Brussels - Belgium has approved the use of cannabis for selected medical purposes on a trial basis, according to a decree published on Thursday in the government's official journal.
Cannabis will be legal in Belgium for treating nausea caused by chemotheraphy and radiotherapy, glaucoma, pains and muscle spasms linked to multiple sclerosis, Aids symptoms and chronic pain resulting from the failure of other treatments, the decree stated.
But it can be administered only in Belgian hospitals as part of research - approved in advance by an ethics committee - to determine its effectiveness and any side effects.
Doctors will also have to report on a monthly basis how much cannabis they give to their patients, the decree said, adding that the decision was being taken "without prejudice" to existing Belgian narcotics laws.
Last January the government said it would decriminalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis, while stopping short of approving "coffee shops" like those in the Netherlands which sell marijuana openly.
In May the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that cannabis could not be distributed for medicinal purposes in the United States because Congress had determined it had no such purpose. - Sapa-AFP