Medical cannabis was tested in a pilot phase at the end of 2018 and has been available on prescription for a limited number of illnesses from the pharmacies at Luxembourg hospitals since February 2019.

Presenting the health department’s proposed budget on Tuesday, health minister Etienne Schneider (LSAP) said that the pilot and interest from medical professionals in receiving training in this area had been “very successful”. As a result, he wanted to increase the budget from €350,000 to €1.37m for 2020. “This money will be used to purchase the substance and to train doctors who can prescribe medicinal cannabis to patients with certain serious diseases,” Schneider said. Following a formal assessment of the trial, the. Minister said the plan was to make medical cannabis products available from all pharmacies.

Recreational cannabis

Schneider said that he had also budgeted €75,000 for studies into the sale of recreational cannabis. He said he hoped to adopt a strategy before the end of 2020. First announced in the summer of 2019, Schneider’s bid to legalise recreational cannabis was delayed following the heart attack of then justice minister Félix Braz (déi gréng).

Overall, the government has allocated a budget of €228m for 2020, an increase of €22m compared to 2019.