President of the Republic promulgated regulation of Medicinal Cannabis

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, promulgated on the 26th of December 2018 the regulation of Medicinal Cannabis, approved by the Council of Ministers on the 13th of December. However, the regulation, under the responsibility of Infarmed, remains unknown, as it has not yet been published in the Diário da República.

No Presidency of the Republic website the following can be read:

“The President of the Republic enacted the following Government diplomas:

1. Drawing attention to the need for strict specification and control, on a case-by-case basis, of the conditions for the introduction, circulation and use of this type of medication and preparations in the medical-drug chain, with all the safeguards that their consumption requires, but taking into account the that it is a matter of mere application of a law already in force, the President of the Republic promulgated the Government diploma that regulates the use of medicines, preparations and substances based on the cannabis plant for medicinal purposes.”

Cannabis for medical purposes has been approved with the Law 33/2018 of July 18, but since then little or nothing has changed for patients who depend on Cannabis to maintain their health conditions, as the regulation, which was scheduled to come out on September 18, was successively delayed.

A diploma concerning health was also enacted, which clarifies rules applicable to the reimbursement of medicines and medical devices by the Social Protection System for Workers in Public Functions, but, for the time being, there is no provision for any reimbursement of Cannabis for medicinal purposes in Portugal.