The voices of patients and experts in Romania are becoming increasingly clear: legalization of medical cannabis is necessary and in our country, so that Romanian patients do not receive worse treatment than patients from other countries. The demands have come as the medical and scientific communities have brought cannabis back into the fold of modern prescription medicine in recent decades, despite the controversy that dogged its use for much of the 20th century. This “revival” of medical interests is a rational response to the need for therapeutic alternatives, against the prejudice and prohibitive legislation that Romania still maintains are increasingly isolated.

The history of cannabis largely resembles the history of mankind, as determined by geographical studies, ancient historical sources, and archaeological discoveries dating back as far as 12,000 BC. Throughout history, hemp has been considered to have medicinal properties, and its anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anticonvulsant effects have been used for thousands of years for many ailments. Furthermore, the fact that humans have an endocannabinoid system in the body is probably the most important evolutionary artifact of the fact that our species has often interacted with this plant in various ways throughout the development of human civilizations.

Currently, medical cannabis is legalized and used in more than 80 jurisdictions around the world, that is, in more than 45 countries and more than 35 states of the United States of America – the latest country that is currently preparing to legalize and use medical cannabis is Ukraine. Medical cannabis is so widespread and used that it was prescribed more than 370,000 times in Germany in 2021 alone, with 138 varieties available to patients. In the United States, for example, in 2022 alone there were more than 3.8 million patients using prescription medical cannabis, which can be used as an adjunctive or palliative treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, glaucoma , chronic pain and nausea/vomiting caused by cancer treatment, among others.

Between these two segments, historical and contemporary reality, there was a tumultuous period of several decades in the 20th century, when cannabis was perceived by the United States of America, and therefore by the international community, as a particularly dangerous substance and without medicinal properties. Listed as a controlled substance by the United Nations Convention in 1961 and 1972, the cannabis plant and its medical research and use suffered greatly, losing decades of medical and scientific advances and discoveries. The reasons for these drastic changes during that period are beyond the scope of this article, but it is enough to mention that they are completely covered by the infamous “war on drugs”, launched at the time purely for political reasons and now recognized as lost, counterproductive and harmful, by the very initiators.

Overcoming this unfortunate stretch of history, the international community has been considering medical cannabis as an effective and promising treatment for decades, but like many other areas, today’s Romania is stuck in the very past that harms its most vulnerable citizens: patients. That is why there is currently no medical cannabis in Romania, which could benefit hundreds of thousands of patients with various diseases. Although legislation has been proposed to regulate the medical cannabis industry since 2019 (Victoria Act), it has been systematically blocked from moving forward in the legislature by the same major ruling parties. The same is true of the second proposed law, submitted by the REPER party in 2023, which sought to force the government to regulate the drug, as well as decriminalize the possession for recreational consumption of up to 3 grams.

The reasons for the refusal of the main parties do not contain rational arguments (since it would be impossible to argue that Romanian patients should not have access to this drug, which is used by millions of patients in developed countries), but are strictly limited to reference to sensational myths or lies, precisely from the infamous historical period last century So what we’re seeing on national television is inviting people who bring irrelevant stories about heroin addiction into the medical cannabis debate, public figures who seem to be borrowing propaganda from the 1930s, invoking hell in the cannabis debate , and that Romania is occupied with some recycled speeches about the start of the Romanian war on drugs. Politically and criminologically, there is no other explanation than that the parliamentary majority and characters close to it believe that in this way they earn image capital, as it worked in elections at that time in America in the 1970s.

For Romania, the collateral damage of this approach includes all Romanian patients who could be potential beneficiaries of medical cannabis. Read the whole article and comment on contributors.ro