Ukraine: associations call for legalization of medical cannabis

Last week in Kiev, the Hemp Freedom March initiative (Конопляний Марш Свободи), which brings together several patient associations, veterans, young people and politicians marched near the office of the President of Ukraine under the slogan «Our right is to live without pain».

«Наше право - жити без болю!» - у Києві закликали президента, уряд і парламент вжити заходів, аби надати важкохворим пацієнтам доступо препаратів на основі медичного канабісу pic.twitter.com/S2WrpQRACf

- hromadske (@HromadskeUA) June 27, 2020

The demonstrators are calling for the legalization of cannabis and its derivatives for scientific and medical purposes. They are also calling for a report on the failure to implement the National Drug Strategy, an integral part of cannabinoid research.

«Research into cannabinoids, as painkillers and for other treatments, is legally impossible in the country, and more than 2 million medical patients are deprived of effective therapy.

Among them are over 20,000 children with treatment-resistant epilepsy, hundreds of thousands of cancer patients, over 100,000 palliative care patients, and tens of thousands of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Their daily suffering is worsened by the systematic blockade of the adoption of laws and regulations provided for in the National Drug Control Strategy.» reads on the rally manifesto.

Even as Russia has revived its hemp production, «seriously ill people in Ukraine are suffering, deprived of access to effective treatment. Due to remnants of the totalitarian past and bureaucratic obstacles, millions of Ukrainians are effectively deprived of their constitutional right to life, health and medical care.»

In May 2019, a petition concerning a bill authorizing the use of medical cannabis received over 25,000 signatures. The bill was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, supported by a Commission, but was not examined by Parliament. In August 2019, the former acting head of the Ministry of Health, Ulyana Suprun accused Interior Minister Arsen Avakov to block the government initiative.

«We urge that the reasons for the stalled implementation of the national drug strategy be investigated and that steps be taken to legally regulate the controlled circulation of cannabinoids for medical and scientific purposes.»