MOSCOW, Feb. 16 (Sputnik) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill legalizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes in Ukraine, the country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, said on Thursday.

On December 21, 2023, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said that the Verkhovna Rada had adopted a bill on the legalization of medical cannabis in the second reading. Later, a resolution to block the bill was registered in parliament. Subsequently, the majority of deputies refused to block it.

"The bill on regulating the circulation of hemp plants for medical, industrial purposes, scientific and scientific-technical activities… was returned with the signature of Volodymyr Zelensky," the Verkhovna Rada said in a statement.

The bill will go into effect six months after it is officially published.
Zelensky pledged to legalize medical cannabis during his presidential campaign in 2019. However, the bill failed to pass the parliament in July 2021. The Ukrainian cabinet backed the president's bid to allow its cultivation and use for medical and scientific purposes in June 2022.