One small step for Czech medicine, one giant leap for chronically suffering patients. Since April 1, all general practitioners in the Czech Republic have been authorized to prescribe medical cannabis.
This measure puts an end to a public health paradox: until now, only 250 specialists had the right to prescribe them, leaving thousands of patients on the sidelines, with persistent pain and inaccessible appointments.
The decision, welcomed by the medical profession, marks a turning point in the Czech approach to therapeutic cannabis. From now on, prescriptions can cover up to three months of treatment – a relief for patients, particularly those suffering from neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis or advanced cancers. All without having to go to a specialist, sometimes several hours away.
8,000 patients monitored by specialist doctors
” It’ s a question of common sense,” says Petr Šonka, President of the Association of General Practitioners. ” We already prescribe strong opioids like morphine. Why can’t we prescribe cannabis, which presents far fewer risks of addiction or serious side effects? “In practice, the measure should not lead to an explosion in prescriptions: it is aimed above all at patients in pain, not at those hoping to hijack the system for recreational purposes.
This change is part of a Czech context increasingly favorable to the regulation of cannabis. Since 2013, its medical use has been authorized, but access to it has long remained marginal. In 2021, only 100 kilos of medical cannabis were prescribed nationwide. Two years later, the figure has risen to 320 kilos – and nearly 8,000 patients are officially monitored, a figure that observers believe is still far short of the reality.
600,000 Czechs use cannabis to treat themselves
According to a study by the National Drug Monitoring Centre, almost 600,000 Czechs use cannabis to treat themselves, outside any medical framework. In other words, self-medication reigns, in the absence of institutional access. By opening the prescription floodgates, the government hopes to regain control, regulate use and cut the ground from under the grey market.
However, this reform conceals an even more far-reaching one. Petr Fiala’s government is considering partial legalization of recreational cannabis, along the lines of the German model. Such regulation would put an end to a stubborn hypocrisy: on the streets of Prague, stores selling products with reduced (or no) THC are springing up like mushrooms. Added to this is the unrestricted sale of kratom, a euphoric substance also targeted by the Ministry of Health.
Between medical caution and pragmatic liberalism, the Czech Republic seems determined to take cannabis off the sidelines. The aim is not only to provide better support for patients, but also to take a further step towards normalizing the plant after decades of stigmatization. In the Czech Republic, hemp may yet be in the news.
