalized cannabis?

Marijuana fully legalized only in Uruguay (became the first country in the world in 2013 to allow the use, purchase and sale of marijuana), Canada and Georgia. In the United States, its use for medical purposes is permitted in 33 states. The legalization was presented under the presidency of Barack Obama. Fully legalized the medical and recreational use of hemp in nine states and territories of the United States: Alaska, Washington, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and DC.

Earlier this year, the Australian government legalized marijuana exports. for medical needs. In addition, the state plans to become the world leader in cannabis exports. In the UK, medical cannibis have been legalized.

In Georgia, in particular, a strict anti-drug policy has been adopted for legalization. Offenders have been threatened with a term of imprisonment of up to 14 years. After strengthening anti-drug legislation in 2006, they received $ 11.3 million in drug-related penalties in the first year of 2006.

Decompression of marijuana began to be highlighted by various Human rights groups and opposition groups 2013 Georgian politicians Since then, for several years, young people have gathered near the government building in Tbilisi with appropriate placards and calls. In general, the event was more like a demonstration than a youth party. However, these actions eventually pushed the Constitutional Court to admit that the rule of imprisonment for use of marijuana is indeed "too strict" and must be mitigated. Subsequently, on July 30, 2018, the Constitutional Court of Georgia set aside the sentence imposed for marijuana use, calling it "the right to the person's freedom of development".

However, legalization can significantly increase the economic performance of the country. In particular, the Georgian authorities have already calculated that marijuana exports would enrich the country's treasury by one billion lari. It's about $ 400 million and the government wants to use these funds to fight poverty. "It is immoral to associate this issue with morality and morality … With the help of this income derived from the export of marijuana and not only from here, but also advanced innovations of the economy, we will raise education and fight against poverty and poverty, "- said the Minister of Finance of Georgia, Ivan Machavariani.

In Canada, by the way, legalization has also occurred more recently – with a therapeutic goal, marijuana has been used since 2001, and as of October 2018, citizens over the age of 18 were allowed to buy, sell and grow up to four plants and save up to 30 grams. The country's stores ended cannabis two days after the full legalization and the waiting lines in the stores where it was sold were so long that the police had to patrol these places to clutter the crowd.

By the end of last year, the attitude towards this plant also changed in Thailand, which became the first country in Asia, which allowed use marijuana for medical purposes . MP Somchai Savangkan then pointed out that the new law was a "New Year's gift for the people" as it would bring relief to people suffering from chronic pain.

In general, the use of hemp medicines is regulated by the laws of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, France and from Finland.

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