Access to medicinal cannabis will soon be a reality
An announcement was made in Parliament that access to medicinal cannabis for prescribed health conditions will soon be regulated by the Department of Health.
After two years of deliberations, investigation and research, an announcement was made in Parliament that the Department of Health will soon regulate access to medicinal cannabis for prescribed health conditions.
This is a victory for every South African unnecessarily suffering because of HIV/AIDS, severe chronic pain, severe muscle spasms, vomiting or wasting arising from cancer, or severe seizures resulting from epileptic conditions where other treatment options have failed or have intolerable side effects.
IFP Chief Whip in Parliament, Narend Singh MP, lauded this announcement as a victory for his late colleague, Dr Mario Oriani-Ambrosini MP, who introduced the Medical Innovation Bill (MIB) in the midst of his own fight with terminal Cancer. Following his death in 2014, Singh reintroduced the MIB to ensure that this vital issue would stay on the table.
Singh said: “This heralds a great step forward for public access and research into the use of medicinal cannabis. What matters now is that the Department ensures that access to medicinal cannabis will not be restricted to the rich, but that anyone who needs it will be able to afford it, and get it.”
The Department has indicated that the new regulatory framework could be available as early as the end of January 2017 for stakeholder comment, and could be implemented as soon as April 2017.
