Greece’s Parliament last week passed a measure to legalize the cultivation and sale of medical cannabis, according to the Greek Reporter. The vote comes nearly four years after a decision by the health and justice ministers to downgrade cannabis from under the nation’s drug control guidelines, but those reforms did not include cultivation or sale.
Christos Kellas, a spokesperson for the New Democracy party, said the law will implement “an integrated framework for the development of the cannabis industry” in Greece and supporters “expect that there will be benefits for [the] economy through investments and the creation of new jobs.”
“[The bill offers] new options in the fields of agriculture and processing, but most importantly, to those who use the final products of medical cannabis. Medical marijuana can relieve their diseases and help them respond better to treatments, if this is deemed necessary by the treating physicians.” – Kellas to the Greek Reporter
The measure was approved 158-33; however, the SYRIZA party, which introduced the bill, abstained from the vote in protest because the rollcall was not carried out in person. The party’s protest also led the Movement for Change party to abstain claiming that holding SYRIZA-requested rollcall when that party does not participate in them undermines parliamentary procedures.
The Communist Party of Greece, Greek Solution, and MeRA 25, all rejected the proposal.
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