German Court Legalizes Medical Cannabis Cultivation
A German court in Cologne has ruled that those suffering from chronic pain may grow their own cannabis for medical purposes in certain situations.
The case came as five people suffering from chronic pain brought a complaint to the court claiming that the nation’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices refused them permission to grow cannabis at home, despite them having limited access to the medicine and it not being covered by their insurance.
The court ruled that three of the plaintiffs met the requirements to grow cannabis because it was “sufficiently certain” that they wouldn’t be able to access the medicine viably through other means.
“Until now it has not been legal for anyone to grow cannabis at home but these seriously ill people will now be allowed to,” says Stefanie Seifert, a spokeswoman for the court. Stefanie notes, however, that; “This is not a carte blanche for everyone to start growing cannabis at home – they have to be seriously ill people for whom nothing else works other than cannabis.”
The court says that whether or not an individual should be allowed to grow their cannabis will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
– TheJointBlog