A large group of patients suffer unnecessarily, because they think they cannot use mediweed when on holiday. The Schengen agreement offers the possibility to legally take medicinal cannabis across the border. Even to France, where the use of cannabis is a very sensitive subject, it is possible to bring mediweed.
Signed by doctor and inspector
Mediweed relieves the suffering of people with a chronic disease like cancer or MS. These patients must be able to show a document at the border to the customs. This document is provided by the Inspection for Healthcare (IGZ in the Netherlands) and can be requested by the patient’s general practitioner. Still a lot of patients keep suffering during their holidays because they’re not aware of this arrangement.
Arrangement already exists for five years
Each year 400 to 500 patients, who are dependent on medication that falls under the opium law, use this arrangement. It is unclear how many of these cases concern medicinal cannabis. It is probable that doctors do not inform their patients well enough about this arrangement, which already exists for five years.
