Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed legislation legalizing medical cannabis use in the nation, allowing patients to register with pharmacies who will dispense medical cannabis products, according to a 112 International report. Initially, the measure would have allowed patients to grow their own cannabis; however, amendments to the bill removed that provision, allowing instead for pharmacies to prepare drugs from raw materials that will be imported into Poland.
The program will allow patients with severe illnesses, such as chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, treatment resistant epilepsy, and nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, to access medical cannabis therapies if approved by a physician, but there is not presently a set qualifying condition list for program access.
The rules will allow patients to access raw cannabis, extracts, and tinctures. A cannabis institute will be created to educate pharmacists, physicians, and the public on the next steps.
“We sent [a to-do list] to the government to let them know what they need to prepare,” said MP Piotr Liroy-Marzec in a Marijuana.com report. “The Polish Institute of Cannabis will be starting right now. Education on cannabis is what Poland needs, for the doctors, judges, and pharmacists.”
The measure is set to take effect in October.