Medicinal cannabis is being adopted in the European continent now more than ever, with Germany leading the way from an industry standpoint.
Europe recently witnessed its first country legalizing cannabis for adult use when Maltese lawmakers passed a legalization measure last month.
Unfortunately, not all medical cannabis programs in Europe work at the same level, and the UK is especially terrible for medical cannabis.
Since last summer, only three patients had received medicinal cannabis products in the UK, which is obviously a long way off compared to most other European countries.
There is no expansion of the program on the horizon
Last year, Jeff Smith, the Labor MP for Manchester Wythenshawe in the UK Parliament, introduced the medical cannabis access bill in the House of Commons.
The move would have expanded the UK’s medical cannabis program and resulted in many more patients having secure access to medical cannabis.
Further reforms would have been needed for the United Kingdom to pursue a medical cannabis policy similar to that of Germany. However, it would have been a significant improvement over the current situation.
Unfortunately, as recognized recently by the main sponsor of the measure, the medical expansion bill is basically dead right now.
An Urgent Situation
The United Kingdom has a population of over 67 million people. Many are suffering from patients who will benefit from medical cannabis.
Until UK lawmakers pass sensitive cannabis policy reforms, patients will continue to suffer unnecessarily.
It’s not like there aren’t examples of successful medical cannabis programs to learn from. Dozens of countries now have thriving and effective medical cannabis programs.
With the legalization of the use of adults on the move in Europe, the UK medical cannabis program will only seem more and more ridiculous and inhumane as time goes on. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any change on the horizon.
