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Anonymous
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Medical Marijuana to be in Dutch Pharmacies
March 17
Doctors Can Prescribe Immediately;
Government Preparing to License Growers
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Under a groundbreaking new
law effective March 17,
physicians in the Netherlands will be able to
prescribe medical
marijuana and pharmacies will dispense it to
patients as they do other
prescription medications. This will make the
Netherlands the first
country to treat marijuana in the same manner it
treats other
prescription drugs.
In order to establish a stable,
quality-controlled supply of the
medicine, the Dutch government will shortly
begin contracting with
medical marijuana growers, who will be required
to meet specific
standards covering product quality, as well as
security rules designed
to prevent diversion into the illegal market.
Spokesman Bas Kuik of the
Dutch government's Office of Medicinal Cannabis
said that he expects the
first contract to be signed "somewhere near the
end of March," with the
first crop reaching pharmacies in September.
Once this system is in
place, pharmacies will be required to dispense
only medical marijuana
from these government-licensed providers. Until
then, they will be
permitted to obtain the medicine from producers
of their own choosing.
While the Netherlands is the second nation to
formally sanction the
medical use of marijuana, it is the first to
incorporate it in its
standard system of prescription drug regulation.
The Canadian government
established a medical marijuana program in July
2001, but only a limited
number of patients have made it through the
complex permission process.
In addition, Canada has yet to provide these
patients with a legal means
of obtaining their medicine, a problem that has
led to continuing
litigation.
"This is yet another indication of how
out-of-step the U.S. is on
medical marijuana policy," said Robert Kampia,
executive director of the
Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.
"While the Netherlands is
guaranteeing patients safe access to
quality-controlled medical
marijuana through doctors and pharmacies, we're
still fighting just to
keep people with cancer and AIDS out of jail.
Americans like Ed
Rosenthal face up to 40 years in federal prison
for providing the same
service to patients that the government of the
Netherlands is ensuring
through licensed producers and pharmacies. The
rest of the world
increasingly regards the U.S. policy of
criminalizing medical marijuana
patients and providers as cruel and pointless."
The Dutch Office of Medicinal Cannabis can be
reached by telephone at
011-31-70-340-5129. The new Dutch law and
implementation regulations can
be viewed at <http://www.mpp.org/Dutch>
http://www.mpp.org/Dutch .
With 11,000 members nationwide, the Marijuana
Policy Project is the
largest marijuana policy reform organization in
the United States. MPP
works to minimize the harm associated with
marijuana -- both the
consumption of marijuana and the laws that are
intended to prohibit such
use. MPP believes that the greatest harm
associated with marijuana is
imprisonment. To this end, MPP focuses on
removing criminal penalties
for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on
making marijuana
medically available to seriously ill people who
have the approval of
their doctors.
March 17
Doctors Can Prescribe Immediately;
Government Preparing to License Growers
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Under a groundbreaking new
law effective March 17,
physicians in the Netherlands will be able to
prescribe medical
marijuana and pharmacies will dispense it to
patients as they do other
prescription medications. This will make the
Netherlands the first
country to treat marijuana in the same manner it
treats other
prescription drugs.
In order to establish a stable,
quality-controlled supply of the
medicine, the Dutch government will shortly
begin contracting with
medical marijuana growers, who will be required
to meet specific
standards covering product quality, as well as
security rules designed
to prevent diversion into the illegal market.
Spokesman Bas Kuik of the
Dutch government's Office of Medicinal Cannabis
said that he expects the
first contract to be signed "somewhere near the
end of March," with the
first crop reaching pharmacies in September.
Once this system is in
place, pharmacies will be required to dispense
only medical marijuana
from these government-licensed providers. Until
then, they will be
permitted to obtain the medicine from producers
of their own choosing.
While the Netherlands is the second nation to
formally sanction the
medical use of marijuana, it is the first to
incorporate it in its
standard system of prescription drug regulation.
The Canadian government
established a medical marijuana program in July
2001, but only a limited
number of patients have made it through the
complex permission process.
In addition, Canada has yet to provide these
patients with a legal means
of obtaining their medicine, a problem that has
led to continuing
litigation.
"This is yet another indication of how
out-of-step the U.S. is on
medical marijuana policy," said Robert Kampia,
executive director of the
Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.
"While the Netherlands is
guaranteeing patients safe access to
quality-controlled medical
marijuana through doctors and pharmacies, we're
still fighting just to
keep people with cancer and AIDS out of jail.
Americans like Ed
Rosenthal face up to 40 years in federal prison
for providing the same
service to patients that the government of the
Netherlands is ensuring
through licensed producers and pharmacies. The
rest of the world
increasingly regards the U.S. policy of
criminalizing medical marijuana
patients and providers as cruel and pointless."
The Dutch Office of Medicinal Cannabis can be
reached by telephone at
011-31-70-340-5129. The new Dutch law and
implementation regulations can
be viewed at <http://www.mpp.org/Dutch>
http://www.mpp.org/Dutch .
With 11,000 members nationwide, the Marijuana
Policy Project is the
largest marijuana policy reform organization in
the United States. MPP
works to minimize the harm associated with
marijuana -- both the
consumption of marijuana and the laws that are
intended to prohibit such
use. MPP believes that the greatest harm
associated with marijuana is
imprisonment. To this end, MPP focuses on
removing criminal penalties
for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on
making marijuana
medically available to seriously ill people who
have the approval of
their doctors.