Medical marihuana legal but scarce in Hungary

The Hungarian Medical Cannabis Association (MOKE) plans to start a cannabis program accessible to doctors and workers in the medical field. They plan to organise professional training in the application of medical marihuana for doctors.

According to Szelestei Miklós interviewed by 444; This is necessary because while medical marihuana is currently legal in Hungary, it is practically inaccessible: doctors do not prescribe it, it cannot be bought, and no one is really concerned with this matter.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world leaves Hungary considerably behind: more and more countries start experiments and programs year after year, which intend to introduce medical marihuana into health care thus building a multi-billion dollar market.

This does not necessarily mean that marihuana for recreational purposes would be legalised.

For example, in Germany, health insurance is estimated to have funded 70 million euros worth of medical cannabis-based medication. The market also flourishes in Poland, Cyprus, Malta and North-Macedonia; these countries see the tremendous economic potential of growing marihuana for other European markets as well. In this regard, Hungary is considerably falling behind.

The sudden accessibility of CBD oils further complicates the current situation in Hungary for household consumption since early this year; in February the Hungarian National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition (OGYÉI) started to distribute notification numbers for CBD oils which are required for registering and thus these products were put on the shelves of bio shops and pharmacies.

CBD (cannabidiol) is an agent of hemp which does not have psychedelic effects. However, it is being tested in clinical trials for its antispasmodic and antipsychotic effects.

The notification numbers provided by OGYÉI supposedly made the Hungarian market more regulated, but it constitutes a severe problem that these oils are currently classified as a nutritional supplement and are not quality controlled.

A lot of money is flowing into this market, and everyone speaks of CBD as green gold, while naturally, charlatans appeared. That is why MOKE wants to settle affairs in Hungary, which would potentially influence prices as well considering that these oils are currently quite expensive; a 1000 mg bottle costs 50-70 euros.

The change in the situation of medical marihuana calls for a change in regulations not happened yet. The Hungarian hemp industry is at risk of definitively being left out of this remarkably prosperous market.