Spanish Parliament Approves Medical Cannabis Distribution Through Pharmacies

Recently, the Spanish Parliament formally passed a law legalizing medical cannabis at the national level. According to the new bill, by the end of the year, residents of Spain will be able to access medical cannabis extracts through hospital-affiliated pharmacies. It is expected that soon, a committee of experts at the Spanish Ministry of Health will begin developing the regulations that will govern the new medical cannabis distribution system.

While activists across the country have welcomed the news of the reform, some believe that the new system may not fully meet the needs of Spanish citizens due to the slow pace of the country’s bureaucracy. Critics point out that, under the reform, cannabis-based medications will only be available to citizens suffering from severe and chronic illnesses, limiting the potential number of patients to just 300,000 nationwide. Even these patients may struggle to receive their medications regularly and promptly because of bureaucratic delays and an artificial shortage of products, which hospitals will have to import from abroad.

Additionally, some are dissatisfied with the fact that patients will only be able to use cannabinoid extracts, not whole cannabis flowers, which remain prohibited for now.

Expert Opinions and Future Prospects

Carola Perez, a medical cannabis specialist and leader of the activist group supporting comprehensive cannabis reforms, notes that even such limited reforms are important because they officially put the country on the path to legalization. “We believe that future reforms, which will give patients access to whole cannabis flowers and expand the market, will continue to be adopted by the authorities as the success of legalization becomes evident,” she told reporters.

“Of course, most consumers, including those suffering from severe and chronic illnesses, will likely have to rely on the gray and black markets for cannabis due to the limitations of the proposed system. Still, this reform is a preferable alternative to total criminalization. Fortunately, people should no longer have difficulty obtaining uncertified cannabis, thanks to the current decriminalization policy and the activities of cannabis grower clubs, which operate in a legal gray area in every region of the country,” she added.