Hundreds of Cypriots with chronic diseases and in urgent need of medical cannabis feel deprived since the protocol paving the way for them to get a prescription for it is way too slow.
This prompts many of them to get medical cannabis from either neighbouring Israel or from dubious websites on the internet or even through non-legal ways, Philenews reports.
“Cases of chronic patients crying out for help are in the hundreds,” said spokesman of the Federation of Patients’ Associations of Cyprus Demetris Lambrianides.
“We cannot say that progress in the procedure has been recorded, unfortunately. There is a procedure but it is not helpful enough for chronic patients.
“Medical cannabis is used mainly by cancer patients but also by some rheumatology ones as well as by people with neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis,” he added.
The standard procedure followed now is for the doctor to prescribe and then send the request to the Ministry of Health for approval.
Once this is done, the procedure for the supply of the patient with the medicine begins but it is quite a long one and many of them cannot stand the excruciating pain.
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