More MS news articles for November 2003

Deputy PM sees medical use of marijuana possible

http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?cl=14258

November 10, 2003
The Slovak Spectator

Deputy Prime Minister Pál Csáky believes the use of marijuana for medical purposes could be legalised in Slovakia, news wire TASR reported.

"It is possible to consider it under strictly fixed conditions. But this is more a question for the Health Minister," he told journalists in Bratislava.

But Csáky, head of the Ministerial Committee for Drug Addiction and Control, expressed firm opposition to further legalisation of soft drugs, saying they were a first step to addiction.

The Netherlands was the first country to have legalised hemp products, including marijuana and hashish, for medical and later recreational use.

Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain have decriminalised marijuana for personal use, while the United Kingdom and New Zealand are debating legalising its medical use as a painkiller and treatment for multiple sclerosis.