A revised draft of law No. 7457 came into effect on August 16, 2024, legalizing medical cannabis in Ukraine. Patients suffering from cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, and chronic pain will now have access to cannabis-based medications. Doctors will issue electronic prescriptions, and patients can purchase these products from licensed pharmacies. Transportation of cannabis-based products is also permitted within the limits specified in the prescription.
Additionally, researchers will be able to conduct studies on cannabis, and businesses can cultivate and produce cannabis-based medications under a license and within government-imposed quotas.
What’s Next?
“The patient community has been waiting for the legalization of medical cannabis for five years. Today, the law finally comes into effect, but this is not the final victory for the public. We continue to work to ensure that medical cannabis-based medications appear in Ukrainian pharmacies,” noted the Patients of Ukraine Charitable Foundation. “In the near future, we expect the Ministry of Health to approve a list of dosage forms and a list of conditions for which these medications will be prescribed.”
For the first medications to become available to Ukrainians, manufacturers must register the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) from which medications will be produced on the basis of licensed pharmacies. An electronic information system for accounting, which will be administered by the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs, must also be launched. This system will be used to track the circulation of medical cannabis from seed to medication in the patient’s hands. “Another important step is training for Ukrainian doctors. Such training courses are already being developed by the public together with the National Health Service of Ukraine,” said the Patients of Ukraine Charitable Foundation.
Addressing Stigma
Niya Nikel, head of the Epiprosvіта public organization and a public health expert at the Ministry of Health on mental health issues, adds that it is also important to conduct information work to remove the stigma associated with medical cannabis. Until now, it has existed even among doctors. “Some doctors told me that fighters who use cannabis develop semi-depressive states because of it. But this is a substitution of concepts, because we are talking about medical cannabis, not ordinary cannabis.”
The Verkhovna Rada voted to legalize medical cannabis on December 21, 2022. This was a historic decision. Even before the full-scale war in Ukraine, there were officially two million patients who needed treatment with such drugs. However, due to the military and civilians affected by the war, this figure is growing – in December 2023 it had already reached over six million people. At the same time, the independent cultivation and uncontrolled circulation of cannabis in Ukraine remain prohibited. And the use and sale of recreational cannabis is punishable by criminal liability.
When and Who Can Get Medical Cannabis?
Iryna Rachinska, an advisor on community development and partnerships at the Patients of Ukraine Charitable Foundation, claims that patients will be able to receive prescriptions as early as October. “First, Ukraine needs to launch a system of accounting and control of the State Service of Medicines and Drugs. All data on the cultivation, circulation (from seed to patient), and use of medical cannabis will be entered into this system. According to the Ministry of Health, this system will be operational in the fall.” However, there is currently no final list of conditions for which a doctor can prescribe an electronic prescription for medication to a patient – it is still under development. The preliminary list for approval includes:
- Chronic or neuropathic pain;
- Nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy;
- Parkinson’s disease;
- Tourette syndrome;
- Pharmacoresistant epilepsy;
- Diseases that cause seizures in children (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome, tuberous sclerosis);
- Weight loss associated with anorexia in patients with HIV-related diseases;
- And other conditions, including PTSD, with a conclusion of a medical advisory board in healthcare institutions with a scientific base.
