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Cabinet paper for growing medicinal cannabis presented  

27 Oct 2022

A Cabinet paper for the local cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes has been submitted to Cabinet and will receive approval within the next few weeks, claimed State Minister of Indigenous Medicine Sisira Jayakody. Speaking to the media recently, Jayakody said: “We have already submitted the Cabinet paper in order to obtain the legal approval to grow cannabis locally. We believe that within the next few weeks, we will receive approval for it.” Jayakody also reiterated that the approval for the cultivation of cannabis is for medicinal purposes and not for recreational purposes.  “Cannabis grown for medical purposes cannot be used for smoking. According to the agreement that we signed with the United Nations, we are able to cultivate cannabis for medical and scientific purposes only, not for recreational purposes.” When Jayakody was questioned by the media on the opposition to the legalisation of cannabis, he responded: “There are various personal views on this. There was also a committee appointed by the Opposition for this purpose, and the committee has given its approval for it.” Jayakody also noted that the foreign exchange crisis has also had an impact on ayurveda hospitals in the country.  “Ayurveda hospitals have been facing some issues predominantly due to the shortage of foreign reserves. We have been facing a shortage in imported medications in particular. There are about 200-300 types of imported medicines, and we are facing issues with bringing down most of these, but at the moment we are using alternatives to make up for this. Also, we have already commenced cultivating medicinal plants that grow in our climate.”


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