Czech Republic opens medical cannabis production licenses

The Czech government has approved an amendment allowing licenses to be issued for the cultivation and export of cannabis for medical use, according to a statement by Health Minister Adam Vojtěch during a press conference.

Once passed by Parliament and signed by the President, the law could come into force in July 2021.

Vojtěch a declared that the competition created with new producers should reduce the costs of the public health insurance system for patients.

Currently, a single cannabis producer, Elkoplast Slušovice, supplies most of the medical cannabis prescribed in the Czech Republic. Canadian producers, including Aurora, Canopy Growth and Tilray, have also exported small quantities.

According to the State Agency for Medical Cannabis, from January to April 2020, almost 16 kilos of medical cannabis were sold on the Czech market, about the same as in 2019.

In January, Czech public health insurance has been extended to cover medical cannabis under certain conditions. The first patient in the Czech Republic to be fully reimbursed was a 52-year-old woman who has been suffering from a progressive form of multiple sclerosis since she was 20, and who has found little relief in traditional medicines.

Medical cannabis has been legal in the Czech Republic since 2013. Since then, the country has been slowly expanding access to medical cannabis in pharmacies. under the prescription of a certified physician, patients face major administrative and economic obstacles and shortages.