Ukraine Officials Approve Country’s First-Ever Permit To Import Medical Marijuana Products

After approving Ukraine’s initial medical marijuana products earlier this
year, national officials announced this week that they’ve granted the
first-ever license allowing for imports of cannabis into the country, which legalized
medical marijuana last year largely in response to the ongoing war with
Russia.

“On June 2, 2025, the State Medical Service issued the first permit for the
right to import medical cannabis substances into the territory of Ukraine,”
the State Service of Ukraine on Medicine and Drugs Control said in a
statement on Tuesday, according to a translation. “The permit was issued
for a substance that is registered in Ukraine and entered into the State
Register of Medicinal Products of Ukraine.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the country’s medical cannabis
legislation into law last February.

The legal change officially took effect last summer, but the government
spent months working through approvals and registrations to make the
medicine available.

As of earlier this year, oral cannabis drops, developed in Spain, were the
first in a series of products anticipated to be registered for use.
Officials in 2023 also approved cannabis capsules, dental pastes and gels
as eligible to go through the registration process.

The permit to import medical marijuana will help expand the program by
opening the door to what could eventually become a broad international
supply of products from Europe, North America and other legal cannabis
regions.

The law as written legalized medical cannabis for patients with severe
illnesses and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from the
nation’s ongoing conflict with Russia, which launched an invasion of
Ukraine more than three years ago.

While the text of the legislation as introduced listed only cancer and
war-related PTSD as qualifying conditions, the chair of the health
committee said in July that lawmakers were hearing daily from patients with
other illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy.

Lawmakers approved the medical cannabis legislation in late 2023, but the
opposition Batkivshchyna party used a procedural tactic to block it by forcing
consideration of a resolution to repeal the measure. That resolution failed
last January, clearing its path to enactment.

Opponents previously tried to derail the marijuana bill by filing hundreds
of what critics called “spam” amendments, but that attempt similarly
failed, with the measure ultimately passing with 248 votes.

Officials last August moved to clarify the scope of the new program.

“Cannabis, its resin, extracts and tinctures are excluded from the list of
particularly dangerous substances,” the Ministry of Health said in an
announcement at the time. “Previously, their circulation was prohibited—now
it is allowed, but with certain restrictions.”

The Agrarian Policy Ministry holds regulatory responsibilities over
cannabis cultivation and processing operations. The National Police and
State Agency on Medicines also holds oversight and enforcement authorities
related to the distribution of the medicine.

Zelensky, for his part, voiced support for medical marijuana legalization
in mid-2023, stating in an address to the parliament that “all the world’s
best practices, all the most effective policies, all the solutions, no
matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied in
Ukraine so that Ukrainians, all our citizens, do not have to endure the
pain, stress and trauma of war.”

“In particular, we must finally fairly legalize cannabis-based medicines
for all those who need them, with appropriate scientific research and
controlled Ukrainian production,” he said.

During his presidential campaign, Zelensky also voiced support for medical
cannabis legalization, saying in 2019 that he feels it would be “normal” to
allow people to access cannabis “droplets,” which is possibly a reference
to marijuana tinctures.

The policy change puts Ukraine is stark contrast to its long-time aggressor
Russia, which has taken a particularly strong stance against reforming
cannabis policy at the international level through the United Nations. The
country has condemned Canada for legalizing marijuana nationwide, for
example.

Earlier this year, Russia arrested and then later freed a 28-year-old
American citizen who was facing charges over alleged possession of cannabis
after authorities reportedly found cannabis products in his luggage at a
Moscow airport.

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