Breaking News:Dangerous Delays: What Washington State (Re)Teaches Us About Cash and Cannabis Store Robberies [REPORT]

Czechs Will Legalize Medical Marijuana

The Czech Republic is on the path toward legalizing medical marijuana. The Ministry of Health said last week it plans to remove marijuana from its list of proscribed substances and allow it to be prescribed by doctors.

Prague Lesser Town Bridge Towers (praguewelcome.cz)
"By the end of this year we will submit to parliament an amended law on addictive substances which will move marijuana from the list of banned substances to the list of those which can be prescribed," Deputy Health Minister Martin Plíšek pledged.

Medical marijuana already enjoys political support in the Czech Republic, which liberalized its drug laws last year. Under that law, possession of small amounts of pot and cultivation of small numbers of plants is decriminalized. Prominent politicians backing medical marijuana include Miroslava Nemcova of the Civil Democrats, who is speaker of the lower chamber of parliament, Public Affairs Party chairman Radek John and other prominent party members.

Although the Czech Republic is seeing a boom in home marijuana growing, with grow shops in even the smallest towns, Deputy Minister Plisek said he would prefer to see marijuana imported for medical use rather than relying on a local industry that could see marijuana diverted into the recreational market.

"We must take steps to ensure that there is no massive abuse without a doctor's prescription," he added.

The ministry must also determine what sort of distribution system to set up. The Israeli model, where the state is licensing medical marijuana farms, is one oft-cited system.

Czech Republic
Permission to Reprint: This article is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!

"massive abuse without a doctor's prescription"

Mr. Plisek can prevent massive abuse by shutting down the massive abuse now in progress involving hot burning carbon monoxide cigarettes, and converting all inhalant "smokers"  to vaporizer, e-cigarette or single-toke utensils known as "one-hitters".  A typical commercial cigarette contains 700 mg net weight of tobacco; a typical joint contains 500 mg of cannabis; a one-hitter has a screened crater less than 1/4 inch wide into which 25-mg servings of any sifted herb can be loaded.  That is direct technical assurance of non-massiveness of dosage and of non-abuse. 

Further, cannabis use in Europe has often involved mixing hashish with addictive tobacco (a) to make it burn faster, (b) out of fear that the cannabis is "too strong" and must be cut with something "milder"-- cigarette tobacco contains a zillion "mildening" psychodrugs designed to eliminate the cough reflex and make smokers feel safer healthwise.  A massive Health Ministry effort to eliminate the cigarette format, both for inhalant cannabis and tobacco users, will create jobs in the dosage restriction utensil manufacturing sector, massively reduce chronic illness costs and save the economy.

Note: according to a Wikipedia article, Greece-- widely accused of nearing bankruptcy-- also has the highest rates of cigarette consumption in Europe. 

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <i> <blockquote> <p> <address> <pre> <h1> <h2> <h3> <h4> <h5> <h6> <br> <b>

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Drug War Issues

Criminal JusticeAsset Forfeiture, Collateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Court Rulings, Drug Courts, Due Process, Felony Disenfranchisement, Incarceration, Policing (2011 Drug War Killings, 2012 Drug War Killings, 2013 Drug War Killings, 2014 Drug War Killings, 2015 Drug War Killings, 2016 Drug War Killings, 2017 Drug War Killings, Arrests, Eradication, Informants, Interdiction, Lowest Priority Policies, Police Corruption, Police Raids, Profiling, Search and Seizure, SWAT/Paramilitarization, Task Forces, Undercover Work), Probation or Parole, Prosecution, Reentry/Rehabilitation, Sentencing (Alternatives to Incarceration, Clemency and Pardon, Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparity, Death Penalty, Decriminalization, Defelonization, Drug Free Zones, Mandatory Minimums, Rockefeller Drug Laws, Sentencing Guidelines)CultureArt, Celebrities, Counter-Culture, Music, Poetry/Literature, Television, TheaterDrug UseParaphernalia, Vaping, ViolenceIntersecting IssuesCollateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Violence, Border, Budgets/Taxes/Economics, Business, Civil Rights, Driving, Economics, Education (College Aid), Employment, Environment, Families, Free Speech, Gun Policy, Human Rights, Immigration, Militarization, Money Laundering, Pregnancy, Privacy (Search and Seizure, Drug Testing), Race, Religion, Science, Sports, Women's IssuesMarijuana PolicyGateway Theory, Hemp, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Marijuana Industry, Medical MarijuanaMedicineMedical Marijuana, Science of Drugs, Under-treatment of PainPublic HealthAddiction, Addiction Treatment (Science of Drugs), Drug Education, Drug Prevention, Drug-Related AIDS/HIV or Hepatitis C, Harm Reduction (Methadone & Other Opiate Maintenance, Needle Exchange, Overdose Prevention, Pill Testing, Safer Injection Sites)Source and Transit CountriesAndean Drug War, Coca, Hashish, Mexican Drug War, Opium ProductionSpecific DrugsAlcohol, Ayahuasca, Cocaine (Crack Cocaine), Ecstasy, Heroin, Ibogaine, ketamine, Khat, Kratom, Marijuana (Gateway Theory, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Medical Marijuana, Hashish), Methamphetamine, New Synthetic Drugs (Synthetic Cannabinoids, Synthetic Stimulants), Nicotine, Prescription Opiates (Fentanyl, Oxycontin), Psilocybin / Magic Mushrooms, Psychedelics (LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Salvia Divinorum)YouthGrade School, Post-Secondary School, Raves, Secondary School