Cannabis Advocates Demand Further Pardons In Czech Republic
Cannabis advocates staged a peaceful protest today in Prague, Czechia, outside the nation’s Ministry of Health in Palacký Square. The protest, which involved publicly displaying ten cannabis plants as seen in the featured image of this article and the social media post below, was followed by a march.
Longtime Czech cannabis activist Lukas Hurt posted the image and description of the advocacy action on his LinkedIn page:
“If you can, please join us tomorrow afternoon in the heart of Prague, where my former high school classmate Jan Látal and my colleague from citizen initiative Rodiny proti prohibici (Family Against Prohibition), matěj hollan, and myself are organizing #Konopný #czeXperiment. Join us in a simple act of solidarity: water our 10 cannabis plants in the middle of busy Palacký Square to express support for cannabis prisoners.” Mr. Hurt wrote on his LinkedIn page the day before in a separate post.
“The symbolic watering of our beautiful plants right in the center of Czech capital begins at 5:00 p.m., followed by a peaceful walk to Prague Castle around 6:00 p.m. There, we will thank President Petr Pavel for the first pardons granted to three “cannabis granddads” and symbolically call on the Poslanecká sněmovna Parlamentu ČR to quickly adopt the criminal code reform, which is now going into the 3rd, final reading and which includes crucial changes in cannabis repression.” the Czech cannabis activist also wrote.
In March 2025, Czech President Petr Pavel issued pardons to three men who were imprisoned for cultivating cannabis. All three men who received pardons from President Pavel were over the age of 70 and had initially received prison sentences ranging from 3-4 years before eventually receiving their pardons.
In recent years, a major push has been underway in the Czech Republic to modernize the nation’s cannabis policies to permit cannabis use and other activities by adults. Currently, cannabis is legal for adult use at a national level in Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, and South Africa.
Starting on April 1st, 2025, all licensed doctors in the Czech Republic can prescribe medical cannabis. Previously, only specialist doctors could do so. Doctors in the Czech Republic prescribed 318.7 kilograms of medicinal cannabis in 2024 to an average of roughly 3,300 patients per month. Additionally, starting in July of this year, the Czech Republic will regulate sales of cannabis products containing up to one percent THC.
A team of researchers affiliated with Charles University in the Czech Republic and the University of New South Wales in Australia recently collaborated on a study that examined the potential ‘social benefit’ effects of adult-use cannabis legalization in Czechia.
“Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug worldwide. In countries with repressive drug policies, the costs of its prohibition plausibly outweigh the benefits.” the researchers stated in their study, the findings of which were published in the Journal of Cost-Benefit Analysis.
“We conduct a cost–benefit analysis of cannabis legalization and regulation in the Czech Republic, taking into consideration alternative scenarios designed using parameters from the known effects of cannabis legalization in selected U.S. states, Canada, and Uruguay. Our analysis focuses on tax revenues, law enforcement costs, the cost of treatment and harm reduction, and the value of Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs).” the team of international researchers stated about their Czech-focused study’s methodology.
“Under all the projected scenarios, the identified benefits of legalizing cannabis for personal use exceed the potential costs. The estimated net social benefit of legalization is in the range of 34.4 to 107.6 million EUR per year (or between 3.2 and 10.1 EUR per capita), depending on the size of the cannabis market and the development of cannabis prices after legalization.” the researchers concluded.
