The President's Office explained why the head of state wants to during the all-Ukrainian poll to find out from Ukrainians what they think about reducing the number of people's deputies in the Council and about the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes.
Corresponding messages were published in the guarantor's press service.
As for the reduction in the parliament, the Office explained that this is due to the fact that it is impossible to vote for the relevant draft law in the parliament by the forces of the "Servants of the People" alone.
— The main issue of today's agenda is a significant increase in the efficiency of the state administration. The modern world is very competitive and therefore requires the fastest and most competent decisions. Yesterday's traditional management systems are not always able to adequately respond to new challenges and crises. Therefore, back in August 2019, President Volodymyr Zelensky, as part of his pre-election program, initiated a bill on amendments to the Constitution, which, in particular, proposes to reduce the number of people's deputies to three hundred. This draft law has already been previously approved by the Verkhovna Rada and analyzed by the Constitutional Court, which concluded that the initiative of the head of state meets the requirements of the Basic Law, the message says.
The president noted that the implementation of this initiative requires a final parliamentary vote with a result of at least 300 "yes" votes.
— This is impossible to implement exclusively by the faction of the "Servants of the People" party, which supports the course of Volodymyr Zelensky. That is why the president invited the people to have their say and finally convince politicians that they should not cling to a larger number of mandates in the Verkhovna Rada. Quantity is definitely not equal to quality, the Office said.
At the same time, the president is confident that if the people say yes to reducing the number of mandates, no politician will be able to oppose the will of the people.
— The motivation for the need to make a collegial decision to reduce the number of deputies is quite obvious. A deep reform of decentralization took place in Ukraine. This means that both large powers and significantly large financial opportunities for their implementation were transferred to the places. Accordingly, after the change in the balance between central and local government, there was a need for greater concentration of professionalism at the level of the national parliament. The usual number of people's deputies of Ukraine is too large and creates a temptation for numerous players with extensive lobbying resources to give places on the lists of their parties as a reward for many years of companionship, the press service emphasized.
It is clarified that the decrease in the number of people's elected officials can have a positive effect on the quality of representation of voters' interests. Competition for the deputy mandate will increase. Parliament will become even more professional, which is simply necessary for the state today. And 300 people's elected representatives is an absolutely justified number of deputies, taking into account the new administrative and territorial structure of the country.
If we are talking about the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, the Office of the President reminds us that during the 2010s, the state policy on cannabis, in particular its medical form, was significantly revised in many countries.
— As a result, today medicinal drugs based on cannabis are available in such countries as Canada or Australia, the United States or Poland, New Zealand or Lithuania. Ukrainians on the territory of these and dozens of other states can already use the principle "cannabis is a medicine", but on the territory of our country it is completely illegal. However, the public discussion on cannabis is also taking place in Ukraine. And it is fair. The world is changing, and we need to make timely conclusions and make changes to our social contract, the president noted.
— The arguments of the supporters of this idea are well known: hemp without a narcotic effect can be used as an effective and easy pain reliever. What is especially important for people with oncological diseases who, as long as cannabis remains illegal, are forced to save themselves with the help of drugs that are much more difficult and dangerous in terms of their consequences for the body. Also, the use of medical marijuana in states that have already allowed it demonstrates its effectiveness in depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, which is important for servicemen returning home from the war, the message added.
Zelensky's press service emphasized that it is only a matter of medical drugs, which are necessary for people experiencing severe systemic pain, extreme anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, including after the front.
