Poland fails to legalize medical cannabis production

The Poland legalized medical cannabis in 2017. Since then, Polish patients have been supplied with cannabis produced abroad, mainly in Canada, to the detriment of patients who pay full price for their treatment, without reimbursement. Several bills are currently under consideration to legalize the production of medical cannabis and, at the same time, increase the legal rate of hemp from 0.2 to 0.3%.

At the same time, two proposals to legalize cannabis self-cultivation for patients and public funding of treatments were also rejected by legislators.

Beata Maciejewska, the MP behind one of the rejected bills, said: «The bills drafted by our team take a comprehensive approach to the issue. We believe that cannabis should be cultivated by anyone meeting strict requirements, not just by research institutes. Our project also includes the education of doctors in the field of treatment with cannabis preparations and the reimbursement of medicines.»

The proposal was rejected, however, in what looks rather like a strong conservatism in the face of opposition proposals. Had the initiative been approved, medical cannabis could have been grown in research institutes under the supervision of a chief pharmaceutical inspector.

The bill to increase the THC content in tobacco hemp has been referred to parliamentary committees.

Polish parliamentarians will soon be considering a proposal to decriminalize cannabis, the outcome of which is already foreseeable. The text envisages the decriminalization of the possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use. It would authorize every adult to carry 5 grams of cannabis. Penalties for growing cannabis for personal use would also disappear.