Israel: easier access to medical cannabis

Israel's Health Minister has promised to increase the number of doctors authorized to approve the medical use of cannabis for patients who need it to relieve severe pain.

Following a vote on Sunday, the government approved the medical cannabis reform backed by Health Minister Ya'acov Litzman, which will ensure uniform quality of the merchandise and allow patients to pick up their treatment at pharmacies.

Read more: Israel: patients approve the use of medical cannabis

The minister has promised to increase the number of doctors authorized to prescribe medical cannabis, for specific conditions. Cancer-related pain is a possible reason for seeking authorization, but cannabis can also help treat glaucoma, lack of appetite in HIV patients, muscle spasticity linked to multiple sclerosis, nausea caused by chemotherapy, Crohn's disease and epilepsy.

«[This decision] is another step towards reforming the regulation of medical cannabis use.

Our goal is to ensure that patients who need it will receive their authorization quickly and without unnecessary bureaucracy, and that the cannabis provided is of high quality and accessible, just like any other medicine,» said Litzman.

Venko, a company that supported the legalization of cannabis for therapeutic use, said it welcomed the reform, but that there were still a large number of people who «suffered persecution by the authorities because they couldn't get their authorization from doctors for their uses.

The simplest solution would be to stop prosecuting cannabis users. It's the only way that patients and occasional users alike can consume it without fear.

The plan is therefore to break down the limits on the number of growers, to make cannabis more accessible to Israel's 23,000 patients. New doctors to be trained and authorized to prescribe cannabis. Until now, patients had to wait several months before being able to see a specialist doctor, then apply for a permit from the Ministry of Health, and renew it every 3 to 6 months.

Cannabis processors will also be able to obtain licenses more easily. The new program creates 4 stages in the medical cannabis production process: development, growth, production and marketing.

The growing phase will only take place in designated structures, which will operate separately from the farms, and which will have the sole purpose of growing plants, and not research for example. Cuttings from these nurseries will be transferred to the farms for mass cultivation.

«I'm opposed to legalization. Don't make that mistake: with the easing of restrictions for people who need medical cannabis, we'll increase our controls to prevent any possibility of cheating. And the police will take care of that. Medical cannabis will be dispensed in pharmacies, as a medicine, like morphine and other drugs. We will increase the list of approved doctors and make the lives of suffering patients better,» concluded Litzman.