In Spain, the Ministry of Health is currently drafting the law that will regulate medical cannabis in the country.
The Spanish government has announced that the Spanish Medicines and Health Products Agency (AEMPS) is working on the issue, after a deputy from the Ciudadanos political party asked a parliamentary question.
“AEMPS is preparing a roadmap for the appropriate regulatory framework and the viability of these recommendations, guaranteeing the quality of these products (extracts or standardized cannabis preparations), so that their use contributes to the health of patients who may have them. need and the protection of public health”, replied the government, after being questioned on the regulatory advances and the roadmap for the medical use of the plant.
The AEMPS thus seeks to meet the deadline set by the subcommittee on medical cannabis of the Congress of Deputies, which recommended last June that medical cannabis should be available in pharmacies in Spain before the end of 2022.
The regulation of medical cannabis in Spain is approaching
What other suggestions did the congressional subcommittee make regarding medical cannabis? The text specifies that “the dispensing of magistral formulas with extracts or standardized preparations of cannabis must be carried out by the network of pharmacies of the health system, by favoring hospital pharmacies and by exploring the alternative of community pharmacies which can respond to the requirements”.
In addition, patients who will be able to access cannabis will be those suffering from multiple sclerosis, certain forms of epilepsy, nausea and vomiting derived from chemotherapy, endometriosis, cancer pain and chronic non-oncological pain ( including neuropathic pain), with the possibility of extending it to other therapeutic indications when studies provide consistent evidence.
In particular, it remains to be defined whether cannabis flowers intended for vaporization will be dispensed or not.
