Last week, Ukraine’s law officially legalising medical cannabis came into effect, eight months after initially being passed.
Despite the positive progress, the list of conditions for which it will be prescribed, currently being decided upon by the Ministry of Health, does not yet include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
While numerous politicians have suggested they are ‘negotiating so that this position will change in the near future’, its potential omission could prevent millions of patients from accessing the newly legalised treatment.
According to the Ministry of Health’s own figures, an estimated 6m patients in the country could benefit from medical cannabis, triple the 2m potential patients prior to Russia’s invasion, estimated to be largely due to the increase in those suffering from combat-related PTSD.
Despite the Cabinet of Ministers allowing the use of two medical cannabis drugs in 2021, access to and availability of these treatments have remained out of reach for Ukrainians.
On August 16, Ukraine enacted a new legal framework for medical cannabis, allowing for the cultivation, processing, and distribution of medical cannabis under strict licensing and quota regulations, focusing on medical, research, and educational purposes.
Licensed pharmacies will now be able to produce cannabis-based medicines, which must meet pharmacopoeial standards and be dispensed via electronic prescriptions. The law mandates electronic prescriptions for patients and strict traceability for cannabis products.
It also restricts import quotas until 2028, with exceptions for specific medical and research purposes.
Regulations on industrial hemp have similarly been eased, reducing the need for quotas and expanding its potential for commercial use.
The Cabinet of Ministers has now moved cannabis and related products like resins and extracts from the strictest category (Table I) of controlled substances to a less restrictive one (Table II), but the cannabis plant itself remains in Table I.
The Ministry of Health had until August 16 to finalise the list of conditions eligible for medical cannabis treatment and the forms of cannabis products allowed. However, key documents for patients are still being decided upon. Once regulations are fully in place, foreign companies can begin supplying cannabis medicines to Ukraine.
The list of conditions, still making its way through the final stages of approval in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament) and not yet public, is understood to focus on pain conditions associated with combat injuries, and other diseases for which medical cannabis is a well established treatment.
Speaking to local news publication Espreso, Olha Stefanyshyn, a member of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on National Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, said: “This concerns, first of all, chronic pain caused by various oncological conditions, side effects of chemotherapy, in particular, nausea, drug-resistant epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease.”
Notably, however, the Ministry of Health refused calls to include PTSD on this list.
She continued: “We are negotiating so that this position will change in the near future, but most of the diseases are already included in the list, and patients will be able to get these drugs by prescription.”
In a separate interview with Unian, she added: “We call on the Ministry of Health, after this act is adopted, to still listen to the international community and add these states as well. Because, I think, it is extremely relevant in Ukraine today.”
“Before the war, before such active military operations, we had two million people only with oncology, epilepsy, and various such conditions. And now it is another plus four, probably millions. In general, the information is estimated, but I think that it corresponds to reality.”
Furthermore, the law stipulates that all activities, including prescribing, related to medical cannabis must be entered into an electronic tracking system, which is not expected to be operational until October, 2024.
Despite this, the government notes that it is now ‘waiting for international companies to enter Ukraine’ and begin importing medical cannabis products.
Companies can now register their products with the Ministry of Health, and the registration process has been significantly shortened to just 30 days.
The post Ukraine Legalises Medical Cannabis, But PTSD Patients May Be Left Behind appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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Despite the positive progress, the list of conditions for which it will be prescribed, currently being decided upon by the Ministry of Health, does not yet include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
While numerous politicians have suggested they are ‘negotiating so that this position will change in the near future’, its potential omission could prevent millions of patients from accessing the newly legalised treatment.
According to the Ministry of Health’s own figures, an estimated 6m patients in the country could benefit from medical cannabis, triple the 2m potential patients prior to Russia’s invasion, estimated to be largely due to the increase in those suffering from combat-related PTSD.
What happened?
Despite the Cabinet of Ministers allowing the use of two medical cannabis drugs in 2021, access to and availability of these treatments have remained out of reach for Ukrainians.
On August 16, Ukraine enacted a new legal framework for medical cannabis, allowing for the cultivation, processing, and distribution of medical cannabis under strict licensing and quota regulations, focusing on medical, research, and educational purposes.
Licensed pharmacies will now be able to produce cannabis-based medicines, which must meet pharmacopoeial standards and be dispensed via electronic prescriptions. The law mandates electronic prescriptions for patients and strict traceability for cannabis products.
It also restricts import quotas until 2028, with exceptions for specific medical and research purposes.
Regulations on industrial hemp have similarly been eased, reducing the need for quotas and expanding its potential for commercial use.
The Cabinet of Ministers has now moved cannabis and related products like resins and extracts from the strictest category (Table I) of controlled substances to a less restrictive one (Table II), but the cannabis plant itself remains in Table I.
The Ministry of Health had until August 16 to finalise the list of conditions eligible for medical cannabis treatment and the forms of cannabis products allowed. However, key documents for patients are still being decided upon. Once regulations are fully in place, foreign companies can begin supplying cannabis medicines to Ukraine.
Who can access medical cannabis?
The list of conditions, still making its way through the final stages of approval in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament) and not yet public, is understood to focus on pain conditions associated with combat injuries, and other diseases for which medical cannabis is a well established treatment.
Speaking to local news publication Espreso, Olha Stefanyshyn, a member of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on National Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, said: “This concerns, first of all, chronic pain caused by various oncological conditions, side effects of chemotherapy, in particular, nausea, drug-resistant epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease.”
Notably, however, the Ministry of Health refused calls to include PTSD on this list.
She continued: “We are negotiating so that this position will change in the near future, but most of the diseases are already included in the list, and patients will be able to get these drugs by prescription.”
In a separate interview with Unian, she added: “We call on the Ministry of Health, after this act is adopted, to still listen to the international community and add these states as well. Because, I think, it is extremely relevant in Ukraine today.”
“Before the war, before such active military operations, we had two million people only with oncology, epilepsy, and various such conditions. And now it is another plus four, probably millions. In general, the information is estimated, but I think that it corresponds to reality.”
Furthermore, the law stipulates that all activities, including prescribing, related to medical cannabis must be entered into an electronic tracking system, which is not expected to be operational until October, 2024.
Despite this, the government notes that it is now ‘waiting for international companies to enter Ukraine’ and begin importing medical cannabis products.
Companies can now register their products with the Ministry of Health, and the registration process has been significantly shortened to just 30 days.
The post Ukraine Legalises Medical Cannabis, But PTSD Patients May Be Left Behind appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
Continue reading...