Prohibition Partners reports
On Wednesday the 2nd of June, the lower house of the Czech Parliament approved a bill of amendments to the country’s laws governing the production and prescription of medical cannabis and hemp.
The major stipulations of the amended bill are as follows:
- Medical cannabis may be cultivated by multiple licensed private groups who may also manufacture medical cannabis products.
- Export of medical cannabis will now be explicitly legal
- The marketing of extracts such as isolates and tinctures will be permissible
- The system of electronic prescriptions for cannabis will be updated to ease the process for doctors and patients
- Hemp products with less than 1% THC will not be considered addictive substances, clearing the way for cultivation and production of products with these concentrations
The bill has now cleared the tallest hurdle on the way to becoming law. The Senate and President must now consider the bill before the bill is formally accepted, but local advocates have high hopes that the approval on Wednesday means that the odds are good and that this will be achieved.
We spoke to Pavel Kubu, CEO of the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute on the recent events and what these mean for patients in the Czech Republic: “Parliamentary approval of the bill is a major milestone for patients and advocates of medical cannabis in the Czech Republic. We do have to remain realistic in the amount of work that needs to be done. This bill could do much to advance medical cannabis and hemp in the country, but a lot of this rests with the implementation of the laws, and groups like the ICCI will be working hard with the government over the coming months to see that the interests of patients and the industry are honored.”
We also spoke with Hana Gabrielová, the CEO of Hemp Point and president of Hemp Cluster, non-profit collective advocating for hemp in the Czech Republic. She explained that “This is a big win for advocates of medical cannabis and hemp in the country, especially considering the unanimous support from all political parties for the bill. The new regulations on THC concentrations in hemp are most welcome, but again, there is much work to be done. Our general elections are coming up in the Autumn, we will have to work hard and alongside the government to see that the new regulations will be implemented in an optimal manner, much of these details are yet to be hammered out.”
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Czech Parliament advances bill to liberalise medical cannabis
