Czechs mark '420' with annual Konopex cannabis festival

Users and fans of cannabis will be happy to know that the sixth edition of the Konopex cannabis festival will take place in Ostrava, coinciding with the annual "420" event that takes place today. 

The Trojhalí Karolina complex will hold the festival this weekend, from Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23. Every year, the event is held on the weekend that falls closest to April 20.

Hemp beer, cannabis supplements, and stalls for exchanging marijuana will be available. Visitors will also be able to view new, various accessories for smoking – such as so-called smart filters and premium papers – at the festival. Cannabis memorabilia and clothing will also be on offer.

The fair will have its own “smoke zone” and offer a space for creating cannabis-related art. A skateboard competition will show two of the top freestyle skateboards in Czechia, Kristian Nguyen and Honza Malé, demonstrating their signature tricks.

The festival will have a strong educational element, with stalls providing information about the growing and harvesting of cannabis plants, and talks about the processes of extracting cannabis without involving solvents, which was made legal last year. Additionally, cannabis seeds and seedlings will be on sale.

Konopex will also have lectures and panel discussions about the current legality of cannabis in Czechia. Michal Ruman of the CzechHemp organization will give a presentation about the fact that hemp is – in his opinion, correctly – generally perceived as an environmentally friendly plant, and an alternative to conventional medicine products.

Tomáš Ocelka from CannabiLab, which promotes medicinal cannabis, will give a lecture on medicinal marijuana extracts in practice.

The festival will host a competition, named the Cannabis Cup, for the most beautiful cannabis plants at the event. Reggae artists will also play throughout the weekend. 

Those living in Prague who are unable to reach Ostrava this weekend will need to wait until the annual Cannafest in November, which is held in the capital. However, a smaller-scale event named Prague420 takes place this afternoon at the Štvanice skatepark in Prague 7.

At present, the drug is decriminalized, but using it recreationally in Czechia is illegal. Czechia has one of the more liberal stances on cannabis in Europe, with people in Czechia even allowed to grow up to five cannabis plants at home for personal use. The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has been legal for 10 years in Czechia.

Konopex comes at an interesting time this year. Earlier this month, the government outlined its plans for the legalization of recreational marijuana use by creating a regulated system, which requires those wishing to purchase the drug to register in an online database. 

The changes could be implemented as early as next year, but still need to be passed by both houses of parliament and the president.

With around three in four people in Czechia showing support for the legalization of cannabis in Czechia, this year’s "420" event could be one of the last when the recreational use of the drug is illegal. This may put many people on a high.