Poland Overwhelmingly Approves Medicinal Cannabis

In July, Poland's Lower House of Parliament voted 440-2 in favor of allowing medicinal cannabis legalization. The vote was backed by the recommendation of the nation's Health Care Committee.

Poland thus became the 12th country in the European Union to allow cannabis to be legally bought by patients in a regulated market, thus starting the process of ending the violent and destructive black market in cannabis.

There are currently 29 countries worldwide that recognize medicinal cannabis, a list which does not include the United States whose state markets are expected to exceed $20B in sales by 2021.

Over at Cannabis Business Executive, Peter Murphy has guest-penned an article about Poland's new membership in the select group of countries that allow medicinal cannabis, in which he explains the nuances of Poland's evolving regulations.

As quoted in Herb,

"Member of the Polish Parliament, one of the authors of the bill, and Polish rap and hip hop pioneer MP Piotr Liroy-Marzec told Marijuana.com, "We sent [a to-do list] to the government to let them know what they need to do to prepare. The Polish Institute of Cannabis will be starting right now. Education on cannabis is what Poland needs, for the doctors, judges, and pharmacists."

The Polish law only allows a doctor to prescribe cannabis, for example, but the doctor can recommend it for any condition if supported by research. This breaks with the common practice in the US, where specific conditions are approved and it can take years to add more.

To date, the Polish regs do not allow cultivation, so medicinal cannabis must be imported. Flower and extracts are allowed to be dispensed in Poland. Canada and The Netherlands are the leading exporters of cannabis worldwide.

Image source: europe-re.com