Polish Government Discusses Medical Cannabis Legalization

After years of campaigning by a number of minority political parties, discussions regarding the legalization of medical cannabis has finally reached parliament in Poland. Kukiz'15, a recently formed political party that holds nearly 40 seats in Polish Parliament, have been campaigning alongside activists for medical cannabis legalization in the country. The party leader and punk rock musician Pawel Kukiz initially held talks with Health Minister Konstanty Radziwiłł, presenting him with a bill that would allow patients to grow cannabis at home and produce their own preparations. Radziwiłł expressed his dislike of the bill almost immediately, stating that patients will not and should not be allowed to grow cannabis at home and instead take advantage of the governmental controlled cannabis-based substances that are currently available; Sativex and Bedrocan. After meeting with the Health Minister, Kukiz took the bill to parliament, where the reaction was slightly more favourable. The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee that were presented with the bill has agreed to take a closer look at the bill and any proposed changes. They have set a deadline of five weeks for their decision. While Polish activists have expressed their happiness that the bill is being taken seriously, none are confident that the eventual response will be anything other than to expend the government controlled cannabis substance act.