This report from the Kyiv Independent, published on 19 August 2024

The legalization of medical cannabis came into force in Ukraine on 16 August 2024, allowing veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and people with serious illnesses such as cancer to access the drug.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law on medical cannabis on 15 February 2024, after it was passed by Ukraine's parliament in December 2023.

Zelensky previously voiced support for the legalization of medical cannabis in his address to parliament on Constitution Day on 28 June 2023.

The distribution of cannabis for recreational purposes is still prohibited, and the government will strictly control the sale and distribution of medical cannabis.

Only patients with a prescription from a doctor are able to buy the drug legally. According to lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the drug will only be prescribed by a doctor to a patient according to their specific condition, as is currently the case with morphine.

The law licenses the economic activity of cultivating hemp for medical, industrial, and scientific purposes "to create conditions for expanding patients' access to the necessary treatment of oncological diseases and post-traumatic stress disorders."

Experts estimate that PTSD may impact around 30% of soldiers and veterans in Ukraine.

Over the past two years, the Ukrainian Electronic Healthcare System (EHS) has recorded a significant increase in the number of patients with PTSD. The same number of patients were diagnosed in the first two months of 2024 as in the entire year of 2021.

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