Regulations on the medical use of the cannabis plant in the world are multiplying and although Europe is a bit behind in this regard, effective and appropriate regulations will arrive sooner or later. The European Medicines Agency has asked European Union countries for scientific information on the medical use of cannabis, including the use of marijuana plant buds.
There European Medicines Agency asks the scientific community to provide data that confirms the interest and the important role that the cannabis plant is acquiring for medicinal treatments, including the bud, which is presumed to have great potential, according to Carola Pérez, President of the Spanish Observatory of Cannabis Medicinehe. In this sense, the procedures have already begun to prepare a monographic guide on medical cannabis for European Union countries.
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taken measures
The agency has requested that all available data on the therapeutic applications, safety and efficacy offered by the cannabis plant be collected. There The EMA (European Medicines Agency) has offered to all interested parties in the Member States of the European Union to proceed with the sending of scientific data on the medicinal properties of cannabisboth from the preparations of the plant and in its raw form of buds.
At the end of January, the aforementioned agency published a document explaining the usefulness of the guidelines and the procedure for their preparation. It therefore asks health professionals, learned societies, industrialists, as well as patients and their associations to send relevant and detailed information so that it is taken into account.
If Europe ends up regulating medical cannabis broadly and objectively, many patients could benefit from buying cheap seeds and make auto cultures to cure your ailments or diseases without fear. To be a growing group of actors for this settlement to move forward.
Legalization helps research
Germany is one of the most advanced European countries when it comes to the market for hemp products for therapeutic purposes. However, no really relevant research on the subject has been conducted by the public sector, according to Franjo Grotenhermen, Executive Director of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (AIMC).
However, already in 2017, Germany legalized the medical use of cannabis and drugs based on this plant, thus facilitating its access for therapeutic purposes. The data indicates that before the change in German law, medical cannabis was only prescribed to around 1,000 patients. After the law was approved, in 2018 the numbers rose to 142,000 medical cannabis prescriptions.
With this patient data, it’s much moreIt is easier to carry out studies and complete follow-ups on its evolution be able to draw statistics and conclusions about its benefits.
Subsequently, other European countries followed Germany, such as the Czech Republic, Italy and Malta, which facilitated patient access to medical cannabis by introducing changes in legislation.
According to Grotenhermen, when cannabis and its derivatives are prescribed by a doctor, the bureaucratic obstacles to carrying out investigations are reduced., since they are already considered drugs. In his own words, “it is much more expensive to conduct research with narcotics when their clinical use is not permitted, that is, they are not drugs”.
Professionals still have prejudices
However, what is happening in Germany has not been the general trend followed by the rest of the Member States, where prejudice on the part of many professionals has continued. The prescription of medical cannabis is only accelerating its pace in Germany while in other countries they are only slowing down these changes.
The key is legalization. For Grotenhermen, associate researcher at the nova-Institut GmbH in Hürth in the department of renewable raw materials, where he deals with hemp as medicine, all countries that have legalized the medical use of cannabis, like Canada, the Netherlands and Israel, have seen how healthcare professionals accepted their prescription for medical purposes. “There are always pioneers with an open mind. Then come the doctors who are approached by their patients and, over time, convinced to give it a shot. Widespread acceptance takes time.
Even if there is still a long way to go, this request by the European Medicines Agency to the countries of the European Union for scientific information on the medical use of cannabis, including the use of the buds, is likely to accelerate the steps towards its normalization.