Ukraine legalises marijuana to help treat trauma of war

Ukraine, that has been in war with Russia for almost two years now, has adopted a new law legalising medical marijuana to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and oncological diseases acquired as a result of conflict. As per a report by The Hill, that quoted the official website of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, the law was adopted with 248 votes in favour, 16 votes against, 33 abstentions and 40 members not voting. This comes months after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his address to the country’s parliament in June 2023, called for the drug’s legalising. However, the new law is not coming anytime soon and will only be into effect after six months. The parliament’s chair, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said, “The list of conditions and ways of using cannabis medicines will be determined by the Ministry of Health.” As per the final version of the bill, the law would regulate “the circulation of hemp plants (Cannabis) for medical, industrial purposes, scientific and scientific-technical activities to create conditions for expanding patient access to the necessary treatment of oncological diseases and post-traumatic stress disorders, received as a result of the war.” Earlier the Ukrainian president had said, “All the world’s best practices, all the most effective policies, all the solutions, no matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied to Ukraine so that Ukrainians, all out citizens, do not have to endure the pain, stress and trauma of war.” Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, 2022. However, recently there has been increase in momentum of providing access to medical marijuana as a treatment for war-related conditions. With inputs from agencies