South Africans will be able to consume cannabis at home without this constituting an offense. South African justice has declared the ban on private marijuana consumption unconstitutional. Marketing and consumption in public places remain prohibited.
The country is entering the still “closed” circle of countries that have decriminalized cannabis for recreational use. Uruguayis a pioneer in having legalized the production, distribution and consumption of cannabis in 2013. In the United States, eight American states have authorized recreational consumption, the last to have been California in January 2018.
The march towards the legalization of medical cannabis
Globally, the time has come to legalize the exclusively therapeutic use of marijuana. In Latin America as in Europe, several countries have already taken the plunge or are preparing to do so. Medicinal cannabis is legal in particular in Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Italy, Greece, etc.
In France, only one cannabis-based drug is authorized in France, the Sativex. But in fact, this treatment intended to relieve contractures and severe pain in patients with multiple sclerosis is still not marketed.
Several voices of scientists defend the use of cannabis for medical purposes especially to relieve chronic pain and reduce the side effects (nausea and vomiting) of chemotherapy.
On September 10, theNational Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) announced the establishment of a committee responsible for looking into the matter. Objective stated: “to assess the relevance of developing the therapeutic use of cannabis in France for certain indications and to propose, if necessary, the modalities of its availability”. The first conclusions are expected by the end of the year.
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