Ukraine officially registers first medical cannabis-based medication

First medication containing medical cannabis, oral drops produced by a Spanish brand, has been registered in Ukraine after the country eased the relevant regulations. The drops may appear in Ukrainian pharmacies early this year.

This was reported by the Patients of Ukraine Charitable Fund, Ukrinform saw.

“A year has passed since Ukraine adopted a law on the legalization of medical cannabis. Over this time, the Ukrainian system has been prepared at the legislative level for the legalization of medical drugs. The first manufacturer has already registered the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), so the first drugs will soon appear in pharmacies,” the Patients of Ukraine Foundation quotes MP Olha Stefanyshyna as saying.

It is noted that in addition to oral cannabis drops, hard capsules, dental pastes, and gels will soon be available in pharmacies.

These forms of medicine were approved by the Ministry of Health in 2024. In addition, a list of diseases and conditions for which doctors will be eligible to prescribe treatment with medical cannabis was adopted.

The treatment will be available to patients with chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, Tourette’s, drug-resistant epilepsy, pediatric diseases causing seizures, and anorexia due to HIV.

As noted by the Patients of Ukraine charity, the patient community will insist that the list of conditions to which a prescription would apply is supplemented by PTSD.

The newly-registered drugs will be dispensed in pharmacies according to an electronic prescription issued in the patient’s name. Pharmacies that will manufacture the drugs shall hold licenses for retail trade, manufacture of drugs, and circulation of narcotic substances.

According to the Ministry of Health, 6 million patients are in need of medications based on medical cannabis. For more than five years, the patient community has been fighting for these drugs to become available in Ukraine.

As reported earlier, on December 1, 2024, a Government resolution Ukraine came into force updating the licensing regulations for all stages of medical cannabis circulation.