Medical Cannabis Legalized in Poland
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has signed into law a bill that legalizes medical cannabis.
The legislation was approved by the Sejm (Poland’s legislative body) with 440 out of 460 members voting in favor, and was signed by President Duda on Friday. The new law allows medical marijuana to be prescribed by physicians, and sold in pharmacies. Qualifying conditions that allow for the medical use of cannabis includes chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.
The law allows cannabis to be imported from other countries in order to be sold by Poland pharmacies. Pharmacies will be authorized to sell dried cannabis, cannabis extracts and tinctures. A Polish Institute of Cannabis has been formed in order to educate the public, physicians and pharmacies on the details of the new law.
Poland – an eastern European country with a population of around 37 million – now joins just a handful of countries around the world that have legalized medical cannabis, including Italy, Spain, Croatia and Uruguay.