German Patients to Receive Medical Marijuana

Germany is about to become the fifth country to allow at least some patients to use natural marijuana as medicine. According to a report from the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine, the German government recently notified four patients that they would be allowed to receive medical marijuana produced under the Dutch government's medical marijuana program. The German program remains limited to special cases.

Other German patients have been allowed to use a liquid extract made from Dutch cannabis, but for some patients the extract proved unsatisfactory. The patients are expected to receive their supply of whole marijuana around mid-January.

Other than the Netherlands, nations that have some sort of medical marijuana program sanctioned by their national governments -- with varying levels of restrictions and limitations -- include Canada and Israel. Oh, and the U.S., which still provides medical marijuana to a handful of surviving patients in a program that was closed to new enrollment in 1992.