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The Danish government has reached an agreement with opposition parties to make Denmark’s medical cannabis trial program as permanent.
Minister of the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde announced on Thursday that this decision follows a new evaluation showing a significant increase in the number of prescriptions filled, now at its highest level since the trial began in 2018.
The move represents a significant shift in Denmark, where recreational cannabis remains illegal, and the tolerated policy on the illicit cannabis trade in the Copenhagen neighborhood of Freetown Christiania has ended.
Denmark’s medical cannabis trial program was introduced in 2018 to provide selected patient groups, including those with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, cancer, and chronic pain, with a legal option to be prescribed medical cannabis as part of their treatment.
Since then, prescriptions have significantly increased in the nearly six-million-person European country, with 1,800 patients receiving various forms of cannabis-based medication and approximately 20,000 prescriptions filled.
“We can see that many patients who are prescribed medical cannabis by their doctor seem to benefit from the treatment,” Minister Løhde said in a press statement.
The trial was originally set to end in 2025, following an extension in 2021. However, it will now become permanent starting in 2026.
Inside Denmark’s Medical Cannabis Trial Program
The evaluation of Denmark’s medical cannabis trial program found that no new evidence emerged suggesting that treatment with medical cannabis poses adverse safety risks to patients.
The program offers 13 cannabis products, with six currently available, including inhalable dried flowers, oral solutions, capsules, and sprays, each with different THC/CBD ratios. In addition, patients have access to approved medications like Sativex and Epidyolex and custom or special-permit products.
Patients receive subsidies that cover 50% of their costs, up to 20,000 DKK (about $2,830) annually. Terminally ill patients receive full coverage. The majority of users are between 42 and 64 years old, with an increasing number of patients in the 18-41 age group.
While the evaluation report shows an increase in the use of medical cannabis products by patients, it also highlights challenges identified by stakeholders, such as limited product availability, cost barriers, and insufficient education for providers.
Local reports indicate that the scheme has faced criticism from both the Danish Society for General Medicine and the Medical Association. Doctors have also raised concerns about inadequate treatment guidance in this area. As a result, many doctors have been hesitant to prescribe medical cannabis.
The new agreement is expected to address this by ensuring that guidance for both doctors and patients on medical cannabis treatment options will be strengthened.
Medical Cannabis Programs in Europe
The shift to a permanent medical cannabis program in Denmark is among the latest moves by European countries to advance medical cannabis regulations.
Across Europe, medical cannabis is growing due to regulatory changes, with key developments including Germany’s legalization of recreational cannabis for personal use, which simplified access to medical cannabis.
War-torn Ukraine also legalized medical cannabis in December 2023, while Spain began consultations for its framework, and Portugal, which legalized in 2018 and regulated a year later, recently approved new THC and CBD products, while France plans to fully integrate its medical cannabis program by 2025.
Therefore, in this context, Denmark’s shift from a trial to a permanent medical cannabis program could create a new market that, although still small, may generate interest among stakeholders and open up new opportunities.
“}]] The Danish government has reached an agreement with opposition parties to make Denmark’s medical cannabis trial program as permanent. Read More
