Czech Republic: Project for the legalization of adult use could be presented as early as March

Legislation that will regulate cannabis for recreational purposes in the Czech Republic could see the light of day within two months. The diploma drafts will focus on the rules of cultivation, production, distribution, sale and export, and a calculation for taxation will also be proposed.

The working group appointed by the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic could present its project for the legalization of the adult use of cannabis. According to the national anti-drug coordinator, Jindřich Vobořil, the draft legislation should be presented in March, he told the Czech news outlet ČTK.

According to Vobořil's statements, “last year around one million people used cannabis. Most of them live normally. It is therefore an established but illegal market. Therefore, it is important to choose a strictly regulated market over repression and criminal penalties,” said Vobořil, who added that the document under preparation will be substantially stricter than the one that applies to tobacco products.

“About a million people have used cannabis. Most of them live normally. It is therefore an established but illegal market” — Jindřich Vobořil

The anti-drug coordinator also argues that, with the implementation of a controlled market, the state will also be able to collect a significant volume of taxes. “We propose taxing cannabis and raising funds for licensing. In this way we expect significant revenues for the state budget”, said Vobořil.

Operation through cannabis clubs

According to David Hluštík, from the government's department for the coordination of anti-drug policy, the project under preparation includes taxation and rules for legal cultivation, functioning of cannabis clubs, licensed sales and exports. It does, however, establish restrictions on who can produce and sell cannabis, where and with what licenses. The plan is to introduce the registration of users, small producers or cannabis associations.

A group of experts from the Czech Republic discussed, since last year, the definition of legal rules for legalization, after the prime minister had set up the working group for this purpose. The first meeting took place in November 2022. In the last week, the group met again and the ambition, according to Vobořil, is that “eventually, we will have the law in force in 2024”.