Cannabis might soon be a legal form of treatment for wounded Ukrainian soldiers, as well as other people with serious illnesses, after a bill to legalize its use for medical purposes passed its first hurdle in Ukraine’s parliament, APA reports citing CNN.
Previous efforts to legalize cannabis in Ukraine have failed.
“Exactly two years ago, the vote on a similar initiative unfortunately failed. Today, the war dictates new realities and the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament), by a majority vote, is responding to them appropriately,” senior lawmaker David Arakhamia wrote on Telegram.
Myhalo Bakalyuk, a member of Ukraine’s 47th Brigade, is one of the soldiers who has appealed for a change in the law. He posted a written appeal on Facebook explaining how he had been seriously injured by an anti-personnel mine on the southern front, which resulted in him having his left leg amputated.
The painkillers he received were only able to dampen the physical pain, he wrote, but could not relieve it. They also had an adverse effect on his cardiovascular system, central nervous system and internal organs, he said.
“I ask you to consider the possibility of urgent … adoption of a law on medical cannabis. Medical use of such a drug as a painkiller will significantly reduce the pain and the impact on the body compared to existing chemicals,” he wrote.
Medical cannabis would also be used to treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Olha Stefanishyna, a lawmaker who sits on the parliament’s health committee. Altogether, some 6 million people in Ukraine would benefit from the treatment, she said on Ukrainian television.
The bill needs one more vote in favor of it in parliament before becoming law.
If passed, it could also play a role in the country’s post-war regeneration, supporters say. Crimean officials in exile say cultivation of the cannabis plant on the peninsula — which has the warmest climate in Ukraine — could be part of the territory’s economic recovery in the event of its liberation from Russian occupation.
Source: Azeri-Press News Agency