The Spanish Congress has created a subcommission to study the regulation of the medicinal use of cannabis
Marta Rodríguez Vélez | GXP Compliance & Safety Director | AZIERTA – July 2021
During the plenary session of the Spanish Parliament held on 10th June 2021 the constitution of the Health Subcommission was approved to study the regulation of the medicinal use of cannabis.
This application is aimed at “analysing experiences of regulation of cannabis for medicinal use” with the end purpose of performing a report “on the existing scientific evidence” on the matter.
Both the report and the presentation of the conclusions are submitted within up to six months. Once approved by the Commission of Health and Consumer Affairs, according to the Committee of the Lower Chamber, the report and its conclusion are submitted to the plenary session of the Congress for the respective debate and approval.
This document will be submitted to the Government to be used in the regulation of cannabis for medical use, that would have, if the timelines are met, less than a year and a half to approve a regulation on the matter.
How does cannabis work for medicinal purposes?
Over 100 active ingredients derived from cannabis are known, which are called cannabinoids, that are concentrated in the plant flowers. The most common cannabinoids tested are delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the most psychoactive, and cannabidiol (CBD), that has no psychoactive effects. While THC is used to treat the lack of appetite and glaucoma, CBD has the greatest antitumoral, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.
THC acts through specific receptors located on the surface of our cells, specifically cannabinoid receptors CB1 (very abundant in the central nervous system and responsible for the neurological effects of THC) and cannabinoid receptors CB2 (very abundant in the immune system and responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of THC). CBD binds these CB1 and CB2 receptors with a very low affinity, but it exerts, by alternative mechanisms, anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant effects, in addition to preventing some unwanted psychoactive effects of THC, such as psychosis, anxiety and lack of coordination.
