Medical Marijuana Legalization Hits Roadblock in Ukraine Due to Opposition Tactics

In a recent turn of events, the bill aimed at legalizing medical marijuana use in Ukraine has encountered a significant setback, with a single opposition party employing obstructionist tactics through hundreds of “spam amendments.” This development was reported by Business Of Cannabis.

Despite earlier expectations of a final discussion on the legislation taking place at the next parliamentary meeting, the bill's progress has effectively been halted. Health committee chief Mykhaylo Radutskyi had previously hinted at the possibility of approval this month, but the final reading did not materialize.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the situation, MP Olga Stefanyshina of the Spravedlivost party and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health revealed that the committee had spent over three months analyzing 882 amendments. She highlighted that 226 of these amendments, dubbed as a “coffin,” were strategically designed to impede the bill's advancement.

Stefanyshina attributed these obstructive amendments to MPs from the All-Ukrainian Union ‘Fatherland' party, commonly known as Batkivshchyna. Led by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the party does not support the legislation. Notably, the bill has garnered the backing of Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In response to the situation, Stefanyshina disclosed that discussions are underway to implement a special procedure. This could either limit the number of amendments allowed in parliament or compel the Verkhovna Rada to review the so-called “spam” amendments that serve no constructive purpose.

In a separate development, Bosnia and Herzegovina recently organized a conference titled “Legalization of cannabis for medical purposes – how to speed up the process.” The country's Parliamentary Assembly convened representatives from various institutions to discuss this crucial topic for the first time, as reported by International CBC.