South Korea legalizes medical cannabis

South Korea, yet conservative on the issue of cannabis, has just become the first country in East Asia to legalize medical cannabis. This legalization remains very limited and does not, for example, authorize the domestic cultivation of cannabis, but the initiative could well inspire other states in the region to follow suit. In Asia, only Israel in the Middle East has already legalized medical cannabis. Nevertheless, Thailand, Malaysia or India have also indicated their intention to debate the legalization of medical cannabis in their institutions.

Limited legalization, but legalization nonetheless

The proposed law tabled by Democratic Party deputy Shin Chang-Hyun, was introduced in the Assembly last April in the context of a public campaign to legalize the therapeutic use of cannabis. According to HuffPost last year, 80 people were arrested for drug trafficking after buying cannabis oil on the Internet for the treatment of incurable diseases. On April 20, advocates of the legalization of the therapeutic use of cannabis demonstrated for legalization under the slogan «survival is illegal». Last Friday, the text was adopted by the National Assembly and medical cannabis is now legal, but only in certain forms and under certain conditions.

The law allows patients to obtain a prescription for cannabis from their doctor. This must then be approved, on a case-by-case basis, by the Korea Orphan Drug Center, a government agency dedicated to facilitating patient access to rare medicines. Access to the drugs will remain extremely restrictive, reserved for patients with rare and severe pathologies who have exhausted all conventional medication options.

Last July, the Ministry of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety said he was in favor of the bill and announced the drugs that would be made available. He approved the’Epidiolex, the Marinol, Cesamet and Sativex for the treatment of epilepsy, AIDS symptoms and the side effects of chemotherapy.

South Korea seems to allow only drugs already approved by Western health authorities. Moreover, the new law does not legalize the cultivation of cannabis, as medicines will be imported from abroad. This legalization scheme goes a step further than France's which only authorized Sativex, which was supposed to be imported, but refuses to do so because of a price disagreement with the producer.

This type of import-based legalization is a boon for Canadian companies already exporting their products around the world. In fact, an Israeli producer, in partnership with a Canadian capital company, has already been on the case since the announcement of the Ministry's support. The two partners have announced their intention to supply the Korean market medical cannabis. This is the Korean Cannabis Association which concluded the agreement with Tikun Olam (Israel) and York bridge Capital (Canada) in anticipation of legalization.

In any case, this legalization is great news for the cannabis industry. It augurs reformist movements in conservative regions. Vijay Sappani, CEO of Ela Capital, a Toronto-based investment firm specializing in new cannabis markets. told Marijuana Business DailyThe fact that South Korea is legalizing medical cannabis, albeit in a strictly controlled manner and with a limited product range, represents an important step forward for the global cannabis industry. Korea's importance as the first East Asian country to authorize the medical use of cannabis at federal level should not be underestimated. Now it's only a matter of time before other Asian countries follow suit, but they will.