Affected person Advocates Welcome the Transfer
For long-time campaigners, the choice represents a significant milestone. Carola Pérez, a affected person advocate who has spent greater than a decade pushing for medical entry, described it as a “victory for all sufferers.”
She instructed Hashish Well being, that the following steps could be essential, with many healthcare professionals not having the required coaching within the prescription of cannabis-based medicines.
“One of many causes for this strict prescribing mannequin is to keep away from unhealthy follow,” she mentioned.
“We hope that each one the areas will likely be on the identical web page and that this is not going to find yourself being handled as a political difficulty somewhat than a scientific one. They should get their act collectively as a result of the flood of sufferers goes to be big.”
Pérez went on to focus on that Spanish sufferers should not have to pay for prescriptions issued by means of hospital pharmacies, which means value and accessibility is not going to be a difficulty, as has been the case in different nations.
“We don’t should pay for the oils or merchandise, so this enables entry for everybody, no matter their private monetary state of affairs,” she added. “We see now how different sufferers in different nations can not afford the therapy. Right here that gained’t occur.”
Issues Over Restrictive Scope
Some researchers and clinicians have expressed reservations that the rules could also be too restricted in scope. Manuel Guzmán, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Pharmacy, and board member of the Worldwide Affiliation for Cannabinoid Medicines, instructed Hashish Well being:
“I’m pleased that, eventually, Spain has a medicinal hashish shelling out program. Nevertheless, the royal decree is just too restrictive in my view. It doesn’t permit natural hashish, doesn’t permit normal practitioners, however solely specialists to prescribe hashish preparations, and the preparations have to be ready and allotted to sufferers at hospital pharmacy providers, and never on excessive avenue pharmacies.”
He added: “So, on the one hand, I’m very pleased about this achievement, and wish to thank the Spanish authorities, the Ministry of Well being and the political events who authorized this, nonetheless, I’d have preferred the royal decree to be extra expansive.”
