At its next plenary session, the Verkhovna Rada plans to consider draft law No. 7457 on regulating the circulation of cannabis plants for medical, scientific and industrial purposes to create conditions for expanding patients’ access to treatment of cancer and post-traumatic stress disorders resulting from the war, said Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the Voice faction.
“At the next plenary session, the draft law on the legalization of medical cannabis No. 7457 should be submitted (for consideration). It’s still risky with the votes, though,” he wrote on his telegram channel on Tuesday.
The draft law proposes to create regulatory conditions for the legal limited circulation of cannabis, cannabis resin, cannabis extracts and tinctures for the purposes specified by law, in particular, for their use for medical, industrial purposes, scientific and scientific and technical activities, as well as its varieties in certain areas of activity.
The government considers it necessary to regulate issues related to the organization of activities at each stage of such circulation, including operations for the import, export, transportation through the territory of Ukraine, storage and sale of hemp, to promote the level and quality of medical care by ensuring the realization of the right to health care with the use of more effective medicines and treatments, in particular in the field of palliative care, which, among other things, are based on symptomatic treatment, as well as on symptom management.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers submitted draft law No. 7457 to the Verkhovna Rada in June 2022. The parliamentary committee on national health recommended its adoption as a basis. Later, in September, committee chairman Mykhailo Radutsky (Servant of the People) said that the Rada would probably not have enough votes to support the medical cannabis bill.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has supported a bill on the use of medical cannabis preparations for the treatment of certain diseases, Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Lyashko said on his Facebook page.
“We have prepared a legislative framework to ensure the full production cycle of cannabis-based drugs in Ukraine: from cultivation and processing to full-fledged production,” Lyashko said.
He also noted that cannabis medicines should not be identified with narcotic substances, since they do not have a psychoactive effect, and the measures for regulating their circulation are different.
“Medical” cannabis contains cannabidiol, which does not have a pronounced psychoactive effect, so it is not interesting for recreational use. At the same time, we still propose to establish strict control over the cultivation, production and sale of drugs, understanding the sensitivity of this issue in society,” Lyashko explained.
Cannabis-based preparations are used to reduce pain, muscle spasms and cramps, treat anorexia, PTSD and anxiety disorders. In addition, they are used in the treatment of certain types of epilepsy, glaucoma, psoriasis, parkinsonism, and multiple sclerosis. An important task of this medicine is to alleviate pain and suffering for seriously ill and palliative patients, including cancer patients, patients with HIV.
