Council of evangelical Protestant churches opposes legalization of cannabis

This is reported by the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine website on Facebook.

The relevant appeals to the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmitry Razumkov, the heads of factions and groups in the Verkhovna Rada were sent following the results of the meeting of the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine on July 8. "...the position of the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine is as follows:

1. The issue of improving the legislation regulating the cultivation and use of technical (non-narcotic) varieties of cannabis for industrial purposes is relevant in terms of ensuring a more complete use of the technical potential of cannabis.

2. The Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine does not support the initiative to grant permission for the cultivation of cannabis by citizens on their own land plots and almost complete decriminalization of liability for illegal acquisition, storage, transportation and use of cannabis. In our opinion, the potential risks, in particular regarding the spread of cannabinoid addiction, significantly outweigh the possible benefits.

3. It is quite appropriate to take the initiative to grant permission for the use of cannabis for educational and scientific purposes, which, in particular, will provide for a study (preclinical study, clinical trials) on the possibilities and prospects of using drugs based on it in domestic medical practice. These studies should be conducted in strict compliance with ethical principles and the legal regime for the circulation of controlled substances.

4. In the current context, the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine does not support the initiative to legalize the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, because this issue can be considered only after obtaining a sufficient amount of reliable and scientifically based data on the effectiveness and safety of medical use of drugs based on it.

5. In our opinion, in case of receiving positive expert opinions on the expediency of medical use of certain cannabis preparations, the latter should be registered as standardized prescription drugs in the form of specific dosage forms, the turnover of which will be subject to control and proper pharmacovigilance. Only medicines for external use containing a small number of components of non-narcotic cannabis can be sold without prescriptions.

6. The Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine does not support the idea of registering cannabis products as dietary supplements or other types of special food products to which citizens have uncontrolled access, because today Ukraine is absolutely not ready for such innovations.

The Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches demands to take into account this position of the religious community of Ukraine and to review draft law No. 5596 on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine concerning the regulation of cannabis turnover for medical purposes, academic and scientific-technical activities.

"In our opinion, proposals in this area should be discussed with maximum social, professional and moral responsibility and awareness of all possible consequences of the adoption of relevant legislative acts," the appeals say.

As you know, the president of Ukraine asks the Verkhovna Rada to consider the mentioned bill at an extraordinary meeting of the Rada this week," the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine notes.