Since January 1, 2022, Czech doctors can prescribe medical cannabis via electronic prescription and no longer only on a secure physical prescription, up to a maximum of 180 grams per month.
From January to November 2021, more than 99 kg of medical cannabis were prescribed in the Czech Republic to some 4,370 patients, a hundred times more than in 2015, when the use of medical cannabis was introduced for around 30 patients. . Currently, around 200 doctors are authorized to prescribe medical cannabis in the Czech Republic.
Based on the new laws, private companies will now also be able to cultivate cannabis under the same conditions as any other medical substance. The Czech health ministry expects this change to increase competition and lower the price of medicinal preparations containing cannabis, which are 90% covered by public health insurance.
Until now, the National Institute for Medicines Control (SÚKL), which manages the National Agency for Medical Cannabis, has purchased a certain volume of cannabis from a supplier selected on the basis of a public procurement procedure. .
Changes also for hemp. The new law now defines industrial hemp as containing up to 1% THC. The Chamber of Deputies adopted this provision despite the negative position of the Senate and the Minister of Health towards it. Cannabis extracts or tinctures containing less than 1% THC will also not be considered narcotic substances and may be marketed freely.
In January 2021, Czech lawmakers rejected a proposal to legalize the production and consumption of cannabis for adults, an issue that is regularly debated and continues, as in other European countries, to divide the world. public opinion.
