Japan urges legislature to consider importing medical cannabinoids

A panel under Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has recommended that the country's lawmakers open a legal pathway to import scientifically proven medical cannabinoids, similar to the approach taken by South Korea four years ago. The panel recommended that Japan amend its drug law to facilitate legal access to cannabinoid drugs whose efficacy has been proven, Reuters and Bloomberg reported. The panel did not recommend that the country pass a law allowing access to dried flowers containing THC. South Korea did something similar in 2018, when the country's National Assembly approved an Amendment to the Narcotics Control Act to allow for the prescription of medical cannabinoids. South Korea's law allows patients in the country to access drugs such as Cesamet, Epidiolex, Marinol and Sativex for the treatment of conditions such as epilepsy, HIV/AIDS symptoms and cancer-related treatments. The legal changes recommended by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare panel would also help patients gain access to drugs such as the cannabis-derived epilepsy drug Epidiolex.

Information source: mjbizdaily.com