Medical marijuana will soon be more widely available to qualifying patients in Germany, according to a government health spokesperson. From the English-language news site The Local:
Doctors could write prescriptions for cannabis, and pharmacies would be authorised to sell the plant once the law had been adjusted, a member of [Germany’s] junior coalition party, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), said Monday.
Marijuana would also be permitted for use as a pain reliever for the terminally ill in hospices and other care facilities, making it a legal part of their emergency pain-relief stocks.
[...] According to the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (ACM), only 40 patients in the country are currently allowed a medical marijuana prescription – even though law enforcement generally tolerates small amounts for personal use.
Meanwhile, patients in 36 of the 50 United States are still treated as criminals if they relieve their symptoms through marijuana, and our federal government persists in incorrectly classifying marijuana as a Schedule I drug—meaning it has “no accepted medical value”—while at the same time blocking the much-needed research necessary to move marijuana through the FDA approval process.
Elsewhere, Great Britain has approved liquid marijuana for medical use, and Israel is seeking to further expand its own medical marijuana law—even allowing hospitals to administer medical marijuana to patients.
Make sure to tell your elected officials that you’re tired of seeing the United States lag behind while other developed nations implement compassionate and science-based medical marijuana policies by visiting MPP’s Federal Action Center.
