What prevents medical marijuana legalization in Ukraine?

About half a thousand activists under the walls of the Cabinet of Ministers demanded for the legalization of medica marijuana. The participants of the action do not seek free sale of “weed” to everyone who wants to relax.

Stop the pain

The website of the Verkhovna Rada published a petition demanding to regulate the use of marijuana in Ukraine. In the first place, this was for science and medicine purposes at the legislative level.

Furthermore, charitable foundations and public organizations signed up the relevant draft law. All of them deal with the rights and problems of patients with severe diseases. Various forms of epilepsy, cancer, nervous system disorders, and others.

Help to cure the diseases of such Ukrainians or at least reduce the symptoms of their diseases can medicate based on substances that contain marijuana. The main one is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). And, as a rule, such means help even where much more expensive and hard-to-reach preparations are powerless.

Marijuana as a help for pain

For example, Dronabinol helps to reduce nausea and increase the appetite of cancer patients when undergoing chemotherapy. Moreover, this medicine is also effective in combating muscle cramps in multiple sclerosis and reduces the likelihood of seizures in epilepsy.

American doctors can prescribe Dronabinol to patients if other therapies do not help to improve the patient’s condition. The petition received more than 25,000 votes in 90 days. People submitted it to the parliamentary committee on human rights, national minorities, and inter-ethnic relations.

In addition, the majority of votes and the deputies supported it and recommended to accept as a basis for the draft law. Head of the Ministry of Health Ulyana Suprun supported this initiative. She noted that the use of marijuana in therapy with certain reservations is a normal world practice.

Not the time

30% of Ukrainians are in favor of legalizing cannabis for patients who need it for therapeutic purposes. Another 28% support such an initiative “to a certain extent”. Categorically or partially 33% of respondents were against the initiative.

Most supporters of “medical legalization” in the age group of 18-35 years of age with a high level of income. Also, More opponents – among people aged 51+ and with earnings below average. People go against their opinion for politicians means to lose ratings.

Therefore, that is why it is difficult to find any specifics on the legalization of medical marijuana. The initiative opposed only to the Opposition Platform – For Life and its leader Yuri Boyko personally. However, the action plans of Servants of the People, European Solidarity and Fatherland do not mention the problem at all. So as not to “dragonize” the conservative electorate.

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the first issue of Golos, was cautious in one of his interviews that “anything that saves people’s lives needs support”. Golos has been trying to build an image of a progressive party that relies on the support of young Ukrainians. The very same people who mostly support the decriminalization of marijuana for scientific research and medicine.

Specifics on medical marijuana

That is why it is difficult to find any specifics on the legalization of medical marijuana. The initiative opposed only to the Opposition Platform – For Life and its leader Yuri Boyko personally.

The action plans of Servants of the People, European Solidarity and Fatherland do not mention the problem at all. So as not to “dragonize” the conservative electorate. Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the first issue of Golos said that he supports “marijuana in droplets.

Six months later, during the press marathon, Zelensky said he did not change his mind, but the issue of legalization of cannabis (including medical cannabis) “is not relevant” for the authorities, as there are many potential and poorly understood risks.

Anyway, and to decide whether Ukrainians have the right to have treats with medicines containing cannabinoids should be exclusively specialists from among doctors and scientists, and not populists in Parliament.s interviews that “anything that saves people’s lives needs support”.

Golos has been trying to build an image of a progressive party that relies on the support of young Ukrainians. The very same people who mostly support the decriminalization of marijuana for scientific research and medicine.

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(Featured image by Denys Rodionenko via Unsplash)

First published in ru.slovoidilo, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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