Ben Hamilton
January 11th, 2018

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Where are these guys when you need them? (photo: YouTube)

Many doctors are refusing to prescribe medicinal cannabis despite it now being legal to do so as part of a four-year trial that started on January 1 with 22 million kroner of funding.

READ MORE: It’s official: Medicinal cannabis trial to light up in 2018

Most doctors are citing a matter of principle, Klaus Høm, the head of the Scleroseforeningen association, told DR.

Questions over safety
Medical association Dansk Selskab for Almen Medicin has advised doctors that prescribing it could compromise their safety.

Before prescribing medicinal cannabis, doctors are obliged to carry out a professional assessment, and experts have questioned whether regular GPs have enough know-how.

Political handshake?
Already the trial is being seen as a political handshake – particularly as doctors are under no obligation to prescribe the drug.

When approved by Parliament, it had the backing of Venstre, Socialdemokratiet, Dansk Folkeparti, Liberal Alliance, Alternativet, Radikale and SF.

Venstre’s health spokesperson, Jane Heitmann, said the development was “worrying”.

Stolen painting turns up in Germany
A painting valued at 10 million kroner, which was stolen from Ølstrup Church in west Jutland in 2014, has popped up in northern Germany, reports Ekstra Bladet. ‘Middag i Emmaus’ was painted by Emil Nolde in 1904. Criminals submitted the painting to local police as part of an amnesty arrangement once they realised it was stolen property. It will now be returned to its rightful owner.

Suspicious package at US Embassy cordons off street
The street outside the American Embassy in Østerbro was cordoned off yesterday after the address received a suspicious package. Dag Hammarskjöld Allé was closed from the Lakes to a block down from Østerport Station. Nobody has confirmed what was in the package.

Pedagogy students underworked
One in five students enrolled on pedagogy courses since the summer of 2016 say the education is less demanding than expected, according to a report by Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut reported by Politiken. Some 42 percent said they were occupied for 25 hours or less a week.

Regularly taking DNA samples
Fyns Politi has confirmed it is taking daily DNA samples in its bid to catch the culprits responsible for throwing stones off motorway overpasses in its district. The investigation is particularly focused on Tarup near Odense, where investigators believe the culprits are based.

Madsen happy to remain in custody
Peter Madsen has waived his right to appear before a judge who could theoretically release him, thus agreeing to another four weeks of custody as he awaits his trial, where he will be accused of deliberately killing the journalist Kim Wall aboard his submarine in August. The trial is due to start on March 8 and run until April 25.

Old grenade found in Christiania 
An old hand grenade was found in a recycling shed at Christiania in Copenhagen on Monday, according to Copenhagen Police. Experts from the Armed Forces were called to remove it, at which point they established it was not armed.

Shooting in southern Zealand
The truce declared in the Copenhagen gang war hasn’t stopped all the shootings. A 23-year-old man ended up in hospital with gunshot wounds on January 7 after an episode in Næstved in southern Zealand.

Case dropped against meningitis doctor
Copenhagen Police has confirmed it will not be continuing its investigation into a doctor at Rigshospitalet accused of negligence in relation to the death of a 16-year-old boy caused by meningitis in January 2016. Patients safety association Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed reported the case to police last year.

Another banned preacher on the list
Mazin Abdul-Adhim has been added to the government’s list of banned preachers. The Canadian is the 12th to be included, and he will be provisionally banned from entering Denmark for two years before his inclusion is reconsidered.