News » Germany Announces Plans for Medical Marijuana Legalization

German Health Minister Philipp Roesler announced Tuesday that a simple change in ministry’s policies rather than a change to German law will pave the way for medical marijuana to become available to seriously ill patients in the European Union nation.

While medical cannabis has technically been available in the country but has been effectively illegal, with only 40 patients nationwide having received prescriptions for the drug, despite the fact that many health professionals see advantages of using marijuana in treatment of nausea, appetite stimulation and overall pain management.

The change is welcomed by members of the healthcare community believing that it will bring legitimacy and legality to treatments that are already being used.

For patients with serious, chronic diseases this simple change in policy will allow for new treatment options without the danger of legal repercussions. Gerhard Mueller-Schwefe, president of the German Society for Pain Therapy, said that “it’s time to bring cannabis out from the shadows.”

This “will legalize a practice that pain therapists and palliative health professionals have long administered out of necessity,” he said.

Eugen Brysch of the German Hospice Foundation, who works with the critically ill agrees.

“Because it is disproportionately difficult to obtain cannabis as medicine, many patients with chronic pain are currently forced into illegality,” he said.

It is believed that the changes will take affect quickly as medical marijuana is already available in many European Union countries. Those programs can be used as a blueprint for the new policy in Germany.

[source Deutsche Welle]

Tags: Eugen Brysch, Gerhard Mueller-Schwefe, German Hospice Foundation, German Society for Pain Therapy, Germany, medical marijuana, Philipp Roesler