TIRANA, July 21 – The Parliament closed the deliberations that marked the end of this parliamentary session with the approval of the law on the legalization of the processing of cannabis for medical purposes, as well as the law that forces medical students to work in Albania for 5 years and then be given the diplomas.
With the objection of the opposition in this marathon session that started on Thursday morning and ended on Friday morning, the majority succeeded in adopting the two controversial bills.
The law on the legalization of the processing of cannabis for medical purposes not only received votes against of the opposition but also the rejection of 3 socialist deputies Majko, Braçe and Xhafaj who decided to abstain, but in his explanation of the vote MP Fatmir Xhafaj listed a number of reasons why he was categorically against the legalization of cannabis.
“I will state it clearly. I will not vote for the bill to legalize the cultivation of medical cannabis. Many reasons do not allow me to be a supporter of this apparently business project, but with many social effects,” said the veteran Socialist MP Xhafaj, a former justice minister.
There were also debates about the law that forces medical students to make a 5-year contribution as doctors in Albania and then to be given diplomas.
DP deputy Tritan Shehu said that it is a law which really destroys and damages the aspirations of young doctors.
Minister Manastirliu said that European countries have internship periods of 1 to 3 years. “This is an initiative that actually creates opportunities because it paves the way for students to complete specializations within this 5-year period.”
The amendments to the law on the Academy of Sciences were also approved amidst debates removing the restriction for the head of this institution to have a second chairmanship term.
The plenary session that lasted 19 hours was accompanied by fierce debates as the opposition demanded that the Prime Minister, Edi Rama appear in an interpellation on the Ahmetaj case, a request that was rejected.
The Prime Minister himself did not take part in this session and chose to inspect the new axes of the Orikum-Dhermi road, southern Albania, accompanied by his deputy Belinda Balluku. /argumentum.al
