THE LAWS AND THE GRAND-DUCAL REGULATIONS IN LUXEMBOURG
The sale and the importation as well as the products which are named in article 7 of the modified law of February 19th, 1973 concerning the sale of medical substances and the fight against drug addiction are regulated by the Grand-Ducal regulation of February 19th, 1974 executing the law of February 19th, 1973 concerning the sale of medical substances and the fight against drug addiction. Cannabis is considered as a narcotic substance according to the dispositions of the Grand-Ducal regulation of March 26th, 1974 establishing the list of narcotics.
These texts stipulate that the importation of Cannabis is submitted to a previous authorisation by the Minister of Public Health according to a definite procedure. The obligation to have a disposal of such a previous authorisation is general supporting no exception. Only the patient, who has acquired and is in possession of these substances by medical prescription established in the form according to article 2 of the Grand-Ducal regulation of February 19th, 1974 executing the law of February 19th, 1973 concerning the sale of medical substances and the fight against drug addiction is escaping all legal actions.
The articles 7 and 8 of the Grand-Ducal regulation of February 19th, 1974 executing the law of February 19th, 1973 concerning the sale of medical substances and the fight against drug addiction submit furthermore the prescription of these substances to strict conditions stipulating that this prescription has to be done on a sheet of paper extracted of a notebook with counterfoils and the prescription cannot exceed a period of seven days.
Article 7 B-1 of the modified law of February 19th, 1973 : The sale and the use of hemp (cannabis) or derivated products of the same plant, such as extracts, tinctures or resins as well as the transport, the possession or the acquisition for money or gratuitously are prohibited.
Article 7 B-2 of the modified law of February 19th, 1973 : The facilitation to other persons for using substances (for money or gratuitously) mentioned in article B-1 in procuring at this aim a local or other media is prohibited.
Article 8-a of the modified law of February 19th, 1973 : The importation, exportation, fabrication, sale or offering in an illicit way one or more narcotics or one or more toxic substances, soporific or psychotropic substances determined by Grand-Ducal regulation is prohibited.
Article 8-g of the modified law of February 19th, 1973 : It is prohibited for the physician or for the dentist to prescribe or to administrate without necessity the one or the other substance concerned by this law in order to create, entertain or aggravate drug addiction.
Article 8 of the Grand-ducal regulation of February 19th, 1974 executing the law of February 19th, 1973 : Is prohibited the drafting of prescription within a period superior to seven days prescribing substances and preparations concerned in article 1 of this regulation.
Article 1 and 15 of the Grand-Ducal regulation of February 19th, 1974 executing the law of February 19th, 1973 : The sale of medical substances and the importation of hemp (cannabis) or derivated products of the same plant such as extracts, tinctures or resins without a previous authorisation of the Minister of Public Health are prohibited, as well as the participation respectively the facilitation and the provocation of importation of hemp (cannabis) or derivated products of the same plant like extracts, tinctures or resins without having the previous authorisation of the Minister of Public Health.
Article 3 of the Grand-Ducal regulation of March 20th, 1974 concerning certain psychotropic substances : No one has the right to fabricate, to possess, to sale or to offer in sale, to deliver or to acquire by money or gratuitously narcotics.
Article 1 of the Grand-ducal regulation of March 26th, 1974 establishing the list of narcotics : Are considered as narcotics : Cannabis, extracts, resins, tinctures. Article 3 : are not submitted to these dispositions the preparations containing the extract or the tincture of indian hemp (cannabis) destinated for external use.
Article 4 of the law of April 11th, 1983. The licensing and the advertising as well as the importation of a medicament without licensing in Luxembourg is prohibited. Also is prohibited the participation to the importation of a medicament.
JUDICIAL ACTION
A judicial action has influenced the licensing of SATIVEX and DRONABINOL in Luxembourg. Indeed general practitioner Dr. Jean Colombera prescribes on October 2010 two substances registrated in the Netherlands, namely BEDIOL and BEDROCAN to over 20 patients. After three months he announces on television, in his function of assemblyman of the Luxembourgish Chamber, that he is prescribing Cannabis to his patients, suffering on chronical diseases.The day after this statement, the Luxembourgish Justice institutes a judicial procedure. Dr. Jean Colombera is indicted for having imported Cannabis from the Netherlands by a simple prescription without authorisation of the Minister of Health.The doctor achieves to prove that Cannabis is considered as a medicament corresponding to Luxembourgish law. Indeed the law of April 11th, 1983 concerning regulation of licensing and advertising of medicaments, qualifies as medicament « every substance or composition having curative or preventive properties towards human and animal diseases ». The same text defines a substance being a raw material whatever the origin is(…) vegetal like microorganisms, part of plants, vegetal secretions, substances out of extracts(…). So BEDIOL and BEDROCAN, being parts of a plant, having the properties to alleviate pain are unquestionably medicaments. After this finding, the complaint against the doctor was remediated : „Prescription without using a notebook with counterfoils and prescription of a non authorised medicament“. The sentence was pronounced on January 10th, 2013 : „Abatement of the action“. After this sentence, people in power have authorised SATIVEX and DRONABINOL, insisting that this step had no relation with the process of Dr. Jean Colombera. Astonishing is the fact, that the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg has with his decision outperformed France. Generally Luxembourg is following France in every medical decision.
REALITIES
By consuming Cannabis nobody will be imprisoned.The one who is caught red-handed has to pay a fine, but no personal search respectively confiscation of remaining Cannabis (under 5 grams) is allowed. In practice, however, this is only true on paper.
Normally one has to make a difference between Cannabis as a medication and Cannabis as recreative drug. But in terms of legality big problems have arised, especially in the domain of driving licence. The Minister of Transports shows itself from the dark side. Recently a 70 years old woman has been tested positively to THC by the police. The police officer confiscated her driving licence. After 6 weeks, the woman got her driving licence back, after having demonstrated, that she suffered from ovarian cancer with metastases and that she consumed Cannabis for pain. Obviously this all was combined with big agitation and it was not ideal for improving her medical condition.
A second case calls attention and shows not yet resolved negative aspects of the situation. A 38 years old man, suffering from AIDS takes Cannabis according to medical prescription by a German Doctor in order to improve his immune system, his appetite and his mood instability. He succeeds in participating in social life and in working like the other persons. He is a driver in a cleaning enterprise and obviously he needs his driving licence in order to work. Unfortunately he was at the wrong time in the wrong place. He became victim of a traffic control.There was no discussion. The THC test of the saliva was positive and the driving licence had gone…the work …too. The poor man is sitting now behind the stove and his depression is more severe. This certainly does not improve his AIDS disease.
Police officers are more and more audacious, when they discover young stoner. Recently a girl was caught with 5 grams of Cannabis in her pocket. The pocket money and the mobile phone were immediately confiscated. The mobile phone was traced and a search was made at home of the owner, whose number appeared most on the phone. So a friend of the girl was negatively surprised, when the police stormed into his house in order to find drugs. Here we are obviously moving towards times of Middle-Age. People become victims of an administrative system, which is lead by incompetent and ignorant pedants under the acceptance of politicians, who have „not in the slightest“ an idea about drugs.