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Date Published: 29/03/2022

ARCHIVED - Spanish pharmacies propose pilot project for sale of medicinal marijuana

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Many experts argue that the sale of the drug in Spain will lead to an increase in mental health problems

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spanish pharmacies propose pilot project for sale of medicinal marijuana

The General Council of Pharmacists in Spain proposed on Monday March 28 a pilot test to assess the sale of medicinal cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Several experts have been called to give their opinion on the plan, but the president of the group, Jesús Aguirre, believes that if cannabis has “similar authorisation and use conditions” as other drugs such as morphine, its sale in pharmacies should at least be trialled.

Conducting the pilot program “under the strict supervision of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products,” the president argued, would make it possible to determine whether the use of cannabis-derived products could be safely dispensed in community-based chemists, rather than just through hospitals.

"We believe it is time to act with the appropriate scientific, technical and health rigor to respond to the interest and demand for the use of cannabis for the treatment of certain symptoms of different pathologies, a response in which – we insist – the safety and protection of the health of patients,” Mr Aguirre explained, adding that the flood of fake cannabis products on the “irregular market” is actually putting public health at risk.

The proposal, however, is not without its detractors, and Celso Arango, president of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry, asked that the number of patients treated with cannabis products as part of the study be strictly limited to mitigate the risk of psychiatric disorders associated with the drug.

“There is a relationship between cannabis use and depression, anxiety disorders, suicide, attendance at psychiatric emergencies and a decrease in intelligence Quotient,” Mr Arando argued, before proceeding to present the gathered experts with data on the deterioration of mental health in places where cannabis has been legalised.

However, he did concede that all medications have contraindications and acknowledged that it would be up to the regulatory agencies to weigh the possible benefits against the risks.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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