Germany to Likely Legalize Marijuana Within the Next Year

Germany has followed the footsteps of both Canada and Mexico by publicizing that they are going to legalize medical cannabis for its people before 2017. On Wednesday, a bill proposed by Health Minister Hermann Gröhe made to set up a national medical cannabis program was approved by the government in Germany. The goal of the bill is to make medical marijuana available to those that are accessible to patients who are suffering from certain conditions throughout the entire country by making a program that would allow the drug to be bought from local dispensaries. It would also allow cannabis to be funded by health insurance.

“We want to give the best possible care to the seriously ill,” Gröhe announced.

Germany’s medical cannabis system will be very regulated as some of the other programs we have become used to seeing in the United States. The medicine will only be accessible to patients that have cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, Parkinson’s diseases, and more. These are all conditions that do not have any other efficient medicines. In addition, anyone who would like to petition the government for consent to be able to take part in the program would first need to obtain a letter from a  doctor that states that marijuana is the last possible treatment for the patient.

It may not be the best plan in the world, but the proposal is surely an improvement from the country’s old policy on medical cannabis. For a long time, patients looking for access to marijuana treatment have needed to receive special permission from the government and would not be subsidized for it, assuming they are given permission. Health Minister Gröhe states that hundreds of citizens monthly have been applying for permits to use medical marijuana, asking for a policy similar to those in the United States.

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