After passing a law in January for the legalization of prescription marijuana, doctors in Germany are beginning their first medical marijuana treatments for their patients.
Before the new legislation passed, according to Swedish outlet the Local, the only way patients could get access to medical marijuana was through an application process for the severely ill. Under that process, only about 1,000 people gained the medication they needed, and some died waiting.
-
Related Story: The First Congressional Cannabis Caucus Is Happening Now
Now, doctors are free to prescribe marijuana to their patients based on their need, especially for pain sufferers or health-threatening loss of appetite.
According to the Local:
Last year Germany imported 170 kilograms of cannabis for medical purposes, according to a government response to an inquiry from Die Linke (The Left Party), as reported by publishing group Funke Mediengruppe on Friday.
This was nearly double the amount imported the previous year at 92.8 kilograms, and nearly four times as much as in 2014. Germany will continue to import the marijuana it needs until the state can set up its own supervised production. Private producers could also apply for licenses.
Earlier this year, Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices created a new agency to “oversee the cultivation of marijuana and the subsequent production of cannabis to be used medicinally.”
[gravityform id=”13″ title=”false” description=”true”]
