Polish Health Ministry backs medical marijuana legalisation

“We want to solve the problem of [lack of] access to medical marijuana products” Jarosław Pinkas, Poland’s deputy health minister said.

The health ministry wants to make access to medical marijuana easier for those who need it, Pinkas said, adding that the next step will be to allow the growth of marijuana at state-controlled, standardised farms.

The medical marijuana products would be prescription-only.

Earlier this year, Piotr Liroy-Marzec, a Polish rapper-turned-MP, submitted a bill aiming to legalise the use of medical marijuana in the country.

The bill proposed by the MP, who is part of the Kukiz'15 parliamentary grouping, would see the creation of a register of doctors who use marijuana for the treatment of diseases.

“The bill is the culmination of what I have been saying for years, especially during my election campaign. I promised this to the sick people I met, that I would prepare such a bill,” Liroy-Marzec said.

A survey in July indicated that Poles were strongly in favour of permitting the use of marijuana for medical treatment, with some 68 percent backing such a policy.