Gov't considers growing medical marijuana

The Ministry of Health wants to change the law in order to allow the growing of marijuana for medical use in Poland and is in talks with the Ministry of Justice over the matter, Deputy Health Minister Krzysztof Łanda told Polish daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. "Why should we pay the Netherlands, from which we import dried cannabis for PLN 10,000 or PLN 20,000 a month? Growing it in the country will be much cheaper," said Łanda. Initially, the government agencies would be tasked with growing marijuana, but "ultimately it could be private plantations that need legal requirements and are subject to systematic and detailed control," the official added. The marijuana would be transported to pharmacies, where prescription drugs for patients with refractory epilepsy would be prepared. "I assume the drugs would be reimbursed by the state," Łanda stated.