The Czech Republic’s lawmakers have this week pushed forward plans for reforming the nation’s drug laws. They want to make it legal to possess marijuana, grow it at home, and use psilocybin medically.
On Friday, 142 of the 159 chamber members voted in favor of this proposal. Next, the measure will be sent to the Senate for approval. If approved, the proposal would then go to President’s Desk.
Changes are a part of the criminal code amendments in Czechia, and supporters believe that they will help reduce the amount of money spent on crimes of low priority. They also say it will decrease the number people who spend time behind bars.
“The amendment will help criminal law better distinguish between truly socially harmful behavior and cases that do not belong in criminal proceedings at all,” outgoing Justice Minister Pavel Blažek said, according to a translated report from broadcaster Česká Televize (CT).
In terms of cannabis, possession up to 25 grams or 100 grams is legal at home. Up to three plants could be grown, but four or more would constitute a misdemeanor. Possession of over 200 grams will also result in criminal charges.
Zdenka Němečková Crkvenjaš, a Chamber of Deputies member from the Civil Democratic Party, led push to enact the drug-related reforms in the bill. After the vote she posted on Facebook that it marked the end of “pointless [prosecution] “Against seniors who cultivate cannabis for medical purposes.”
She said, “Thanks to all of my colleagues who supported the amendment.”
In the case of psilocybin the new changes will permit the medical use.
Czechia is already a very liberal country when it comes to cannabis. They have legalized medicinal marijuana. Since 2010, possession up to 15 grams for non-medical purposes has been classified as an infraction.
Some of the provisions which were not included in this new criminal code amendment allowed for supervised sites where drug users could use their substances in a controlled environment. They also permitted the testing by the facility to determine if the drugs used are contaminated.
This proposal includes modifications to the laws governing alimony and hate crimes as well as political speech.
Steve Rolles, a UK drug policy activist who reported the results of the vote on social media said that the bill must now pass the senate and then be signed by the President (who had already stated he would sign the bill).
Meanwhile in Europe, less than a year after voters in Slovenia approved a pair of marijuana ballot measures, lawmakers in that country recently introduced a bill that would regulate cannabis specifically for medical and scientific use.
According to reports, the measure from The Left (Levica), and the Freedom Movement, (Gibanje Svoboda), would remove cannabis plants, resin, and extracts from Slovenia’s illegal drug list. THC would be prohibited, unless it was used in medical or scientific research.
In a proposal statement, the Freedom Movement stated that “our goal is to provide uninterrupted access to medical cannabis to patients while addressing current legal flaws in the area of marijuana use for medical or scientific purposes.”
Introduction of the new legislation came the same day as the Marijuana March, an activist rally organized by the Student Organization of the University of Ljubljana.
Following a key national election, in Germany parties cooperating for a new government coalition announced that, by April, they will conduct a “open-ended” evaluation of the new legalization marijuana legislation.
Reformers had closely watched how the center-right coalition handled the Legalization Law, which was officially implemented in April. Conservatives elected to the legislature expressed their wish to reverse the legalization laws, but were unable to convince another political party to join the coalition.
Beginning in April of last year, the legalization of possession and home cultivation for adults took effect in Germany. Cannabis social clubs also began to open, providing members with legal access to marijuana products.
German officials last year also convened an international conference where leaders were invited to share their experiences with legalizing and regulating marijuana, with a focus on public health and mitigating the illicit market.
Burkhard Blienert, then Germany’s Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues, invited representatives from Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands to the Berlin meeting.
Different cannabis policies were adopted by the countries participating in this ministerial. Malta, for example, became the first European country to enact cannabis legalization in 2021. Luxembourg followed suit, with the reform officially taking effect in 2023.
Government officials from several countries, including the U.S., also met in Germany in 2023 to discuss international marijuana policy issues as the host nation worked to enact legalization.
A group of German lawmakers, as well as Blienert, separately visited the U.S. and toured California cannabis businesses in 2022 to inform their country’s approach to legalization.
The visit came after top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held their first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization in 2022.
The Lessons Europe can learn from the legalization of cannabis in North America
Kristie Gianpulos is the photographer of this image element.