Zelensky signs law on legalization of medical cannabis

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the law on the legalization of medical cannabis in Ukraine No. 3528-IX dated 21.12.2023. It will come into force six months after its promulgation. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the website of the Verkhovna Rada. On February 15, information that the President had signed the law appeared in the bill's card.

This law will help regulate the circulation of cannabis only in medical, industrial and scientific activities in Ukraine. It will help simplify the medical use of medicines that contain cannabis.

The law provides for

• distribution of marijuana for recreational use will continue to be considered a crime and will be investigated by the police in accordance with the law;
• the production of medicines will be controlled at all stages;
• only legal entities that obtain the appropriate license and GMP certificate will be able to grow cannabis under round-the-clock video surveillance with access for the National Police;
• each plant will be individually coded to track the movement of plants to the patient;
• Medicinal cannabis-based drugs will be available only with an electronic prescription, which the doctor will write to the patient according to his or her condition, as is currently the case with morphine.

What happened before

At the end of December, deputies from the Batkivshchyna faction registered a draft resolution in the parliament to cancel the decision of the Verkhovna Rada to adopt the draft law on the legalization of medical cannabis in the second reading and in general.

Thus, the parliament will be able to unblock its signing only in mid-January next year. Then it will have to wait for the president's signature. Given that the law comes into force only in six months, it will be effective no earlier than July 2024.

Legalization of medical cannabis in Ukraine

As a reminder, back in February 2023, the relevant Rada Committee supported the draft law on the use of medical cannabis. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also called for the legalization of medical cannabis and the use of such medicines for everyone who needs it.

On December 21, 2023, the Ukrainian parliament voted in favor of legalizing medical cannabis in the country in the second reading, allowing the use of cannabis-based medicines, their production and research. A total of 248 MPs voted in favor.

Now, after the adoption, it will take six months for the law to come into effect. Thus, the government is given a period of six months to develop all the bylaws and orders for this law to come into effect.

Author: Natalia Kava