by he Ministry of Health reported this Wednesday that it has begun the procedures to approve a royal decree that regulates the medicinal use of cannabis in Spain. This is one of the most anticipated news for certain types of patients with chronic pain, multiple sclerosis or who are in palliative care, where cannabis has proven effective. The ministry he leads Monica Garcia has now opened a period of allegations to its draft royal decree that will establish the conditions for preparing and dispensing these treatments. Treatments that will be based on pharmacy preparations and that they can only prescribe specialist doctors.
The ministry brings to public exhibition its draft royal decree to regulate this therapeutic route
The last legislature Congress urged the Government to regulate therapeutic cannabis to alleviate pain and the effects of treatments in some pathologies and Health will approach the new regulations based on these conclusions and taking into account “the scientific evidence available.” Health sources indicate that they plan to have the order ready before six months.
The ministry assures in a statement that it will carry out a “guarantee” regulation regarding the quality of drugs and the safety of patients, “enabling the legal channels available to be able to have therapeutic compounds based on prepared standardized of cannabis that have shown evidence at the time of ease the pain and the suffering of patients, contemplating the administration orally of these compounds, as it is the most appropriate in terms of therapeutic effectiveness and safety for patients”.
Evaluations
Likewise, it informs that “evaluations will be carried out periodically to verify its effectiveness” and the regulation will be provided with flexibility so that it can be expanded, as more scientific evidence and more information from the application of therapeutic cannabis in Spain becomes available.
With the new regulation, Spain will be part of the group of countries that allow the medicinal use of cannabis, including Portugal, United Kingdom or Norway.
However, the regulation worries the Spanish medical community, because they fear that its use in patients implies a certain “trivialization” of the negative effects of marijuana, especially among youths. Doctors remember that cannabis can affect the mental health and cognitive and academic performance of adolescents and young people.
The dialogue
Health, however, assures that before approving regulations it will be carried out for a period of “dialogue and discussion with civil society to receive their contributions.” In fact, this very week the Secretary of State for Health, Javier Padilla, met with the European Observatory of Cannabis Consumption and Cultivation and, later, with professional associations and scientific societies, such as the Spanish Society of Palliative Care, the Spanish Pain Society or the Spanish Epilepsy Society. He will also meet, soon, with the Spanish Observatory of Medicinal Cannabis.
In addition, the Ministry of Health website has opened a space for any citizen to make their contributions.
