Source: Magnus Brahn
Last update: 21 October 2008
Despite that the medical products agency (Läkemedelsverket) in several
reports admits the possibly usefulness of cannabinoids against
neuropathic pain and MS in particular, no real options are readily
available at this time for patients, other than the illegal market.
Medicial users receive the same penalty as recreational users. The usual
criminal penalty in swedish courts are for smaller drug offences of
cannabis below 60 gram, which normally leads to fines. But the courts
can hand out up to six months in jail.
The law governing the prohibition of marijuana in Sweden is called Narkotikastrafflagen
(1968:64).
Several medical marijuana patients have been charged, but the courts
refuse to consider a medical necessity defense. One of these notable
cases happened in the beginning of 2008 when a MS-patient was sent to
one year in prison for growing her own medicine. She eventually spent
six months in one of the toughest women prisons in the country.
Another case that got media attention took place in 2004 when a mother
of five was sentenced to six months in jail after having grown and used
cannabis in chocolate and for smoking to treat symptoms of her fibromyalgia.
The synthetic THC preparation Marinol has to be ordered specially and
approved beforehand. Sativex is not generally approved, even
though some patients have received special licenses to use the spray.
You can apply for one of these licenses but the process is hard and
burdensome and met with suspicion.
No political party has medical marijuana on its agenda, since it is
regarded as a "back door" to legalize marijuana. Advocates are routinely
labeled "drug liberals" and shunned in debates.
Nobody knows how many people in sweden are using cannabis medicinally
today, since all the researh approved in in this field are for studies
that research the harm, not the medical value of the cannabis plant.
