Euro Weed: 822 'Spam' Amendments Block Medical Marijuana In Ukraine, Bosnia & Herzegovina Conference

Ukraine: 822 Spam Amendments Blocking Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill 

The bill to legalize medical marijuana use in the Ukraine has effectively been blocked by a single opposition party and hundreds of its “spam amendments,” reported Business Of Cannabis.

The news comes after health committee chief Mykhaylo Radutskyi told Bloomberg that the final discussion on the legislation might happen at the next meeting of parliament. The outlet reported that one of the regulators said the measure might be approved this month.

Nevertheless, the final reading did not take place.

MP of the Spravedlyvist party and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health, Olga Stefanyshina revealed her dissatisfaction with the current turn of events.

Stefanyshina wrote that the committee had been analyzing 882 amendments for more than three months, adding that 226 of these were “a coffin,” crafted only with the intention to stop the bill’s progress. 

She told local media, that these amendments were submitted by MPs from the All-Ukrainian Union ‘Fatherland’ party, referred to as Batkivshchyna, led by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko who does not support the legislation. 

The bill, however, has the support of the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Stefanyshina noted that a special procedure is now being considered to limit the number of amendments that can be raised in parliament or to force the Verkhovna Rada to review “spam” amendments that “make no sense.” 

Bosnia And Herzegovina: Conference To Speed MMJ Legalization Process 

A conference titled “Legalization of cannabis for medical purposes – how to speed up the process,” was held recently in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country’s Parliamentary Assembly for the first time gathered many representatives of various institutions to discuss this topic, writes AA.

Saša Magazinović, a member of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly and one of the strongest proponents of this initiative in that institution said that all ailing individuals who use cannabis oil expect to be able to use it legally. 

“They expect to be treated by doctors instead of dealers and to buy cannabis oil in pharmacies instead of in dark parks. If it is not clear to anyone, we are talking, and it is important to emphasize this, about a large number of people who suffer from great pain, who suffer from autoimmune diseases, malignant diseases, and neurological disorders… we are talking about people whose quality of life is significantly impaired. We are all here because of these people,” said Magazinović, as translated by Sarajevo Times. 

Magazinović added that he has been working on this idea for four years, during which he talked to hundreds of people who use marijuana oil illegally. 

“They are the motivation to push this story to the end. Once the story of cannabis legalization was a progressive idea, today it is no longer, today it is our international obligation. Three years ago, the UN Commission on Drugs removed cannabis from the list of prohibited substances and transferred it to column two – allowed under special control. That’s what we need,” he said.

Nediljko Rimac, Minister of Health of the Federation of BiH commented, saying this topic is extremely important, and it has his support. 

See Also: Euro Weed: Cathie Wood's Impact On Cannabis ETFs, UK's 'Save The Unicorn' MMJ Campaign And More 

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Claudio Schwarz and Brian Jones on Unsplash