Ukrainian Parliament unblocks Medical Cannabis Bill

According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak of the opposition Holos (Voice) party, the signature of the medicinal cannabis law has been allowed by the Ukrainian Parliament, as reported on Telegram on January 16.

The medicinal cannabis law was approved by the Ukrainian parliament on December 21 at its second reading. Ultimately, the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) faction was unable to prevent the measure from being signed into law when it was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada’s 248 members.

The measure will restrict cannabis distribution to uses for industrial, scientific, and medicinal purposes alone. Distribution and usage for recreational purposes will continue to be illegal.

European Solidarity and Batkivshchyna, two opposition parties, did not entirely embrace the measure. Asserting that “the amendments to the bill were considered in a half-empty chamber,” Batkivshchyna leader Yulia Tymoshenko, who has continuously opposed the proposal, stated that the group plans to petition the Constitutional Court to have the results of the vote revoked.

Without offering any proof, Tymoshenko asserts that the measure “legalizes drug trafficking and the drug mafia in the country.”

Medical cannabis-derived medications are used to treat mental disorders, PTSD, and muscular spasms. They also relieve pain. They are also helpful in the treatment of epilepsy, psoriasis, renal failure, cancer patients’ pain, and HIV-positive individuals.