Updated: Medical cannabis to face new rules from 2022
The Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the law that will affect patients using medical marijuana and growers of industrial hemp. Hemp can now be exported, and competition can emerge among growers.
A bill is currently heading to the Senate, which should come into effect from January 2022. Currently, licenses for hemp cultivation are issued by SÚKL (State Institute for Drug Control). This applies only to hemp to be distributed in pharmacies or with higher THC content. Growers are guaranteed that the hemp will be purchased after cultivation and then distributed to pharmacies. If pharmacies decide not to buy the hemp (unsatisfactory quality, short shelf life), the hemp must be destroyed at the state's expense.
By allowing export, such a problem would disappear, as marijuana could reach where it is needed or requested in time.
More Growers – Lower Price
The Chamber of Deputies approved entry for competitive entities in cultivation. By allowing more farmers to grow industrial hemp, natural competition will emerge, and medical hemp prices could decrease. Currently, the price of one gram of hemp in pharmacies ranges from 170 to 250 CZK.
Legalization Did Not Pass
Although the situation will likely improve in many aspects from January, some points did not pass. These include attempts to partially legalize hemp or the option to grow hemp at home. You can check how deputies voted on the Chamber of Deputies website in points 259 - 280. A complete overview of voting can be found in the parliamentary print.
Higher THC Content
Despite pressure from Adam Vojtěch and the Ministry of Health, an amendment was approved that increases the THC component in industrial hemp from 0.3% to 1%. Although Adam Vojtěch claims that such a decision may lead to misuse of industrial hemp for recreational purposes, opponents disagree. Deputy Radek Holomčík argued that such misuse is unrealistic and increasing the THC component is merely a "protection for farmers".
They can grow hemp under specific conditions, but when hemp thrives due to weather, they cannot regulate the situation, and it commonly happens that the grown plant had a higher THC content than state-permitted at that moment. Such a plant is then unsatisfactory and awaits destruction, which will be facilitated in the future.
New Medical Hemp Prescription
Medical marijuana will no longer be issued via a paper prescription with a blue stripe, but through an electronic prescription for highly addictive substances. Pharmacists must thoroughly inform the patient, as the risks of use are less apparent from the electronic prescription compared to the paper one.
Good News for Patients and Health Professionals
Doctors and people using marijuana for treatment welcome this law amendment. It implies price reduction and new possibilities in hemp processing and production of new medication forms.
[Rest of the translation continues in the same manner...]