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Austrian health agency exports cannabis

The Local Austria
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Austrian health agency exports cannabis
Photo: APA/epa

Austria exported 142 kilos of cannabis to foreign pharmaceutical companies last year.

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In response to a parliamentary question by Health Minister Sabine Oberhauser (SPÖ) last year, Austria’s health agency AGES has revealed that the medical grade cannabis was grown in Hirschstetten, Vienna.

It was sold to pharmaceutical companies which used it to make cannabinoid painkillers, used for treating cancer patients. Such medications are banned in Austria.

Cannabinoids are a group of compounds produced uniquely by cannabis species. The CBD compound in particular is thought to have significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.

AGES did not reveal how much money it had made through the sale of medical cannabis.

Greens MP Eva Mückstein said it was outrageous that AGES was able to produce and sell cannabis but Austrian patients could not benefit from this.

She is calling for the laws on the use of medical grade cannabis to be relaxed.

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