DE: FIRST PATIENTS RECEIVE CANNABIS FROM THE PHARMACY

On 7 February the first patient received cannabis herb as medicine from her pharmacy. So far seven patients got such a permission by the Federal Institute for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products (BfArM) of the Federal Ministry of Health and these days receive their medication for the first time, cannabis from the Netherlands, which is also available in Dutch pharmacies.This was confirmed by the head of the Federal Opium Office at the BfArM, Dr. Winfried Kleinert, in Bonn. So far, further 27 patients got a permission to use a cannabis extract produced from this cannabis.

The seven patients suffer from chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, Tourette syndrome and other severe diseases. Patients have to pay about 15 Euros (about 19 US Dollars) for one gram of cannabis with a dronabinol content of 18 per cent, about two fold the price Dutch patients have to pay in their pharmacies.

Currently the application process is rather complex since physicians have to elaborate an extended statement, which substantiates the necessity of a treatment with cannabis. In a recent expert opinion Dr. Lorenz Boellinger, professor of law at the University of Bremen, and Dr. Harald Hans Koerner, senior public prosecutor from Frankfurt and well-known commentator of the German narcotics law, argue that the application procedure should be facilitated to do justice to the interests of patients to an adequate alleviation of their conditions.

More information available in German