Luxembourg Is Running Out Of Recently Legalized Medicinal Marijuana

According to Luxembourg’s Health Minister Paulette Lenert, she said the country is running low on medical cannabis. Luxembourg only has one supplier, which is struggling to satisfy the plant’s demand. 

Lenert said in a media release that she’s afraid the lack of medical cannabis could pose a risk to patients who have cancer or multiple sclerosis, using the plant to manage symptoms. In 2020, doctors prescribed a record high of 140 kilograms of cannabis for medical use, which was three times more than what was prescribed in 2019. 

Medical cannabis was legalized in Luxembourg in 2018, and earlier this year, the country’s officials announced that it needed to find new suppliers due to the lack of cannabis versus the robust demand. 

On Monday, Lenert responded to a parliamentary reply and added that authorities received 13.5 kilograms of cannabis from their supplier, Tilray, on October 28. However, she said supply for the plant was already seeing a shortage three weeks before that, and now, there’s only a third of cannabis left.

What’s left in the country’s cannabis supply is marijuana that contains 9% THC. Patients in Luxembourg usually order cannabis with a THC content of 18%, but Lenert said more potent cannabis like that isn’t in stock at the moment, hinting that the issue was on Tilray’s end. However, Luxembourg is expecting to receive deliveries of stronger cannabis in December.

Although Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, promised to legalize recreational cannabis when was he was re-elected in 2018, the country recently saw actions to scale back those plans due to the shortage of cannabis. The recent scale-back was also when Luxembourg announced its scarcity of medical cannabis for patients.

Justice Minister Sam Tanson said the government is working on plans to supply the needed amount of cannabis but is facing “international constraints,” according to Luxembourg Times. 

In addition, neighboring countries to Luxembourg have made their discontent known regarding the country’s plans, saying that the easier rules could cause disarray in bordering regions. If the new law passes for adult recreational use, the rules will permit residents to grow up to four cannabis plants per private residency. 

Possessing and carrying cannabis could still result in fines, but they would be significantly less than the current fines. If the plans succeed, they will make Luxembourg the first in the EU to partially legalize recreational cannabis, alongside countries like Uraguay and Canada. 

Although many believe that the Netherlands and Portugal have legalized cannabis, these countries have only decriminalized the plant.