Flevoland province investing millions in medical marijuana firm

The province of Flevoland is investing 1.5 million euros into the company Spirocan, which is working on developing a painkiller using medical marijuana. Flevoland deputy Jan-Nico Appelman told BNR that there is a large demand for medical cannabis in a validated and registered form on the Dutch market. He added that the cannabis Spirocan uses for the development of the painkiller is legally grown under the strict Dutch laws. Medical cannabis is often prescribed in the Netherlands as a last-resort-treatment for patients who can not cope with the available medication. The Office of Medical Cannabis recently reported that the use of medical marijuana increased by 45 percent last year. "We are bringing a number of parties together here who actually put a whole chain in motion. If we look at the cultivation of medical cannabis to the processing of the final product and the marketing thereof, we have now brought all parties together in Flevoland. Working together on an innovative product", Appelman said to the broadcaster. The product is expected to hit the market in about five years.