Legal and medical status of cannabis

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

The purchase and use of marijuana for medical purposes became legal in Croatia on Thursday as the country became the first Balkan state to join the global trend towards softening legislation on the drug.

The 1st Cannabis Festival aimed at legalizing cannabis use in Greece was rendered a success on May 9. An international conference is being organized under the aegis of the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government. Greek pro-cannabis activists point that legalization of the drug would only benefit the national economy, lining state coffers.

Koço Kokedhima, a businessman and MP from the Socialist Party, had started a campaign - mainly through his newspaper Shekulli - calling for the legal cultivation of marijuana in Albania.

The country is considered a major supplier of marijuana for Western Europe and last year its police conducted two major operations, destroying scores of plantations and arresting dozens of people.