Macedonia Considers Legalising Medical Marijuana

The health ministry in Skopje told BIRN that it is carrying out wide-ranging consultations about making marijuana treatments available to people suffering from serious illnesses

"We are consulting experts, specialist doctors from various fields, pharmacologists, representatives of civil society... We believe that they will help us in finding the most optimal solution," the ministry told BIRN.

The ministry organised the first public debate on the subject on Sunday, inviting medics, pharmacologists and civil activists, drug experts and cancer patients to discuss the pros and cons of legalisation.

A recent opinion poll suggested that 70 per cent of Macedonians support allowing the use of marijuana products for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases.

But some medical experts are advising caution on the benefts of marijuana.

"Studies have shown that it helps patients in reducing pain, but it needs to be proven that it has an anti-tumour effect. We must not forget that a combination of therapies might cause complications," said the head of the state oncology and radiology clinic, Milan Ristevski. 

Marija Darkovska Serafimova, the head of the State Pharmacological Bureau, which is in charge of providing and controlling medications, says that while "there is some research that indicates that the use of cannabis products helps", the studies show that the positive effects are not universal.

But she also said that "legalisation would allow patients to get cannabis with a verified and standardised quality.

Darko Kostovski, a psychiatrist from September 8, a Skopje centre for treatment of drug addicts, said meanwhile that "the initiative for legalisation of medical marijuana does not come from addicts but from...