Congress approves creation of sub-commission to study therapeutic cannabis treatments

With 36 votes in favor and just 1 against, Last Tuesday Congress approved the creation of a Subcommittee of the Commission of Health and Social Services of the Chamber to study therapeutic treatments with cannabis and its derivatives.
 
The initiative, presented in April by the Parliamentary Group of Citizens, highlights the fact that in Spain many patients find relief from the symptoms of their diseases with the use of cannabis and intends to „Create a Subcommittee, within the Health Commission and Social Services, on the therapeutic use of cannabis, taking into account national experiences and international conventions and experiences and based on the scientific evidence of guarantee in terms of patient health „.

The proposal emphasizes the huge body of scientific evidence that demonstrates the efficacy of cannabis in the cure, or in the relief of symptoms, of various pathologies, as well as its effectiveness as a compliment to chemotherapy therapies.

As if this were not proof enough, cannabis, states the proposal, has been used in Indian and Chinese medicine since ancient times, only being removed as a pharmaceutical option in the mid-twentieth century due to incorrect application of the international control system. set out in the international treaties of the United Nations, and later known as the „war on drugs“.

In the last decade, many countries have taken clear positions by decriminalizing, if not legalizing and regulating, the medical use of cannabis.  This is the case, for example, in neighbouring Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic plus 26 American States. Many others are currently in the process of regulation.

The sub commission, within a maximum period of six months, must prepare a report on the status and situation of cannabis and its derivatives in therapeutic treatments. The objective is to generate a document with proposals and conclusions that can serve in the creation of a Bill for the regulation of the therapeutic use of cannabis.

The Sub-Commission, which will be composed of representatives of all the Parliamentary Groups, will call upon national and international experts, scientific societies, representatives of the sanitary field, associations or platforms of health professionals and patients plus any organizations or people they consider experts in the field.

The main intention of the Citizens proposal is to regulate therapeutic cannabis in a broader sense, covering not only therapeutic treatments with cannabis and derivatives, but the cultivation of the drug through the control of its production, treatment and sale. Francisco Igea, health spokesman of the Citizens Parliamentary Group (GPCs), has clarified that with the decision to present the proposed law not through the Health Commission nor in the Joint Congress-Senate for the Study of Drugs, they are clearly showing the need to face a problem that concerns patients and does not refer to drug use: „this issue is not a problem of addiction, it is a purely health issue“.