The decree leaves many of the specifics of a forthcoming government program to be determined by various health agencies. But the decree intends to provide a model that’s flexible to changes based on “scientific advances and available clinical evidence,” according to the Ministry of Health.
Business of Cannabis
The royal decree is to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis in hospital pharmacies to patients with conditions untreatable by other medicines.
The Spanish cabinet approved a royal decree on Oct. 7 to regulate medical cannabis in “standardized preparations” as a therapeutic alternative for patients in the country’s health care system.
Under the decree, specialist physicians could prescribe medical cannabis to those with chronic or refractory pain, severe epilepsy, spasticity due to multiple sclerosis, cancer and other conditions where conventional treatments have proved ineffective, according to the Spanish Ministry of Health.
Spain’s Council of Ministers – the executive branch’s decision-making body headed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez – authorized the decree at the country’s Ministry of Health proposal. Spain’s Congress still needs to vote on the proposal.
“This regulation, requested by the Health and Consumer Affairs Committee of the Congress of Deputies, represents a decisive step in the integration of medical cannabis into the health care system, ensuring its use with scientific, clinical and health control guarantees,” according to the Ministry of Health.
Per the decree, patients will be limited to accessing medical cannabis that’s exclusively dispensed in Spain’s hospital pharmacy services. The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) will be tasked with ensuring that the medical cannabis formulas prescribed by doctors meet certain quality, safety and dosage standards.
The decree leaves many of the specifics of a forthcoming government program to be determined by various health agencies. But the decree intends to provide a model that’s flexible to changes based on “scientific advances and available clinical evidence,” according to the Ministry of Health.
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