Patients in Romania are being treated "like criminals." The legalisation of medical cannabis is being concealed

Monday, Jan 13, 2025

HotNews

Romanian parliamentarians support medicinal cannabis for chronic pain, contrasting with current legal barriers and European progress.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Over 100 Romanian parliamentarians supported a bill to allow terminally ill patients access to cannabis-based pain relief, despite social risks, mirroring solutions adopted by other European countries. A case study features Angela, who suffered from severe cancer pain and found significant relief using medicinal cannabis oil sourced outside Romania, as the legal option for THC-containing oils is currently restricted to the black market. The proposed legislation, which has been stalled in parliament for over five years, aims to regulate medical cannabis use via forms like oil or tincture, while explicitly banning smoking. Obstacles include negative feedback from the Ministry of Health regarding the distinction between medicinal and recreational use. The bill, championed by Alexandra Cârstea following her mother’s cancer diagnosis, proposes establishing a Cannabis Agency and a National Registry for transparency. Internationally, countries like Germany and Spain have established frameworks for medical cannabis prescription.

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