The Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina sent the competent health institutions the agreed conclusions from the round table on the use of cannabis for medical purposes, which defined the next steps towards the legally regulated and medically controlled availability of this therapy to patients in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The conclusions primarily refer to entity ministries of health, the Department of Health of the Brčko District of BiH, the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH, and the professional organizations of doctors and pharmacists.
The process was initiated after the BiH Council of Ministers at the end of last year, at the proposal of the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, removed a key legal obstacle to the medical use of cannabis. However, in order for the therapy to really be available to patients, it is necessary to adopt implementing regulations and professional guidelines.
The next steps include changes to by-laws that will regulate the prescription and dispensing of drugs containing controlled substances. Competent institutions should determine which specialties of doctors will be able to prescribe therapy, establish registers of doctors and patients, define dosages and forms of drugs, and the network of pharmacies that will dispense therapy, it says. RTV Slon.
The Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH should create a document that will define the quality standards for cannabis extract, while the professional organizations of doctors and pharmacists should prepare clinical guidelines for indications, dosage and monitoring of therapy.
The Ministry states that it will continue to coordinate activities and provide professional and administrative support, with the aim that the process will not be further slowed down after the removal of the main legal obstacle.
The Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dubravka Bošnjak, said that all authorities are expected to act efficiently and responsibly in order to make therapy available to patients who need it.
“Any further delay in this process cannot be justified either legally or professionally, least of all humanly,” Bošnjak said.
