Greece Announces Medical Pot Is Effectively Legal

“From now on, the country is turning its page, as Greece is now included in countries where the delivery of medical cannabis to patients in need is legal,” said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at a recent press conference, reported by the Greek Government Gazette.

Presumably PM Tsipras is referring to turning a page forward when referring to the joint ministerial decision reached by Ministers of Health and Justice, which noted that cannabis will no longer be classified as a Table A drug (like our Schedule I drugs). Bravo!

This makes Greece the sixth country in the European Union to legalize MMJ after the Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

But, let’s turn some pages back to the famous Greek historian, Herodotus (490 – 425-BC), who is said to have been the first writer to make mention of cannabis in Western literature when he documented its use among the nomadic Scythian tribes who regularly traversed northern Greece and Asia Minor.

Herodotus, often referred to as “the father of history,” describes a funeral tradition of the Scythians, where they fumigated cannabis on hot coals inside tents, a practice known today as hotboxing.

Herodotus wrote at length about cannabis use in the form of hemp, dating back to circa 200 BCE where it has been discovered in tombs in northern Greece, having been used to make clothing, sailcloth and other textiles.

Cannabis also had a place in the Greek Pharmacopeia.

Modern historian Michael Lahanas wrote: “The ancient Greeks used cannabis as a remedy to treat inflammation, earache, and edema (swelling of a body part due to collection of fluids).

It’s always nice when a country’s history catches up with itself.

As yet, there is no news from the Greek government about MMJ cultivation licensing, but, according to Neocosmos.com once the framework has been completed, Tsipras said that the importation of cannabis-based medicines will be permitted.

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