On 1 January 2022, the law regarding cannabis use in Czech Republic was changed. The extensive amendment to the Act on addictive substances came into effect with several big changes that are worth mentioning.
THC limit - defining industrial hemp/technical cannabis
THC limit in industrial hemp plants (or can be called technical cannabis) is now moved to up to 1% (it was 0.3% previously). This means that hemp products can now contain much more THC than before. Also, cannabis extract and tincture that contain less than 1% THC is now removed from category of addictive substances
The amount of 1% THC is still really small and will unlikely lead to any intoxication. However, it will be great for existing CBD or other hemp products to be able to have more THC, since even a small amount of THC can greatly improve the effects of CBD, via a mechanism called the entourage effect. So, great news for those who are wanting to try out hemp for various problems like pain and anxiety, but unable to obtain the full version of medical cannabis with higher THC that requires a prescription.
This also means more cannabis strains can now be classified as industrial hemp. If you browse our catalog, you can see that we have many strains with 0.5% to 1% THC. So, with the new law, cannabis producers like us can finally be able to put these products on the supermarket shelves and other vendors, thus providing our consumers better cannabis products in a more convenient way.
And last but not least, farmers and growers who are cultivating cannabis plants not for intoxicating purposes will have a much easier time managing their crops. Previously, many farmers were often at risk of losing their crops, since they sometimes can exceed the 0.3% THC limit when the growing conditions were too good.
Handling of industrial cannabis without a license
People now are no longer required to obtain a permit from a state authority when growing, handling or export industrial cannabis. Waste from cannabis cultivation also does not have to be disposed of as hazardous waste anymore. However, any person who operates an area bigger than 100m2 will still have to report to the public authorities, so the government can keep track of large operations.
Medical cannabis growing license
Private entities will now be able to obtain a license to grow medical cannabis. Previously, only a selected few entities were permitted by the the State Institute for Drug Control to grow the plant. This led to monopolization of the market by such entities, leading to very high cannabis prices. Now, with more competition from new growers, we can expect medical cannabis in Czech to have more variety, better quality and most importantly, much lower price, which will greatly benefit patients.
Due to this change, we can also expect a greater shift of people moving away from the black market, because there will be more, better and cheaper legal options available for the general public.
