Medical marijuana extended for five years

The medical marijuana program has been extended in The Netherlands. The Dutch Health Minister (Ab Klink) has decided that the program, that started in 2003, should be extended for five years.

Government-licensed growers grow marijuana under controlled conditions to supply pharmacies with medical marijuana, (better known in The Netherlands as medi-wiet), and Minister Klink has decided that they should be given an extra five years to see whether they can gain further medical evidence about medical marijuana/cannabis.

Minister Klink wrote in his letter to the Government on Wednesday:

"This development track will take years, but it can yield scientific evidence and give insight into the balance between safety and effectiveness of medical cannabis," he wrote.

"By making medical marijuana available as a raw material for five years, I want to give this track a serious chance."

Read the full story on the medical cannabis program, sourced from the International Herald Tribune