The Luxembourg Parliament has passed three new health bills related to the legalisation of cannabis for medical use, food security and cross-border health cooperation.
The first bill, passed unaminously in the Chamber of Deputies yesterday, concerns the legalisation of access to cannabis for medical purposes. The new law, which forms part of a public health mission to ensure access to the best care for patients, allows the medical use of cannabis for the benefit of patients suffering from chronic pain, nausea or vomiting caused by chaemotherapy or muscle spasms related to multiple sclerosis.
Health Minister Lydia Mutsch praised the unanimous vote for the bill, commenting: "The medical use of cannabis is an important step in our efforts to reduce the pain and suffering of some patients, where usual treatments do not allow it".
The Chamber of Deputies also voted on the draft law establishing a system of control and sanctions relating to the safety of foodstuffs. On the basis of the new law, food control systems in Luxembourg will be optimised for the entire food production chain. The measure is about ensuring greater efficiency and transparency in food safety matters for citizens, consumers and businesses alike. The results of the checks will be published as "smileys" which represent the level of compliance achieved.
The law also authorises certain agents of the above-mentioned administrations to take immediate emergency measures in case of danger to public health and it defines penal sanctions for establishments in the food chain that do not comply with the requirements set by law, based on current European regulations. In order to ensure good co-ordination between field supervisors, the law also provides for the establishment of a Government Commissioner to coordinate food control operations.
The third approved bill approved the framework agreement between the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Government of the French Republic on cross-border health cooperation. It aims to ensure better and faster access to quality care for people living in border regions and optimise the organisation of care provision by encouraging the sharing of capacities (material and human resources), as well as to ensure, in the event of the unavailability of national means, the quickest recourse to the emergency relief facilities of the other Party, and to encourage the pooling of knowledge and practices between health personnel in both countries.
