EFE / La Paz, Bolivia
Bolivia authorized the “exceptional” use of medicinal cannabis for a five-year-old girl with cerebral palsy to continue with treatment that has helped improve her quality of life and reduce spasms.
The girl’s family and Acción Andina, a platform of drug researchers, began the process in September 2020 for Bolivia to authorize the mother of the minor to import medical cannabis, the coordinator of that organization told Efe on Wednesday, Gloria Achá.
Thus, after one year and two months, the Bolivian Ministry of Health reported this week that the State Drug Agency (Agemed) authorized “exceptionally and exclusively” the use of cannabis oil for a period of three months. for the treatment of the minor.
The five-year-old girl was diagnosed with “spastic cerebral palsy” and the use of cannabis reduced her “daily spasms by 60% and helped her improve her quality of life significantly”, while other traditional medications did not achieve the same results. Achá commented.
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He also added that this is the first case that obtained this authorization in the country for the use of medicinal cannabis in which the Ombudsman’s Office also mediated, which managed meetings and made formal requests for it to become a reality.
“There is a lot of fear of people who need to use medical cannabis to carry out this type of procedure for fear of criminal prosecution, but this is a great step,” said Achá.
Authorization
The authorization consists of the importation of three bottles of “internal cannamedicol oil” which is an extract of cannabis sativa, to be used exclusively in the treatment of the minor, which must be under the supervision of the treating physician, says part of the administrative resolution of the Agemed.
The doctor Pedro Musalem, who treated the girl in Chile, indicated that the minor has already used these drops of cannabis and “notably improved spasticity and sleep quality, as well as daily performance” without causing any significant adverse effects, according to the statement from the Ministry of Health.
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Musalem has been treating the minor since 2019 in Chile and the treatment he is carrying out with the little girl is giving good results, so he recommended continuing it.
With the authorization, the family has already started the procedures to bring the bottles of cannabis oil to Bolivia, said Achá.
He added that this case marks a “new path” for many people who need to use medicinal cannabis to alleviate their pain and who feared they would have problems or be harassed when doing this procedure.
Achá said that there are a couple of cases that also turned to Acción Andina to initiate the same process.
In Bolivia it is not allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes, so you must go to Agemed to obtain authorization.
In 2020, Parliament’s Anti-Drug Trafficking Committee proposed a draft bill on the use of medical marijuana, but it was paralyzed.
