Pharmaceutical cannabis prescription issued for the first time in Greece

For the first time in Greece, patients can get relief from chronic pain and other symptoms with pharmaceutical cannabis prescribed by a doctor. State news agency amna and other media reported the news over the weekend.

The drug can be purchased at a pharmacy at a price paid by the patient. However, not all doctors have the right to write a prescription for it.

Anna Paga, a 60-year-old mother of three, may be one of the first patients in Greece to be able to purchase cannabis for medical use from a pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription. Anna was prescribed a prescription for treatment of chronic pain caused by psoriatic arthritis.

“What can I say about this day. Thank you so much, relief, vindication, freedom to live. I was one of the first to receive a prescription through the electronic prescription system and I did not expect it, I could not believe it. I burst into tears.. .. an end to risks and fears”, – she said in a conversation with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

Paga said the diagnosis turned her busy and happy life into a never-ending nightmare of constant pain as she went through several rounds of abortifacient treatment for her disease, which she eventually had to stop. She said the pain debilitated her to the point that she considered taking her own life until she learned online about the possibility of purchasing pharmaceutical cannabis through an organization called “Mothers for Cannabis” (MAMAKA). However, she had to obtain these drugs through illegal channels from abroad, “with all the ensuing consequences.”

Now that pharmaceutical cannabis is legally available in Greece, it no longer has to take the risk of going through illegal routes as drugs for medical use can now be legally prescribed and sold. However, doctors who prescribe cannabis do not forget to note that it “not a panacea” and demands “patience from both the patient and the doctor” regarding location of application, correct dosage and results.

According to Dr. Chrysoula Karanastasi, an anesthesiologist who heads the Hellenic Medical Society on Cannabinoids, “there are no restrictions. Everyone can potentially benefit and everyone can see that their hopes are not realized.” Cannabinoids are a new group of pharmacologically active substances that behave differently than previously available drugs. I wouldn’t say they’re closing any particular gap, but rather complementing our treatment options.”

The cost of treatment with the so-called “pharmaceutical finished products of cannabis” is paid exclusively by patients, since state insurance for such drugs is not provided. And choosing the right dose is a step-by-step process that is selected individually for each patient in collaboration with the doctor.

Anna Paga noted that in her own case, there was a significant improvement in symptoms and a reduction in the inflammation caused by her disease, with inflammation levels returning to normal levels after eight months of treatment. While pharmaceutical cannabis may not be a cure-all, she noted, she was lucky and it saved her.

Doctors who are authorized to prescribe pharmaceutical cannabis in Greece include anesthesiologists, neurologists and pathologists specializing in cancer, infections and rheumatism. Prescriptions can then be repeated by other doctors for six months, but after that the treatment must be re-evaluated by a specialist.

According to Dr. Karanastasi, this process should not be taken lightly, as the doctor must be well trained and know how to use it. She noted that cannabis products that must be prescribed include those that contain more than 0.2 pct of the psychoactive substance delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), “but even those that do not require a prescription are pharmacologically active and should not be taken without the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional.”

Among the conditions for which its use is indicated are nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy in cancer and AIDS/HIV, pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis, persistent pain that does not respond to available treatments or is poorly tolerated by patients, and increased appetite in patients. receiving palliative care, amna reports.

A few years ago Greece allowed to grow medical cannabis in the country and began working on its export and use for medicinal purposes, and stores opened in several cities. The relevant legislation was approved by Parliament in 2018.

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