The Czech president recently gave his support for the legalization of cannabis in the country and foramnesty for people currently imprisoned for cannabis-related offenses.
During an hour-long press interview at the Meltingpot discussion forum on the sidelines of the Colours of Ostrava festival , President Pavel cited studies showing that cannabis is much less harmful than other legal drugs.
He deemed it necessary to consider regulated regulation and raised the question of amnesty for people currently imprisoned for cannabis-related offenses in the event of such legislation.
According to President Pavel's remarks recorded during the discussion forum: "Cannabis, according to a number of studies, is less harmful than other legal drugs. Considerations in favor of regulated legalization are inappropriate.".
If that were the case, it would not make sense for these people convicted of cannabis-related offenses to remain in prison. It would be appropriate to grant them amnesty.
On the other hand, President Pavel stressed the need to rethink the use of the presidential pardon power, which was previously delegated to the Ministry of Justice by his predecessor, Milos Zeman.
Through his various statements, President Pavel shows that he intends to take back the entire power of pardon, and has already begun discussions with the Minister of Justice, Pavel Blazek, on this subject.
The president plans to use it primarily to correct miscarriages of justice and to address disproportionate sentences and cases with significant humanitarian considerations.
Will the legalization of cannabis in the Czech Republic be effective in 2024?
It should be recalled that about two months ago, the Czech Republic's Minister of Health, Vlastimil Valek, cast doubt on the country's ambitious project: to approve a legal commercial market for cannabis for adults and to put it in place by 2024.
Expressing his position to a local media outlet, Mr. Valek stated that he was waiting for his German colleagues to share their draft legislation, but also to see how the European Commission (EC) would react to the German proposals.
This measured statement contrasted sharply with those of the country's anti-drug coordinator Jindrich Vorobil , who remained determined to pursue the establishment of the commercial market despite the fact that the Germans had scaled back their ambitions in the face of the European Commission's refusal.
During a speech delivered in May at Cannabis Europa London 2023, Mr. Vorobil reiterated his commitment to launching a fully regulated market.
Mr. Vorobil, who is working on this strategy, stated that he hoped the Chamber of Deputies would approve the bill by the end of 2023, which would allow the market to be established in 2024.
Under the proposed regulations, companies will be able to enter the commercial cannabis market through a paid conditional license costing sellers 50,000 CZK (2,200 euros) per year. The same amount would apply to a 200-square-meter cultivation plot .
Thus, pharmacies will be able to sell cannabis without paying duties, while citizens will be able to cultivate a maximum area of 3 square meters for personal use.
Source :
https://www.newsweed.fr/le-president-tcheque-soutient-la-legalisation-du-cannabis/.
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Julien Cordobes is the editor of CBD.fr. Born in 1978 in the Paris region, he first trained in e-commerce before turning to natural health approaches, a dual perspective that now structures his way of writing about cannabidiol: reading the scientific literature as it is, without hardening the conclusions, and presenting it in a language that everyone understands.
He discovered CBD at a time when the French market was developing faster than the information available to it. He acquired CBD.fr in 2022 and then took on editorial responsibility for the blog. Since then, he has published numerous articles covering the daily use of CBD, the interpretation of laboratory analyses, the evolution of the legal framework, and precautions for use.
