A draft law on regulating the circulation of cannabis in Ukraine, registered with the parliament on June 10, 2022, has appeared on the Verkhovna Radaʼs website.
Bill 45 7457 — "On the regulation of the circulation of cannabis plants for medical, industrial purposes, scientific and scientific-technical activities to create conditions for expanding access of patients to the necessary treatment of cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the war" was registered on Friday, June 10.
The bill was initiated by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
If the law is passed, Ukrainian patients will be allowed to buy, store and use medicines based on medical cannabis, and doctors will be allowed to prescribe them. This was explained by MP and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Health of the Nation Olha Stefanishina.
Businesses will be able to cultivate and grow medical hemp in Ukraine and produce medicines from them, transport and sell them in Ukraine.
Scientists will be able to study this plant, which will stimulate innovation in this area.
At the same time, it will be strictly controlled. Growing medical cannabis will require a police permit to use the premises and a special license. It will also be necessary to conclude an agreement with a testing laboratory for quality control of medicines or to have a laboratory on site. It will be necessary to provide access to their facilities of the National Police for the selection and testing of product samples.
The law will allow the circulation of medical cannabis in Ukraine under the condition of traceability and transparency:
- marking with bar codes of each batch and unit of packaged products;
- maintaining an electronic register for the movement of varieties of cannabis and medicines;
- Patients will only be dispensed with an electronic prescription.
Patients will be able to store medicines based on medical cannabis in the amount not more than allowed to one patient according to one prescription.
- On June 10, the Verkhovna Rada registered a government bill on the use of cannabis for medical, industrial and scientific purposes.
- On June 7, the Cabinet of Ministers supported a bill to legalize medical cannabis. In addition, the Ministry of Health noted that they are ready to ensure a full cycle of production of cannabis-based drugs in Ukraine: from cultivation and processing to full-fledged production.
- Earlier this year, the head of the parliamentary committee on health care, Mykhailo Radutsky, said that the Verkhovna Rada plans to pass a law on legalization of medical cannabis in 2022. He stressed that the new bill differs from the previous one by strengthening the control of the National Police over the circulation of cannabis. The document also clearly defines what medical cannabis is and how it will be imported.