From April, GPs in the Czech Republic will be able to prescribe cannabis – both for the treatment of chronic pain and as support for cancer and other serious illnesses. Previously, only specialised doctors were authorised to do so.
Medical cannabis is primarily used for chronic pain when other treatments fail to provide relief. Other applications include supporting cancer treatment and alleviating the side effects of chemotherapy, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Until now, only around 250 specialised doctors were permitted to prescribe it, but in the future, GPs will also have this option.
In the area of palliative care – that is, the care of terminally ill and dying patients, as well as children with oncological or haematological conditions – it will also be possible to prescribe medicinal cannabis for patients under the age of 18. Additionally, doctors will no longer be required to submit detailed data on all patients and their cannabis treatment to the State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL) annually.
Since the introduction of cannabis treatment in the Czech Republic in 2015, doctors have prescribed almost 940 kilograms of cannabis in total. According to the law, patients are entitled to a maximum of 180 grams of dried cannabis per month, or an equivalent amount of cannabis extract.
According to the ‘Report on Illicit Drugs in the Czech Republic 2024’ (Zpráva o nelegálních drogách v České republice 2024), up to 25 per cent of the population over the age of 15 have used cannabis for self-medication at some point in their lives. Last year, this figure was between 9 and 14 per cent, corresponding to 800,000 to 1.3 million people.
