Spanish government will explore possibilities to regulate the use of medicinal properties of cannabis
The proposal to create a specialized subcommittee came after the Spanish government announced that “the decision to establish programs for the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes in Spain will be made on the basis of evidence that will demonstrate the effectiveness of using the plant, as well as the lack of information on the side effects of using medicinal products made on the basis of the therapeutic properties of hemp, which are undesirable for the human body ”.
On the pages of the specialized electronic edition of national cannabis growers, more than once attention has been focused on the fact that the basis for making changes to the current legislation of economically developed countries of the world is a thorough study of all aspects related to the impact of a particular regulatory legal act on the life of citizens of the country, and and the functioning of the already existing national hemp sector. Unlike Ukraine, in the civilized countries of the world they are never guided by emotions, but make a decision only in the course of a thorough study of the issue with the involvement of industry experts, primarily on the basis of evidence provided by all interested parties. Taking into account the activity of national lobbyists who are currently trying to significantly change the current legislation, we will consider how similar activities are carried out in Spain.
The Comisión de Sanidad y Consumo (Spanish Congressional Health and Consumer Affairs Commission) voted to create a subcommittee to explore the potential for regulating the therapeutic properties of cannabis by examining the situation in other countries and preparing analyzes for government consideration. The main task of the subcommittee is a detailed study of the experience of other countries, scientific evidence, as well as the problems faced by the state structures of other EU states in the course of amending the regulatory framework, as well as the formation of a consolidated position on the above issue, involving the development of an algorithm for making changes in the current legislation of the country.
The use of cannabis for medical purposes is regulated in a number of EU countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland), this issue has been partially resolved in the UK, and a mechanism for trial access to therapeutic drugs made on the basis of the medicinal properties of the hemp plant has been launched in France.
Despite the fact that Spain was at the forefront of this process several years ago, the regulatory framework governing the use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis is currently lagging behind similar documents already adopted in a number of countries in Western and Central Europe. Outdated laws on access to the use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis still prevent patients from legally obtaining medical products, other than a limited range of pharmaceuticals made using therapeutically active elements of the cannabis plant.
The proposal to create a specialized subcommittee came after the Spanish government announced that “the decision to establish programs for the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes in Spain will be made on the basis of evidence that will demonstrate the effectiveness of using the plant, as well as the lack of information on the side effects of using medicinal products made on the basis of the therapeutic properties of hemp, which are undesirable for the human body ”.
The following tasks have been assigned to the representatives of the subcommittee:
• to analyze the experience of other EU state structures that previously regulated the mechanisms of access to the therapeutic properties of cannabis (to be carried out, inter alia, with the involvement of foreign government officials and experts in this field of knowledge);
• prepare a report with suggestions for best practice in monitoring the use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis applicable in Spain. The report must be completed and submitted by the subcommittee within six months of the start of the project. The materials contained in the document will be evaluated by the Health and Consumer Affairs Commission before being sent to the Spanish Congress for further consideration.
Thus, the creation of a subcommittee is the first step towards regulating the possibilities for the use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis by patients in Spain.
Commentary of the specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"
Currently, Spain remains the largest country in Europe without access to the legal use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis. Several years ago, the Spanish government authorized the production and export of medicinal products made from the plant, so at the moment 19 companies are allowed to legally grow psychoactive cannabis in the country, and several companies produce pharmaceuticals based on the exclusive properties of the plant on an industrial scale.
The regulation of the personal cultivation and consumption of legal psychoactive cannabis has led to the growth of social clubs in Spain, especially in the province of Catalonia. These social clubs, along with the black market, are closing a hole in the health care system left by the ban on the legal use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis and are currently the only way for Spanish citizens to gain access to the therapeutic properties of the cannabis plant.
According to analysts of the hemp market, if Spain regulates the legal use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis and introduces the procedure for selling pharmacological preparations based on the plant at least by prescription in 2022, by 2025 the annual sales volume could be more than € 60 million, and the volume of raw materials required for this would be at the initial stage of the order of several tones of leaves and inflorescences of hemp, which has significant therapeutic properties.