Paris (AFP) - Lawmakers in France, one of few European countries to still ban medical cannabis use, approved the budget Friday for two years of patient experiments that advocates hope will pave the way for a change in the law.
The
National Assembly voted for the tests, already given the green light by
France's ANSM medicines regulator, to be paid out of the social security budget
for 2020.
"I
sincerely hope that the experiments can begin in the first quarter of
2020," junior health minister Christelle Dubos said after the vote.
Olivier
Veran, a lawmaker from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party who proposed
the budget inclusion, said the experiments could target some 3,000 sick people
in France.
They will
seek to determine whether cannabis derivatives can alleviate the symptoms of
certain illnesses, and in which doses, he said.
Seventeen
other European Union members have already authorised cannabis-based therapies,
he added.
The tests
will be done at a number of hospitals, with people who have serious conditions
such as epilepsy, chronic pain, cancer or involuntary muscle contractions
associated with multiple sclerosis.
In July,
the ANSM gave the go-ahead for the experiments, which will not see patients
getting a prescription for an old-fashioned joint.
For the
purposes of the research, the cannabis can be ingested in the form of oil
capsules, infusions, or drops.
France,
which has one of the highest proportions of recreational drug users in Europe,
softened penalties on marijuana use, making in punishable only by an
on-the-spot fine of 200 euros.
In June, a
group of French economists recommended fully legalising the drug, arguing it
said would add billions to state coffers.
But
Macron's government has consistently ruled out changing the law to allow people
to get legally high.
No comments:
Post a Comment