Via Newsweed
Proposals for the legalisation of cannabis in the Czech Republic are expected to include a 5g daily limit and a compulsory register of consumers.
The Czech Republic plans to introduce a new regulated cannabis market allowing the consumption of up to 5 grams of cannabis per day for recreational purposes, with the legalisation of its cultivation and distribution.
The Czech newspaper Seznam Zprávy reported that under the new government plans, consumers will have to register on a database, with annual fees for growers and sellers.
According to the state’s drug policy coordinator, Jindřich Vobořil and the Pirate Party, the proposal could earn the government around 2 billion Czech crowns (€85 million) per year.
The legislation is still in draft form and will be debated in the Czech parliament this month. If approved, it could be implemented as early as next year.
Currently, possession of small amounts of cannabis is decriminalised in the Czech Republic, but smoking cannabis for recreational purposes remains technically illegal. Cannabis for medicinal use has been legal since 2013.
Vobořil is reported as saying: “The cannabis black market is growing across Europe. In the Czech Republic, it seems that we have reached its ceiling, and I don’t see many other options to prevent it from working, other than to take the request and send it to legal sellers.”
More money, more control
Besides generating revenue, Vobořil explains that the purpose of a strictly controlled market is to increase consumer protection while ensuring the safety of the cannabis produced. The Czech government also wants to better control the amount of cannabis on the market.
It is reported that approximately one million people use illegal cannabis in various forms in the Czech Republic every year.
Taxes and licences
Under its new plans, the government would generate money by imposing licensing fees and an excise tax similar to that applied to cigarettes.
Income will also be generated from the export of cannabis to other European countries where cannabis is legal.
Growing hemp on large plots of land would cost hundreds of thousands of crowns and an independent shop wishing to sell cannabis would have to pay an annual tax, starting at around 50,000 Czech crowns (€2,000).
According to the draft regulation, cannabis would only be available to purchase from specialised stores.
Mr Vobořil also indicates that the government is working to ban the advertising of cannabis products and that packaging would not contain any promotional material or images.
A consumer register
Consumers wishing to buy cannabis in stores will have to register their details in a special register. They will only be able to buy a limited quantity of cannabis per month, in order to prevent them from reselling their legal products.
This article was originally published by Newsweed and is reprinted here with permission.
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Author: Aurélien Bernard
