European Commission must address ‘inequality’ in access to medicinal cannabis across

Greek MEP, Stelios Kouloglou, has appealed to the European Commission (EC) to address the lack of legislative framework for medicinal cannabis that has left patients relying on the illegal market. 

Despite being one of the first European countries to legalise medicinal cannabis in 2017, the current regulations mean that six years later patients in Greece are still no closer to being able to access legal products. 

In 2018, a more extensive law was brought in, permitting the cultivation of cannabis-based products with a THC content of over 0.3%, but domestic production has been slow.

Then, in November 2021, the Greek government introduced a ban on the importation of cannabis products, in what local sources say is a ‘violation of fundamental EU principles’ under Article 28 of the EU Treaty, the free movement of goods between member states. 

As a result, thousands of patients are still relying on cannabis accessed through the illegal market or growing their own to treat serious medical conditions.