Macedonian parliament committee approves legalization of controlled cannabis products

Macedonian parliament's health committee approved the amendment of the law on control of drugs and psychotropic substances, that would allow the use of cannabis products for medicinal purposes, Macedonian local media reported on Tuesday.

Stojanco Stojkovski, State Secretary in the Macedonian Ministry of Health, who proposed the changes to the law, declared that "The need to change this law comes from the requests of patients who want to have the option to use naturally derived cannabis products, under strict supervision."

"The amendments would allow patients to have access to strictly controlled products, improving on the current situation when some patients use unverified products without any supervision regarding the dosage," said the official.

Representatives from both the ruling VMRO-­DPMNE party and the opposition SDSM party welcomed the proposal.

Saso Vasilevski from Macedonian VMRO party said that he has had a relative diagnosed with cancer who was using a cannabis derivative bought on the black market, and said he supports the legalization of similar products.

Moreover, Alen Georgiev from SDSM party stated that the change should have been made sooner. Endit