Progressives to continue pushing legalization of medical marijuana

RIGA - The board of the Progressives party on Tuesday decided to push ahead with the proposal to legalize medical marijuana - capsules, extracts, tablets -, stressing that medical marijuana should be part of the Latvian healthcare system, the party informed LETA.

In two weeks' time, the Progressives will discuss the initiative with coalition partners and present it at a meeting of the government coalition in order to negotiate the drafting of a clear, safe and internationally guideline-based regulation that would allow doctors to prescribe cannabis-containing medicines to patients.

MP Mairita Luse (Progressives) argues that medical cannabis in the form of tablets, capsules or extracts can be the most effective or even the only solution for patients with chronic pain, nausea, muscle spasms and other symptoms associated with conditions such as multiple sclerosis or cancer.

Highly regulated drugs such as opioids and fentanyl patches are already prescribed to certain patients, assessing all the the indications and risks. In other countries, cannabis-containing products are also prescribed as such highly controlled medicines, Luse said.

According to the Progressives, the current forbidding regulation forces patients to buy or import marijuana or its preparations illegally. "Patients do not discuss the issue with their health care providers and can choose wrong dozes or an unsuitable product, thus harming themselves," the party argues.

State Police chief Armands Ruks said earlier that he would not support the legalization of marijuana, but that if experts agreed on such a solution, he would not object to a legal use of marijuana for medical purposes.