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In Croatia, companies will now be able to produce therapeutic cannabis. REUTERS / Amir Cohen

The Croatian Parliament has legalized the production of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The debate, which had been agitating the country for many years, seemed frozen since the conservative nationalists of the HDZ came to power.

With our correspondent in Belgrade, Laurent Rouy

The Croatian Parliament has retabled its law on psychoactive substances. The radical change comes from the authorization for companies to produce therapeutic cannabis. The announcement is a surprise, because the nationalist right-wing government formed around the HDZ party had always been against such liberalization.

Undoubtedly, the high-profile case of Juanito Luksetic, a man suffering from multiple sclerosis and where the police had discovered 15 kilos of cannabis, made the political class think. Luksetic was first sentenced to prison, but in January President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic decided to pardon him.

The decision gave hope that the government, of which the president is close, would change its position. Finally, Parliament places therapeutic cannabis in the law.

The substance is known to relieve some symptoms of multiple sclerosis, glaucoma and make certain chemotherapies against cancer more bearable.

► To (re) read: France will experiment with therapeutic cannabis from 2019