Medical cannabis law back to the drawing board

The period for public discussion on a state-sponsored medical cannabis amendment has expired, with the House getting ready for a new debate on which doctors and how much they could prescribe to their patients.

A number of provisions in the recently-passed medical marijuana legislation had been taken out prior to a vote, prompting officials from Medical Services to call for amendments that would block doctors from prescribing cannabis without any limits.

Earlier this summer, a huge loophole in the medical marijuana law was found to be giving doctors the right to prescribe as much cannabis as they deemed appropriate, with state officials from medical services speculating that some of the prescribed marijuana for medicinal use could end up in the wrong hands.

A bill being pushed by Medical Services aims to close what are described as loopholes in the legislation that has already passed. According to current laws, any doctor who receives training on medicinal use of marijuana in Cyprus could prescribe cannabis to his or her patient without any set limits.

Earlier drafts had been more restrictive but amendments from political parties were eventually merged with the main bill, leaving out what medical and law enforcement officials described as loopholes.

It was not immediately clear how the House would vote on a new amendment, while a possible debate might focus on what exactly are the limits for doctors that could be justified legally but also medically.

The period for public discussion ended on August 30, according to Reporter, with a Policy Impact Assessment scheduled to be submitted to the Health house committee for further analysis.