Pop culture freaks and democratically-sound South Korea has become the first East Asian country to legalise medical marijuana.

According to Financial Times, the decision was made by the country's national assembly on Nov. 23, when it voted to amend the Act on the Management of Narcotic Drugs to allow non-hallucinogenic doses of medical marijuana.

Access will be tightly controlled

The use of medical marijuana will be tightly regulated, however.

Patients who receive a doctor's prescription will be required to apply to the Korea Orphan Drug Centre, a government body that grants access to rare medicines.

Approvals of these requests will then be granted on a case-by-case basis, according to the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Announcement to allow use of medical marijuana first made in July

As reported by the Korea Biomedical Review, usage of medical marijuana for treatment had been floated as far back as July.

Back then, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated that it would allow patients with rare, incurable diseases that had no other treatment options, to import and use marijuana-derived drugs approved abroad.

The Korea Herald reported that these drugs would include Sativex and Epidolex for epilepsy, Marinol for HIV/ AIDS and post-chemotherapy nausea treatment, and Cesamet, also for post-chemotherapy treatment.

Criminal prosecution for recreational marijuana still remains

In any case, firm action will still be taken against those who smoke marijuana for recreational purposes.

In October, in the wake of Canada's legalisation of recreational marijuana, South Korean police issued a warning to their citizens against smoking marijuana there.

The Korea Times reported that a South Korean could face up to five years' imprisonment under their country's law, should they be found guilty of smoking recreational marijuana.

KT quoted Yoon Se-jin, head of the Narcotics Crime Investigation Division at Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency:

"Weed smokers will be punished according to the Korean law, even if they did so in countries where smoking marijuana is legal. There won't be an exception."

Another country thinking of doing the same:

Top photo credit: Yonhap News