"We can't treat patients with medical cannabis, we need bigger quantities." This is the appeal done by some of the leading experts in Italy. Vittorio Guardamagna, director of the Palliative Care and Pain Therapy Unit of the European Cancer Institute in Milan, denounces the problem of “scarcity of supply, which got even worse during Covid. Often, patients start therapy with exceptional results and then are forced to stop."
Appeal to the Administrative Court
Marco Ternelli, a pharmacist specialized in the preparation of galenic preparations, lists further struggles related to the supply: "Not only there's not enough cannabis to meet the demand, but now it is also not possible to do home delivery, as last September the Ministry of Health acted out a more restrictive legislation due to the Covid emergency. Together with other colleagues, Ternelli filed an appeal at Lazio Regional Administrative Court.
Outdated regulations
Why can't the demand be met? In Italy, an old regulation states that only the medical cannabis produced by the Dutch company Bedrocan, can be imported. This despite the fact that there are many companies active on the market today in several European and non-European countries. Such a regulation was based on the fact that, in the initial period of cannabis imports, Bedrocan was the only company able to supply EU-GMP compliant products. Faced with an estimated shortage of at least 2 tons per year, Italy is able to make less than 900 kg available. Germany has already requested about 15 tons per year.
Source: corriere.it