The Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina organized a roundtable discussion entitled “Cannabis for Medical Purposes – The Path to Accessible Therapy in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, with the aim of opening an institutional dialogue on establishing a safe, legally regulated and medically based system for the use of cannabis-based medicines.
The meeting brought together representatives of competent institutions, health authorities, regulatory bodies, professional chambers, medical and pharmaceutical communities, as well as patient associations.
One of the key objectives of the roundtable was to precisely define the next mandatory steps of all institutions involved in this process, in order to accelerate the adoption of the necessary bylaws, professional guidelines and operational procedures through coordinated action.
The ultimate goal of all activities is to establish a functional system in which patients in BiH, based on a doctor’s prescription and in accordance with medical indications, will be able to obtain safe, registered and controlled cannabis-based preparations in pharmacies.
The round table was opened by the Minister of Civil Affairs of BiH, Dubravka Bošnjak, recalling that the Council of Ministers of BiH, at the proposal of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, removed the fundamental legal obstacle to the medical use of cannabis four months ago after more than ten years of stagnation.
“This is an important step towards harmonizing the domestic system with modern medical practices, scientific knowledge and the real needs of patients for whom standard therapies often do not provide satisfactory results,” the Minister emphasized.
She emphasized that the change in regulatory status is only the initial phase of the process, and that an operational framework must be established that must include clear procedures for drug registration, prescribing therapy, pharmacovigilance, distribution, quality control and professional supervision.
