Italy expands its medical cannabis program

On July 27, Italy's medical cannabis program will be extended to more patients. On June 25, the Italian Ministry of Health published a decree concerning the therapeutic use of cannabis: «cannabis-based medicinal products of plant origin» will now be included in section B of medicines, as «symptomatic treatment to support standard treatments».

In other words, cannabis in flower form can now be prescribed by any doctor for any pain-causing illness.

According to the government, production and distribution medical cannabis will continue in the same way, and the sharp rise in demand resulting from the new decree, which comes into force on July 27, will not be a problem, since the authorities say they are ready to meet demand.

L’Italy legalized medical cannabis in 2013. With no domestic cannabis production to speak of, the first patients were prescribed cannabis imported from Holland, at prohibitive prices - over €30 per gram. In 2014, the country entrusted the army with the mission of producing cannabis for Italian patients, with a target price of €5 per gram. The army struggling to produce quality cannabis, Italy has finally decided to open up production licenses to private companies.

The country now obtains its supplies from the Netherlands and Canada, and is counting on its future domestic production to bring down the cost of medicines, which have become increasingly expensive. are reimbursed by the Italian Social Security recently.