First Deputy Head of the Servant of the People faction Oleksandr Korniyenko hopes that their faction will be able to collect 200 votes for the bill No. 5596 On Amendments to Some Laws on Regulation of Cannabis Treatment for Medical, Scientific and Scientific Activities.
“It seems that colleagues from other factions support it. Our faction will support, not unanimously, it is obvious: there are those who are against it. But I think we will give 200 votes,” Korniyenko told reporters after a meeting of the conciliation council on Monday.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada intends to consider the bill on the treatment of cannabis for medical purposes on Tuesday at an extraordinary meeting initiated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Parliamentary Committee of the Nation’s Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance has supported a bill on the use of cannabis for medical purposes.
The committee adopted the corresponding bill No. 5596, developed by the MPs of different factions, at a meeting on Wednesday.
According to the explanatory note to the bill, it provides for the need to comply with Ukraine’s international legal obligations regarding the circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors.
The bill provides for the classification of hemp depending on the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in it: medical hemp (Cannabis) with a low content of THC in dry matter (0.2-1%) and Cannabis with a high content of THC (more than 1%), as well as industrial hemp, the content of THC in the dry mass of which does not exceed 0.2%
The bill proposes, in particular, to create regulatory conditions for the legal circulation of cannabis, in particular for use in medical practice, scientific and technical activities, to establish requirements and determine the features of controlled circulation of cannabis in certain areas of activity in accordance with the requirements of international law, to resolve issues related to organization of activities for the circulation of hemp at each stage of such a turnover, including, inter alia, operations for the import/export/transportation through the territory of Ukraine, storage and sale of hemp.
Also, the bill will define the requirements for business entities that can carry out operations related to the circulation of hemp, define and regulate the distribution of functions and powers of regulatory bodies that ensure the fight against illegal traffic in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, to control the use of hemp for purposes specified by law.
According to the authors of the document, it should give an impetus to the development of medical science and the pharmaceutical industry by introducing the possibility of using hemp for medical and research purposes, to help improve the level and quality of medical services for the population in the field of palliative medicine, the methods of which, in particular, are based on the use of medical hemp.
The bill should also ensure that patients can purchase and store cannabis for medicinal purposes as medically indicated and prescribed by a doctor.
The bill provides for amendments to the foundations of the legislation of Ukraine on health care regarding the consolidation of the human right to access the necessary medicines, including, among other things, drugs containing narcotic drugs and/or psychotropic substances and precursors, the law On Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors regarding the provision of the possibility of using plants of the genus hemp for industrial, scientific and medical purposes, the law On the List of Permitting Documents in the Sphere of Economic Activity regarding the inclusion in this list of permits for the use of facilities and premises intended for the implementation of activities for the circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors.
At the same time, the committee rejected the alternative bill No. 5596-1.
Minister of Economy Ihor Petrashko expects to find such a version of the bill on amendments to the law on public procurement, which will satisfy international partners and will support the Ukrainian manufacturer.
“Without stimulating production in Ukraine and using public funds to purchase goods produced in Ukraine, there will be no significant progress in the country,” Petrashko told a news conference during the Ukrainian Forum “Ukraine 30. Coronavirus: Challenges and Responses” held on Tuesday.
According to the minister, all countries of the European Union and the United States use incentives to ensure that public funds primarily go to the purchase of those goods that are produced in their countries.
Petrashko said that at the moment consultations with the EU and the United States on the local content bill (No. 3739 on amendments to the law of Ukraine on public procurement) are underway, as the reaction to it is ambiguous.
The minister added that the use of non-price criteria will benefit Ukraine’s trade with the European Union and the United States.
“Therefore, we want to find a format of persuasion and find the version [of the bill] that will allow us to support the manufacturer,” Petrashko said.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the first reading adopted bill No. 4355 on amendments to the law “On the Unified State Demographic Register and Documents Confirming the Citizenship of Ukraine, Certifying the Identity or his Special Status”, which increases the status of using digital passports in the Diia application at the legal level.
Some 303 MPs voted for the document at a plenary session on Thursday.
“Ukrainians will be able to use digital passports on a par with paper ones. There will be no more options not to accept Diia anymore,” Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov commented on the adoption of the bill on his Facebook page.
He said that the relevant amendments to the said law were developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation together with the Committee for Digital Transformation. “Prior to that, the use of passports in Diia was regulated by a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers,” Fedorov said. This bill also defines terminology, in particular the use of electronic passports.
The bill gives definitions to e-passport – a passport of a citizen of Ukraine in the form of a card and an e-passport for traveling abroad.
According to the bill, an e-passport can be presented on the territory of Ukraine for identification and confirmation of citizenship. However, this rule does not apply when crossing the state border and entering/leaving the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
According to the document, electronic copies of an e-passport and an e-passport for traveling abroad can be submitted and used as copies of a passport of a citizen of Ukraine, a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad.
An e-passport, an e-passport for traveling abroad are issued free of charge at the request of a person who has a passport of a citizen of Ukraine or a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad, which are issued using the means of the unified state demographic register.
On Tuesday, February 2, at 17.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host press conference entitled “Bill on Dual Citizenship: Myths and Reality.”
Participants include Parliamentarians of Ukraine Oleh Dunda, Oleksandr Aliksiychuk and Dmytro Mykysha (8/5a Reitarska Street).
The press conference will be available on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine.
Media accreditation requires registration on the spot.
The Verkhovna Rada on Thursday adopted bill No. 3087-d on the Bureau of Economic Security – a new central executive body, which activities are coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers and which is tasked with counteracting economic offenses.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that the document was supported by 242 MPs with the required minimum of 226 votes.
In particular, 201 MPs of the ruling Servant of the People faction, 17 MPs of the Dovira group and 16 MPs of the opposition Holos faction cast their votes for the bill.
“It was a very difficult one and a half years of work. It was a very complicated bill… Thanks to those who interfered. With you, the reform has become more difficult, but richer. Although, of course, the most important thing in the creation of the Bureau of Economic Security is still ahead,” Head of the profile parliamentary committee Danylo Hetmantsev said, commenting on the adoption of the law.
The adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of this document was welcomed by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who called it “a landmark event.”
“Ukraine is taking another step towards Europe and the civilized world. The tax police are becoming a thing of the past, and a new analytical body will appear in its place, which will investigate financial and economic crimes without corruption and masked shows,” the head of government said.
The Ministry of Finance said that the adoption of the law on the creation of a financial investigation body is part of Ukraine’s international obligations, in particular, under the Stand-By Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and EU macro-financial assistance.
The ministry recalled that the document was developed with the aim of eliminating the tax police and creating an independent state law enforcement agency, which is obliged to perform the functions of analytical assessment, prevention, detection, suppression, investigation and disclosure of criminal offenses attributed by law to its jurisdiction.
The new body will unite all the units for combating economic crimes of all law enforcement agencies and will pay more attention to analytical work, which will reduce pressure on business and improve the investment climate in Ukraine.
According to the document posted on the Rada’s website, the Bureau of Economic Security should be created, and the State Fiscal Service should be liquidated within six months after the law enters into force (its publication). It was recommended that the Cabinet of Ministers take measures to form a tender panel to appoint the Director of the Bureau, create this new body and its territorial departments. An open competition for positions in the central office of the Bureau of Economic Security must be held within four months from the date of entry into force of the law.
In addition, an audit of material resources, weapons and special means of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine should be carried out and they are to be transferred to the Bureau of Economic Security.
