Katarzyna Tkaczyk-Rymanowska

The aim of the article is to examine the functioning in practice of the regulations in force since 1 November 2017 (Articles 33a–33d of the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction), which legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the territory of the Republic of Poland. Four main research problems will be posed, which are addressed by the structure of the article. The first describes the situation of Polish patients before the 2017 amendment, when de facto availability of marijuana for medical purposes was possible as part of target import. The second one points out the problems that occurred after 2017, when pharmaceutical dried hemp became available in theory but in practice the raw material for it was frequently in short supply, which entailed significant costs and made it attainable only to selected patients. The third problem relates to the issue of the legality (or lack thereof) of possessing marijuana obtained from an illegal source, but used for medical purposes. And the fourth relates to the key issue of ensuring regular supplies of pharmaceutical raw material in the form of dried non-fibre hemp, which became the subject of an amendment to the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction made on 24 March 2022 allowing for local hemp cultivation in Poland. The analysis of literature and case law in this area has led to the conclusion that Polish crops would be a significant step toward patient health. Cannabis in pharmacies would become easily available, and its price would be lower than before. Above all, Polish hemp cultivation would allow the patient, regardless of his economic status (as has been the case so far), to have access to treatment that is successfully used in many European countries.