GPs will now be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis for chronic pain, and patients can also be prescribed up to a three-month dose per prescription, according to changes to the relevant legislation which will come into force in April this year.
According to data from the State Institute for Drug Control (SUKL), doctors prescribed 318.7 kilograms of medicinal cannabis last year, used by an average of around 3,300 patients per month.
Most often, people received cannabis treatments for intractable pain for which other drugs have not been effective, as well as cancer treatments, the effects of chemotherapy, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis. Until now there have been around 250 licensed providers, but now GPs will also be able to prescribe.
“The Ministry of Health (…) has concluded that it is justified to add the specialised qualification of a doctor – general medicine – to the indication of chronic inconsolable pain. In other indications, treatment with cannabis should be the exclusive responsibility of specialists,” the Ministry of Health stated in a memorandum explaining the changes.
It will also now be possible to prescribe medical cannabis to patients under 18 as part of palliative care, i.e. care for terminally ill and dying patients or children with oncological or haemato-oncological conditions. Doctors will also no longer be required to submit data annually to SUKL about all patients who have been prescribed cannabis, including details of their treatment.
Since 2015, when the first patients in the Czech Republic could start being treated with cannabis, doctors have prescribed almost 940 kilograms. Under the law, patients are entitled to a maximum of 180 grams of dry weight of medicinal cannabis per month, or a derivative of cannabis extract.
Lawmakers approved the use of medical cannabis in 2013, and it reached the first patients a year later. Health insurers have covered it since 2020, paying 90% of the price, up to a maximum of 30 grams per month. The General Health Insurance Fund (VZP), for example, paid CZK 17.2 million for about 3,200 patients in 2022. The total cost of public health insurance in that year exceeded CZK 420 billion.
According to the Report on Illicit Drugs in the Czech Republic 2024, published by the National Coordination Centre for Drugs and Addictions, up to 25% of the population over 15 has used cannabis for self-medication at some point in their lives. “While the rate of recreational use decreases significantly with the age of respondents, the use of cannabis for self-medication increases with the age of respondents,” said the report’s authors, adding that the highest rate is among people over 55.
The cannabis amendment was approved by the government late last year as part of a broader criminal law reform. It would make it legal to grow up to three cannabis plants with THC content of more than 1%, and to possess up to 50 grams of cannabis outdoors and 25 grams at home. At a press conference this week, the Pirate Party said they wanted to introduce a regulated cannabis market that would bring up to CZK 3 billion a year to the budget. It would also allow cannabis associations to grow together or sell in specialised establishments.
Prescription of medical cannabis in the Czech Republic:
| Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
| Kg | 0.84 | 2.58 | 1.23 | 4.8 | 17 | 66.97 | 109.4 | 157.4 | 258.8 | 318.7 | 937.7 |
Use of medicinal cannabis in the Czech Republic:
| Year | Doctors | Average patients / month | Unique patients / year | Kgs dispensed |
| 2024 | 228* | 3,340 | ** | 263.1 |
| 2023 | 235 | 2,570 | 8,037 | 210 |
| 2022 | 213 | 1,886 | 6,079 | 157.4 |
| 2021 | 191 | 1,389 | 4,601 | 109.4 |
| 2020 | 170 | 982 | 3,755 | 66.97 |
| 2019 | 78* | 310 | 17 | |
| 2018 | 27* | 68 | 4.8 | |
| 2017 | ** | – | 1.23 | |
| 2016 | ** | – | 2.58 | |
| 2015 | – | 0.836 |
*maximum figure per month
**data not available
