Bosnia-Herzegovina on track to authorize medical cannabis

The Bosnian government is taking a close interest in legalizing medical marijuana. For the use of cannabis for medical purposes to finally be legalized in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is no longer enough for the Commission for the Suppression of Narcotics Abuse to submit a proposal to the Council of Ministers, which will simply take a decision at its session tells us. Sarajevo Times.

With the groundwork already laid, it is now up to the Ministers of State and the current government to take the decision to legalize. The Commission for the Repression of Drug Abuse is due to meet this week.

The Ministry of Security of Bosnia-Herzegovina has decided to move forward following information relayed by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) that the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations had abolished cannabis from the list of banned substances.

As the Bosnian Law on the Prevention and Punishment of Drug Abuse was adopted, among other things, in view of the implementation of international conventions on narcotics, it should logically evolve. In the meantime, the Commission has set up a working group which has drafted a proposal to amend the law. The opinions of various ministries have been collected and will also be examined during the Commission's session.

The legalization of medical cannabis does not imply any new laws in Bosnia. Cannabis is «just» to be transferred from the Schedule 1 list to Schedule 2, which means it will no longer be a «prohibited substance and plant» but a «strictly controlled substance and plant», as many medicines used for medical purposes already are.