(image: Public Domain)
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A non-governmental advocacy group lobbying for the legalization of marijuana for medical use was officially launched yesterday.
The Organization of Legalizing Medical Cannabis in Korea held its first general meeting at the An Jung-geun Memorial Hall in Seoul, formally announcing the organization’s establishment.
Choi Hyeok-yong, the President of the Association of Korean Medicine and a speaker at the meeting, said, “Laws in South Korea must be revised to allow the use of cannabis as medicine in order to promote the betterment of public health.”
The organization is asking that the distribution of cannabis, a type of marijuana used for medicinal purposes, be freely distributed by the public sector.
The desire to have the substance legalized is especially high in patients who are suffering from epilepsy and atopic dermatitis.
Lee Jeong-im, the mother of two daughters, said that merely applying oil extracted from cannabis helps alleviate atopic dermatitis skin conditions, but importing cannabis is completely banned as of now.
“In order to help those suffering from the skin condition, cannabis must be legalized as soon as possible,” said Im.
In light of the situation, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has come up with a measure that makes it possible to import medical goods made with cannabis ingredients already approved by overseas governments, but the Organization of Legalizing Medical Cannabis in Korea says the move is not effective.
The proposed measure requires patients to get a doctor’s reference letter and the requires approval from the Korean Orphan & Essential Drug Center. Such a process is not only tedious but would take a long time.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
