I am a doctor: how do I prescribe cannabis?
In the Netherlands, cannabis is legally considered similar to an opiate. Therefore, a prescription needs to comply with the conditions stated in the Dutch Opium-law.
Besides the standard requirements for a medical prescription, please consider the following:
- The NAME of the variety prescribed: Bedrocan, Bedrobinol, Bediol or Bedica (for more information on the differences, click here).
- The AMOUNT of cannabis prescribed in gram: this needs to be spelled out in letters (i.e. FIVE gram, instead of 5 gram).
- A description of the administration form and DOSE, and a maximum allowed total dose per 24hrs. Examples are given below:
Use as tea:
For a starting dose you may indicate: ve 200 ml tea (prepared from 1 gram of cannabis per 1 liter of water). Subsequently 1-2 dd. 200 ml tea. Based on individual experience the dose can be slowly increased by increasing dose (larger volume of tea) or frequency (more times a day).
Use by inhalation:
z.n. 100-200 mg to be administered with the use of a high quality vaporizer, preferably the Volcano. It is important to indicate the maximum dose, e.g. max. 3 dd.
- The number of ITERATIONS, spelled out in letters (not numbers).
- When prescribing more than one cannabis variety, you will need to use a single prescription for EACH variety.
You can find more detailed information in the special brochure for doctors and pharmacists (in Dutch) prepared by the Office of Medicinal Cannabis.