Narcotic substances as a panacea - a way to treat patients or the appearance of new patients? A question that has not subsided in Ukraine for the last few years - as recently as the ex-Minister of Health of Ukraine, Ulyana Suprun, spoke about the need to legalize medical cannabis. And so, a few years later, the Cabinet of Ministers excluded 2 drugs based on this substance from the list of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. In particular, in Ukraine, the drugs "Nabilon" and "Nabiximols" were allowed to be used for medical purposes.
What kind of medication is it and was it worth the price? According to experts, these drugs are essential for thousands of Ukrainians, primarily cancer patients.
- "Nabilon" - used to treat side effects of cancer chemotherapy (nausea and vomiting)
- "Nabiximols" ("Sativex") - to relieve muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis.
The society immediately divided into two camps: they say, there is nothing to solve, that is why we protect children so much. The second side is ringing bells and asking to give Ukrainians a path to legal treatment.
— Here it is important to note that we are not talking about any "bary" mixtures and so on. The crazy effect of medical cannabis can be observed with appropriate therapy for cancer patients, HIV-positive citizens, treatment of epilepsy, pain relief - that is, the range of functions is huge. Moreover: we must not forget that medical cannabis does not give a narcotic "high", so this mass statement that a new type of drug addiction is being created is a delusion. After all, the government recently legalized another addiction - gambling, legalized casinos, and the so-called "morphine therapy" was once used in our country - Konstantin Shevchenko-Bytensky, associate professor of the Department of Psychiatry, Narcology and Medical Psychology of the State University named after K.D. Ushinsky
The issue of legalization was also raised by President Volodymyr Zelensky during the pre-election referendum with 5 questions. Then the guarantor asked Ukrainians how they feel about such an initiative - and, despite the crowd of critics, 70% of citizens supported the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, 24% said "against", the remaining 6% were undecided.
There is another side of the coin - economic. According to public officials and representatives of rehabilitation centers, the drugs included in this list are very expensive - about $2055 and $640, respectively. There are two issues here - their availability in pharmacies and the mechanism of their distribution.
— There are patients, there is a need, but it seems to me that our state is not ready to make such a decision at the legislative level at the moment. Let's be honest: today there are a number of medicines that must be dispensed strictly according to a prescription, but they are freely available in pharmacies. And drug users can freely buy them, but the state cannot regulate it. By making such a decision, the government automatically absolves itself of responsibility. First of all, it is necessary to regulate the process of selling such drugs, and only then take similar legislative initiatives. The only factor is the unavailability of these two drugs that have been approved - due to the high price, they will not be so easily realized, - says Vitaly Kulikov, director of one of the rehabilitation centers.
At the end of December 2020, a bill on the legalization of cannabis was registered in the parliament. Its authors were people's deputies from the "Voice" party. In addition, the Verkhovna Rada has three alternative draft laws, which are now being combined into one.
— We actually start from scratch. We need to introduce deadlines, special licenses, and the question of who will produce these medicinal products, who will be able to grow medical cannabis on the territory of Ukraine, because it is very important, - said People's Deputy of Ukraine Olha Stefanyshyn. She also added that it is necessary to provide the possibility of production of drugs on the territory of Ukraine. According to her, this will reduce the cost of medicines.
While those in power enlist the support of doctors and ordinary people, experts discuss the topic of implementing the initiative. One thing is important here: no matter how well-intentioned, a new wave of medical crime will not be born.
— Everything is solved simply, there are two ways. The first - to dispense drugs only on a red form (and this is a whole problem - to get such a prescription), the second - to introduce an electronic prescription and a system of dispensing drugs, clearly limit the prescription of drugs, - Konstantin Shevchenko-Bytensky concluded.
Iryna Kystruga
