A subcommittee of the Spanish Congress yesterday approved a bill to allow the medical use of cannabis in the country.
The bill must now be sent to the Health Commission for a final vote on June 28, where it is expected to be approved. Then, the Spanish Medicines Agency will have six months to adopt the new recommendations in regulations, without the need to pass new laws.
The text establishes which patients could be treated with cannabis-derived products, including flowers. This will concern cases of “multiple sclerosis, certain forms of epilepsy, nausea and vomiting derived from chemotherapy, endometriosis, cancer pain and chronic non-cancer pain (including neuropathic pain), and may be extended to other therapeutic indications when the studies prove it”.
The bill also covers dispensing, which should be done through pharmacies, specifying that “formulas with standardized cannabis extracts or preparations must be made from the pharmacy network of the health system, preferably in hospital pharmacies, while also exploring the alternative of community pharmacies that can meet the requirements. »
The prescription will be carried out “preferably” by doctors “specialists” and competent in the fields concerned. For them, in addition, training on the therapeutic use of cannabis is offered.
The bill was supported by most Spanish political parties, including Podemos and the PSOE. Only the right and far-right parties, PP and Vox, voted against approval.
Like the United Kingdom at one time, Spain already produces medical cannabis without being able to prescribe it on its soil so far.
