German Man Initiates Hunger Strike for Medical Cannabis
Germany-based Dr. Franjo Grotenhermen announced on August 17 that he would be beginning an indefinite hunger strike to bring awareness to sense of the urgency that’s needed to provide access to medical cannabis. The objective, he said, is to completely end the criminalization of medical cannabis patients in Germany.
On March 10 Germany’s medical cannabis law went into effect, despite heavy opposition. But the law is flawed, according to Grotenhermen. The bureaucratic process to obtain a medical cannabis supply leaves many patients without any reasonable access.
“The legislature has taken a great step into the right direction,” Grotenhermen said in a press release. “However, many patients are still dependent [an illegally-regarded] treatment. They face criminal sanctions. This is no longer acceptable. Therefore a basic clarification in the narcotics law must be established. The prosecution of patients to whom a doctor has certified the need for a therapy with cannabis must end. ”
Under the German Narcotics Law, prosecutors can stop criminal cases involving “minor debt” but the law is mostly applied in cases of minor cannabis possession. But Grotenhermen says medical cannabis patients shouldn’t have to deal with the judiciary system at all. Medical cannabis, he said, should be handled only by medically-trained doctors.
Grotenhermen practiced medicine in Rüthen with a focus on medical cannabis therapy. His research has been intertwined with the cannabis plant for many years. Grotenhermen is the chairman of the German Association for Cannabis as Medicine (ACM), the Executive Director of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM) and Chairman of the Medical Cannabis Declaration (MCD).
Grotenhermen supports the “uncomplicated access” to standardized preparations of cannabis from pharmacies. He says there is no convincing argument to support the prosecution of medical cannabis patients. You can watch Grotenhermen reclining on a bed during the hunger strike on a 20-minute video on his website.
