The cannabis reform that passed another hurdle Tuesday in the Knesset's health committee leaves behind patients dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and patients dealing with chronic pain, including fibromyalgia patients, who will not be part of the prescription revolution. These patients will be forced to continue the existing and exhausting route of obtaining a license instead of a prescription from a doctor, or will be forced to rely on existing painkillers and possibly also face the consequences of addiction to opiates.
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Medical cannabis, unlike other prescription drugs that help the symptoms of the disease, "improves my quality of life and allows me to function almost pain-free during the day," a fibromyalgia patient tells Ynet about her disappointment that the reform will not include her.
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Not everyone who needs medical cannabis will have easy access to it
(Photo: Shutterstock)
"The prescription drugs currently offered to fibro patients, at least in my experience, significantly impair daily functioning and the ability to lead a normal lifestyle, so cannabis provides an excellent answer to a disease about which there is not much knowledge in the world anyway. The process of approving a license for cannabis for fibro patients has financial implications. In addition, there is a large shortage In queues for pain medicine, which delays the receipt of licenses and it is a shame that the Ministry of Health does not facilitate this matter," she added.
Reut, another fibromyalgia patient, says in response to the cannabis reform: "It takes years to diagnose fibromyalgia and it really has no treatment. I found partial relief in medical cannabis and it's unfortunate that the disease is not included in the prescription revolution. This is another proof of how invisible the disease is."
Application within six months, prescription for one year
The cannabis reform – the regulations of which were approved Tuesday in the Knesset – significantly expands the accessibility to medical cannabis, through obtaining a prescription from the attending physician and not a license from a limited group of licensed doctors, as has been done so far. Beyond that, the main message of the reform is an opening of the medical indications from a significant degree of severity in some diseases to more general definitions, so that they will be valid for more patients and also for medical conditions such as autism
How will it work?
Instead of turning to a limited group of licensed doctors whose number is estimated to be around a hundred, now the treating doctors (oncologists and neurologists, for example) of those patients in the HMOs and hospitals will be able to write the prescriptions for their patients themselves. These doctors are expected to undergo a short online training and then be able to prescribe medical cannabis.
How soon will the reform be implemented?
Unless there are special delays in the preparation of the coffers and the training of the doctors - about six months
How long will the prescription be valid?
Up to about a year, subject to the doctor's discretion. At the end of the year, the patient will have to renew the prescription
How might the reform affect cannabis prices?
The reform will reduce the approval process needed to buy cannabis. Instead of contacting a licensed private doctor, who sometimes charges over 1,000 shekels for the recommendation for a license, the patient will now be able to contact his regular doctor
What about the fear of prescribing cannabis to people who are not sick?
There is nothing about this subject in the existing regulations. In fact, beyond the existing procedure, no new supervision and control mechanism was defined.
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The Knesset Health Committee discusses cannabis
(Photo: Knesset spokeswoman - Dani Shem Tov)
The Medical Cannabis Forum welcomed the reform of cannabis prescriptions. "The transition to prescriptions will allow the removal of many barriers, will allow the industry to grow and significantly improve the quality of service and treatment. The regulations are a necessary step to recognize medical cannabis as an effective and appropriate medical treatment. However, this is only the first step – we still hope, as was also discussed in the health committee, that the other medical indications, such as pain and post-trauma, will also be included in the content of the regulations as soon as possible," the forum said in a statement.