Newsweed / Cannabis news / Cannabis in Europe / Cannabis in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic to introduce plans to legalize cannabis by 2023

Published

4 years ago

September 13, 2022

Legalization of cannabis in the Czech Republic

We revealed it in the official minutes of the meeting European anti-drug coordinators in Prague. Jindřich Vobořil, the drug czar The Czech official confirmed this in an interview with a Czech newspaper News. A bill to legalize cannabis is expected to be introduced in the Czech Republic by 2023.

ADVERTISING

Jindřich Vobořil is currently seeking support from political entities across all governing parties for his proposal for the regulated sale of cannabis.

«This is an issue that transcends the left-right divide. I have solid arguments; we’re not taking any risks—on the contrary, we’ll minimize them. I hope to see a consensus across the entire House, rather than passing it by a majority of 101 votes,» the coordinator explained.

According to him, a significant portion of the ODS, of which he is a member, supports the issue. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) is in favor of opening the debate, and his party colleague, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek, has even publicly backed the proposal.

«I have consulted with experts on the proposed model for a regulated cannabis market, and I see no problem with it. In this context, there is no need for the government to devote financial resources to law enforcement and the courts. We need to focus on more serious criminal activities,» Blažek said.

ADVERTISING

And even though the broad outlines of the bill have already been shared—controlled sales in specialty stores, legalization of cannabis use, and authorization of personal cultivation—Jindřich Vobořil wants to build consensus before determining whether the proposal will be submitted by the government or by members of parliament.

«First, I would like to reach an agreement across the political spectrum so that I can be authorized to draft the proposal. I would like to establish a working group to draft the text of the paragraphs and develop a draft by the end of the year,» he declared.

According to Jindřich Vobořil, the bill would then be submitted to the House of Representatives during the first half of 2023,