By Duke London for marijuana.com
According to comments made last week by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg will become the next European country to end their prohibition on medical marijuana.
Shortly after his weekly meeting of the ministers, Prime Minister Bettel declared that cannabis could be used therapeutically by patients “in exceptional situations,” such as those suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases causing severe pain or muscle spasms.
“This is not a solution for everyone, but we will work on a suitable plan,” said Bettel.
Bettel cited positive results in other European countries like Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands while explaining how the proposed legislation could work once the framework is laid out.
Minister of Health Lydia Mutsch will be tasked with formulating a framework to support the announcement, but Bettel assured the council that “there will be strict prescribing conditions” and cannabis products would be available exclusively through pharmacies within hospitals.
Local publication Le Quotidien is reporting the authority to prescribe cannabis medicine will be limited to immunologists, oncologists, and internists.
Currently, the possession, use, or transportation of marijuana is illegal in Luxembourg, though possession of small personal amounts was decriminalized almost 20 years ago.
Should Luxembourg follow through on the Prime Minister Bettel’s wishes and legalize medical cannabis, the small country that rivals the state of Rhode Island in size — with about half the population — would join others in Europe like Poland and Greece that have also lifted bans on medical marijuana this year.
