The amendment to the Addictive Substances Act will come into force on 1 January 2022. We introduce new rules regarding the regulation of medical cannabis.
1. New system for granting growers’ licenses for medical marijuana
The new law is abandoning the system of granting licenses to suppliers who were chosen in a tender procedure, and instead allows the granting of licenses UPON REQUEST. Medical marijuana growing licenses will still be issued by the State Institute for Drug Control. The change ought to open the market TO A LARGER NUMBER OF CANNABIS GROWERS.
2. Proper paperwork for a license application as the basis for business operations
Medical cannabis, also known as medical marijuana, is an addictive substance and as such is subject to STRICT REGULATION. This is reflected in the demands put on the preparation of the necessary application. Applicants must submit documents of technical as well as legal character, such as a technical description of the facilities and equipment for growing, harvesting, and processing the plants and of the station’s security system, as well as the relevant internal policies.
3. The cultivation station must exist at the time of application
At the time of filing of the application, the applicant MUST AVAIL OF A CULTIVATION STATION. The application includes, among other things, a photographic record of the premises where the plants are grown and of the facilities used for growing, storing, and processing cannabis.
4. Key changes to the grower-distributor chain
Growers are no longer required to transfer their harvest of medical marijuana to the State Institute for Drug Control and, through the Institute as an intermediate, to pharmacies under contract. As long as the statutory conditions are met, growers will be allowed to distribute their medical cannabis plants THROUGHOUT THE CZECH REPUBLIC, both to pharmacies or other distributors, or EXPORT THEM ABROAD.
5. Optimization of the volume of medical marijuana circulating in the Czech market
The volume of cannabis in the Czech market will be regulated by the laws of OFFER AND DEMAND. The expectation is that medical marijuana will become more easily available for Czech patients, and that a competitive environment will take hold among growers.
6. Proper growing practice, security measures, and record-keeping are of prime importance
The license for growing medical marijuana comes with A NUMBER OF LEGAL OBLIGATIONS TO BE FULFILLED by the license holder, who must implement and maintain security measures, protocol and report its activities, and grow their cannabis plants in accordance with proper cultivation practice, to name but a few examples.
7. The suite of authorizations needed for growing medical cannabis has been preserved
As previously, so in the future, cannabis growers must not only hold a LICENSE for growing medical marijuana, but also an AUTHORIZATION for handling addictive substances. The original bill also called for the presentation of a certificate substantiating proper manufacturing practices within the meaning of the Act on Drugs, but this requirement did not make it through the legislation process.
8. Definition of industrial hemp as a plant
INDUSTRIAL hemp is understood to mean a plant from the cannabis genus which allows for the harvest of hemp with a MAXIMUM content of 1% of THC and RELATED SUBSTANCES. Growers of industrial hemp have a reporting duty toward the customs office.
Are you planning to start a business growing cannabis plants for medicinal use and would you like legal assistance? We can help you navigate the responsibilities of a medical cannabis grower or a technical cannabis grower. Do not hesitate to contact us by email or phone.