Today we know how cannabinoids act in the body and what their main therapeutic applications are. Will the Spanish government face comprehensive regulation once and for all or will it continue to look the other way?

More than forty years have passed since the Netherlands regulated the recreational use of cannabis, a process that Uruguay, Canada and a dozen US states joined a few years ago.

On the other hand, about twenty years ago the first medical cannabis dispensing programs in the world were implemented in California and other US states, as well as in Canada, which have been followed by many other countries such as the Netherlands, Israel, Uruguay, Germany, Italy, Colombia…

In recent years, more progress has been made in various parts of the planet in the approval of the therapeutic use of cannabis and also, although timidly, in the decriminalization of its recreational use. All of this brings back to the public opinion of our country the already eternal question of: “When will there be comprehensive regulation of cannabis in Spain?”.

Cannabis has been used medicinally, ritually and recreationally for at least five millennia. Several countries have already regulated it. When in Spain?

Cannabis has been used medicinally, ritually and recreationally for at least five millennia. However, the precise aspects of how its active components (cannabinoids) act in our body were not elucidated until the 1990s. Since then, and despite the cumbersome legal restrictions to obtain, manipulate, prescribe and dispense cannabis derivatives, scientific-clinical research on cannabinoids has experienced a spectacular boom, thanks to which today we know how these compounds act in the body. and what are its main therapeutic applications.

Furthermore, we must not forget that health is by no means limited to the mere “absence of disease or damage”, and as the World Health Organization (WHO) itself maintains, it goes much further and implies a complex and integrative balance between, at least, the two faces of our individuality, the body and the mind, “Mens sana in corpore sano”.

MORE INFORMATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Under this holistic vision of health, cannabis, with responsible use, has numerous therapeutic actions that allow users to enjoy a better general quality of life.

Let's stop this nonsense: who would dare to refute that one is much happier if one can, for example, reduce stress, fall asleep, forget one's problems, laugh out loud, elevate one's mood, enjoy sex or delight in the music? Certainly, there are many ways to try to reach these peaks of well-being, but among them is getting a little help with cannabis from time to time.

Who would dare to refute that you are happier if you can reduce stress, fall asleep, forget your problems, laugh out loud or elevate your mood?

We are now adults, let them respect us and let us exercise our rights. That information, and above all training, be provided to citizens about the use and effects of cannabis. And let each adult decide freely and responsibly how to proceed.

From an individual perspective: why can one drink five Gin Tonics and not eat a marijuana cookie? From political action: is our government going to openly confront the issue once and for all or will it continue to look the other way for several more decades? From a socioeconomic perspective: wouldn't it really be better for everyone to buy cannabis from the State instead of from drug trafficking? From a health perspective: why can't we know the precise composition of the cannabis we consume and be completely sure that it is free of contaminants?

In short, the new winds that seem to blow in the world, reflected in the regulations on medicinal and recreational cannabis already implemented or in the process of being implemented, clearly highlight the need for the Spanish administration to review the obsolete legal restrictions that still prevent Many therapeutic and recreational users carry out a practice that, on the other hand, is increasingly common in other countries around us.