Catalonia gives green light to medical marijuana 10/04/2008 00:00

Heath department has given approval for cancer patients to use the drug to counter side-effects of chemotherapy.

10 April 2008

BARCELONA - The Health Department of Catalonia has given approval for cancer patients to be prescribed medical marijuana for the treatment of nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy treatment.

Until now, Canada had been the only country where the use of cannabis to treat patients suffering from neurological conditions and multiple sclerosis had been approved.

Marina Geli, Catalonia's regional health chief, told reporters that the measure to allow patients to use medical marijuana will be done as a gesture of "compassion" toward the suffering endured by cancer patients. The move, she added, "opens a door of hope" to those patients.

The Catalan government will soon publish a guide for neurologists and doctors on the therapeutic use of cannabis as an alternative - but not primary - form of treatment.

[El Pais / Expatica]