Medical cannabis use surging in the Czech Republic in 2020

Prague, Feb 12 (CTK) – Three kilogrammes of medical cannabis were prescribed in the Czech Republic in January when the price started being partly covered from public health insurance, while 17 kg were prescribed in 2019, according to data on the website of the Czech State Agency for Medical Cannabis (SAKL).

Ninety percent of the costs of cannabis treatment in the country started to be covered from public health insurance as of the beginning of the year.

Last month, medical cannabis was prescribed to 734 patients, which is nearly five times more than in January 2019. In 2018, there were 447 such patients to whom doctors prescribed 4.8 kilogrammes of cannabis in total.

Cannabis is usually prescribed for chronic pain. It is also used by people suffering from cancer, AIDS or multiple sclerosis.

The Czech Republic expects up to 3,000 patients next year. The contributions will cover 90 percent of the pharmacy price and 30 grammes per month with possible increase of the amount up to 180 grammes per month following review doctor’s approval.

Medical cannabis is currently prescribed by about 1.5 percent of the doctors in the country. They will report data on the cannabis treatment to the State Institute for Drug Control (SUKL) using an Internet form. Apart from this, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people use medical cannabis based on their own decision.

The Health Ministry says the attitudes of doctors on cannabis treatment are disunited as there are not enough clinical studies. There is no clinical study carried out in the Czech Republic.

The Czech law enables to grow technical cannabis with a small amount of the narcotic substance, and also cannabis for medical purposes based on a special licence. A private grower can grow five plants at the most for his own use. The growing of more plants is a crime, as is the possession of more than 10 grammes of dry mass, the production and other handling of narcotic substances.