Ukrainian church council asks authorities to recall bill on legalizing cannabis use for medicinal purposes

MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) has called on the authorities to recall a bill on regulating the circulation of cannabis for medicinal, scientific, and industrial purposes.

"The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations has a number of significant objections to the way by which the so-called legalization of cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes and in scientific-technical activities has been proposed. Considering this, the AUCCRO urges the parliament and the government to recall the bill. We also urge the Ukrainian president to prevent ruinous consequences of step-by-step legalization of cannabinoid narcotic substances, for which a premise has been used manipulatively about their medicinal use and supposed efficacy in treating post-traumatic stress disorders," Ukrainian media quoted the AUCCRO as saying in a statement.

Everyone who is discussing the cannabis problem should bear in mind that "this is a narcotic substance, the use of which involves the same risks as the use of other narcotic substances," and granting cannabis drugs medical status "does not turn a narcotic drug into a safe medicine," the AUCCRO said.

The legalization of cannabis use in Ukraine would create a misconception, primarily among teenagers and young people, that cannabis use as "a medicine" is safe and lawful, it said.

"It is obvious to us that this particular bill is aimed not at providing additional opportunities for treating severely ill patients but at legalizing the cultivation of raw hemp containing a narcotic substance, its processing, and sale in Ukraine. Therefore, this bill is chiefly about the drug business, and not about medicine," it said.

If the Rada passes the bill, the AUCCRO has asked the president to veto it.

Meanwhile, as Ukrainian media have reported, the Rada on Thursday passed a bill regulating the circulation of cannabis for medicinal, scientific, and industrial purposes at the first reading.

The decision was supported by 268 parliamentarians, media quoted parliamentarian Irina Gerashchenko as saying.

"I also voted in favor, although the bill raises a lot of questions and needs to be adjusted before the second reading," Gerashchenko said on social media.