January 19, 2018
RTV Slovenia reports that Milan Brglez, the current Speaker of the National Assembly, has been given a petition with over 18,000 signatures calling for the complete legalization and regulation of cannabis in Slovenia, well above 5,000 needed to get the Assembly to debate an issue
The petition was organized by the country’s Pirate Party (Piratske stranke), led by Rok Andree, in cooperation with the youth wing of the Prime Minister Miro Cerar’s SMC (Stranka modernega centra, Modern Centre Party).
Those in favour of legalization say that it would ensure the quality of cannabis products for consumers, and allow the government to collect taxes that could then be used to combat the negative effects of the drug, noting that prohibition has proved to be ineffective.
While Brglez said he was broadly in favour of the move, which has also received support from Levica (the Left), Andree Rok was more pragmatic, saying that this is only the first step in trying to get the National Assembly to debate the issue, with the hope of making Slovenia a model country with regard to the responsible use of cannabis.
A report published in 2017 on the pro-marijunana site Leafly stated that around 160 patients were enrolled in a limited program that allowed the consumption of synthetic THC, the active component of cannabis, when prescribed as Marinol, with the activist Dean Herenda noting that in addition to this “there are around 30,000 Slovenians treating themselves illegally with cannabis today, which is a huge number for population of 2 million.”
