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Czech Republic - Just three years ago, the only thing that Zdenek Majzlik knew about cannabis was that it's good stuff for making rope. Today, the 67-year-old retired nuclear power plant employee is an experienced grower who cultivates pot for his daughter who has multiple sclerosis. Majzlik faces a thorny dilemma: The Czech Republic legalized medical marijuana use this year, but maintained strict restrictions on growing, selling and importing it. For Majzlik, the solution is breaking the law to grow pot for his daughter."She's my child and it is my duty to take care of her," Majzlik said, standing in front of a cannabis plant in his garden. "I do what I have to and I will continue doing so. I have no other option."
Medical marijuana is legal in a number of European countries, Israel and 20 U.S. states as well the District of Columbia. Advocates say it gives patients relief from the debilitating symptoms of illnesses including cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, where more conventional treatment fails. The Czech Republic's parliament legalized medical marijuana this year by an overwhelming majority, with the law becoming effective April 1. But some 20,000 patients who are estimated to be eligible for cannabis treatment have no chance to get it legally although so far police have largely ignored renegade growers such as Majzlik who technically would face prison.
Patients and medical experts blame interference by the Health Ministry, which has long fiercely opposed legalizing medical marijuana. "There's a very consistent effort from the Ministry of Health not to make the law really enforced," said Dr. Tomas Zabransky, a U.N and EU adviser on drug issues. The ministry denies deliberately blocking access to medical marijuana, but few question that its policies have raised steep barriers for patients to access pot legally.
The Health Ministry and its State Institute for Drug Control, the nation's drug agency, banned health insurance companies from covering the cost of medical marijuana, and set the maximum amount patients are allowed at 30 grams (1.1 ounces) per month, an amount Zabransky says often falls woefully short of providing effective relief. The government also banned treatment for those under 18 and allowed imports of just four types of cannabis that can be obtained only from the Netherlands at a cost of about $10 per gram – prohibitive for most patients in a nation where the average monthly salary is $1,300 and the average pension is $500.
The government said it restricted legal use to these four types from the Dutch marijuana monopoly to ensure quality. Health Ministry spokeswoman Dana Salamunova said medical marijuana is not covered by insurance because the "positive effects of cannabis have not been clearly clinically proven." So far, two licenses have been issued allowing import and distribution of marijuana, and Salamunova said the cannabis approved under those licenses may hit pharmacies in December. But the pharmacies won't be able to legally sell it until an electronic registry is set up to record prescriptions, sales and patient information and it's not clear when it will be up and running.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Washingtonpost.com
Author: Associated Press
Contact: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Website: Czechs can?t access medical marijuana half year after legalization - The Washington Post
Medical marijuana is legal in a number of European countries, Israel and 20 U.S. states as well the District of Columbia. Advocates say it gives patients relief from the debilitating symptoms of illnesses including cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, where more conventional treatment fails. The Czech Republic's parliament legalized medical marijuana this year by an overwhelming majority, with the law becoming effective April 1. But some 20,000 patients who are estimated to be eligible for cannabis treatment have no chance to get it legally although so far police have largely ignored renegade growers such as Majzlik who technically would face prison.
Patients and medical experts blame interference by the Health Ministry, which has long fiercely opposed legalizing medical marijuana. "There's a very consistent effort from the Ministry of Health not to make the law really enforced," said Dr. Tomas Zabransky, a U.N and EU adviser on drug issues. The ministry denies deliberately blocking access to medical marijuana, but few question that its policies have raised steep barriers for patients to access pot legally.
The Health Ministry and its State Institute for Drug Control, the nation's drug agency, banned health insurance companies from covering the cost of medical marijuana, and set the maximum amount patients are allowed at 30 grams (1.1 ounces) per month, an amount Zabransky says often falls woefully short of providing effective relief. The government also banned treatment for those under 18 and allowed imports of just four types of cannabis that can be obtained only from the Netherlands at a cost of about $10 per gram – prohibitive for most patients in a nation where the average monthly salary is $1,300 and the average pension is $500.
The government said it restricted legal use to these four types from the Dutch marijuana monopoly to ensure quality. Health Ministry spokeswoman Dana Salamunova said medical marijuana is not covered by insurance because the "positive effects of cannabis have not been clearly clinically proven." So far, two licenses have been issued allowing import and distribution of marijuana, and Salamunova said the cannabis approved under those licenses may hit pharmacies in December. But the pharmacies won't be able to legally sell it until an electronic registry is set up to record prescriptions, sales and patient information and it's not clear when it will be up and running.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Washingtonpost.com
Author: Associated Press
Contact: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Website: Czechs can?t access medical marijuana half year after legalization - The Washington Post
