Poland: Cannabis for everyone?
Poland has some of Europe's most restrictive drug laws. But lax medical marijuana rules have healthy people lining up for prescriptions
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
The distribution and use of cannabis for medical purposes became legal in Poland in 2017. By 2021, doctors across Poland were writing roughly 3,000 marijuana prescriptions a month. But how many monthly prescriptions go to patients who really need medical marijuana, and how many to others faking illness in order to gain access to cannabis? "That's hard to say," explains Andrzej Dolecki, chairman of the Free Hemp movement, one of the oldest organizations in the fight for the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana in Poland. "Rules for medical cannabis are very liberal, not because politicians designed them that way but because of their amateurism." (See also: Polish activists advocate for cannabis legalisation)