International
Spain: Congress of Deputies approves medical cannabis law

The Spanish Congress of Deputies approved this week the regulation of medical cannabis. The report that was voted on in the subcommittee had the votes in favor of the Unidas Podemos, PSOE, Cs, PNV and PDeCat, the abstention of the ERC and Bildu and the votes against of the PP and Vox. The Spanish Medicines Agency now has six months to frame the recommendations in the current regulations, with which therapeutic cannabis will begin to be distributed in Spain by the end of the year.
Carola Perez, president of the Spanish Medical Cannabis Observatory, told Cannareporter that she was “exhausted but happy” with this first step in regulation. “We fought until the last minute to include as many therapeutic indications as possible. The model can be improved, of course. We will not rest until everyone has proper access to this plant,” she confessed.
As in Portugal, medicinal cannabis in Spain has been approved for certain types of pathologies, such as cancer pain, neuropathy, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis or endometriosis, always with a medical prescription and dispensed at a pharmacy.
If approved next week by the Congressional Health Commission and later ratified by the Spanish government, the regulation will also open the possibility of extending the use of cannabis to other therapeutic indications, when studies provide consistent indications.
It is estimated that there are at least 300 people who could benefit from using medical cannabis in Spain. More than 80% of Spaniards are in favor of the therapeutic use of cannabis, according to the Centro de Investigación Sociológica, an official government body.
In September 2021, the Spanish Ministry of Health had already authorized the marketing of the first cannabidiol-based drug (CBD) in the country, Epidiolex, by GW Pharmaceuticals, for the treatment of crises associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (SLG) and to Dravet syndrome (DS).
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[Disclaimer: Please note that this text was originally written in Portuguese and is translated into English and other languages using an automatic translator. Some words may differ from the original and typos or errors may occur in other languages.]____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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With a degree in Journalism from the University of Coimbra, Laura Ramos has a postgraduate degree in Photography and has been a Journalist since 1998. Winner of the Business of Cannabis Awards in the category "Journalist of the Year 2024", Laura was a correspondent for Jornal de Notícias in Rome, Italy, and Press Officer in the Office of the Minister of Education of the 21st Portuguese Government. She has an international certification in Permaculture (PDC) and created the street-art photography archive “Say What? Lisbon” @saywhatlisbon. Co-founder and Editor of CannaReporter® and coordinator of PTMC - Portugal Medical Cannabis, Laura directed the documentary “Pacientes” and was part of the steering group of the first Postgraduate Course in GxP's for Medicinal Cannabis in Portugal, in partnership with the Military Laboratory and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon.
