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Date Published: 02/10/2024

Spain takes a step closer to legalising medicinal marijuana

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Soon, marijuana could be used in Spain to treat a much wider variety of chronic illnesses

Spain takes a step closer to legalising medicinal marijuana

The Spanish Ministry of Health has taken a crucial step towards regulating the therapeutic use of cannabis. The Ministry has released the full text of a Royal Decree that outlines a system to govern the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and it's now open for public consultation.

This is part of a wider reform of the public health service in general. Over the next few months, Spain will ban single-use and flavoured e-cigarettes and enforce a registry of medical practitioners who conscientiously object to abortion, among many other changes.

This development marks a major milestone in Spain's journey towards embracing the potential benefits of cannabis for patients. Eight months ago, the Ministry of Health proposed a draft Royal Decree that limited the use of cannabis to ‘magistral formulas’ - oils based on active ingredients of cannabis - excluding the use of marijuana flowers and buds.

At the moment, the Royal Decree specifies that these oils can be used to treat a range of conditions, including Multiple sclerosis, the effects of chemotherapy and chronic refractory pain, but the Ministry wants to emphasise that this list is not set in stone.

Rather, it can be expanded or modified as new scientific evidence emerges, ensuring that patients have access to the latest and most effective treatments.

The Ministry has also made it clear that standardised magistral formulas will be used only when there are no authorised medications available or when existing treatments don't meet the patient's needs.

Spain is not alone in its pursuit of medicinal cannabis. Countries like Portugal, Germany and Italy have already approved the therapeutic use of cannabis, with promising results.

This development is the latest chapter in Spain's journey towards embracing medicinal cannabis, which began in 2021 with a subcommittee in the Congress of Deputies. As the public consultation period gets underway, patients and healthcare professionals alike are eagerly awaiting the next steps in this process.

In other news: Spain cracks down on second-hand online sellers: What you need to know

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