In a draft motion for a resolution, European Parliament members Dubravka Šuica, Guillaume Balas, Urszula Krupa, Catherine Bearder, Estefanía Torres Martínez, Martin Häusling, Piernicola Pedicini, on behalf of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, have called on the European Commission to improve access to medical cannabis in Europe, while at the same time stressing the need for further research. In the motion, they stress "the need for the Commission and national authorities to draw a clear distinction between medical cannabis and other applications of cannabis."
The MEPs also say that research on medical cannabis has been underfunded and should be properly addressed under the next Framework Programme 9.
Furthermore, they call on Member States "to encourage increased knowledge among medical professionals regarding the use of such cannabis-based medicine and consider allowing doctors to freely use their professional judgement to prescribe cannabis and cannabis-based medicines to patients with relevant conditions, and allow pharmacists to lawfully honour those prescriptions; highlights the need for training and access to literature for medical staff - medical students, medical doctors and pharmacists".
In addition, the MEPs want to "improve equal access to medicinal cannabis and ensure that medical cannabis, where allowed, is covered by health insurance schemes as is the case for other medicinal products."
They say "a comprehensive regulation of medical cannabis would translate in additional resources for public authorities, would limit the black market for medical cannabis consumption, would help control points of sale, would limit the access of this substance to minors and would give a legal and safe access to patients for its medicinal use - with particular precautions for young people and pregnant women".
They say "a comprehensive regulation of medical cannabis would translate in additional resources for public authorities, would limit the black market for medical cannabis consumption, would help control points of sale, would limit the access of this substance to minors and would give a legal and safe access to patients for its medicinal use - with particular precautions for young people and pregnant women".