The Czech lower house of parliament Tuesday approved changes in the country's penal code that distinguish between hard and soft drugs and make possession of small amounts of marijuana only a low-level offense. The reform must now pass the upper chamber and be signed by the president of the republic.

Old Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic

The Czech government has already issued a draft decree effectively decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs, including up to 20 joints or three pot plants, 25 magic mushrooms, 0.3 grams of Ecstasy and morphine, 0.2 grams of heroin, a half-gram of cocaine, and 0.005 grams of LSD. But that draft is not yet binding on the courts.

Passage of the reform measure didn't come without clashes among junior members of the ruling coalition. The Greens proposed the complete legalization of marijuana use and production for adults, while the Christian Democrats argued against any differentiation between soft and hard drugs. Both those measures were rejected.