Medical cannabis consumption on the rise

Consumption of medical cannabis in the Czech Republic quadrupled last year compared to 2019. While in 2019 patients were given 17 kilograms of cannabis in total, last year it was 66.8 kilograms. This follows from data published by the State Agency for Cannabis for Medical Use (SAKL).

The number of doctors who prescribe cannabis has also increased, as have the number of patients who use it. According to doctors, the increase was due to the fact that since last year, 90 percent of the price of cannabis has been covered by health insurance.

Therapeutic cannabis is used by patients, among other things, to relieve pain in, for example, cancer or arthritis, as well as people with multiple scleroses, Parkinson's disease or AIDS. Doctors recommend cannabis to patients as an additional treatment for spasticity - that means disorders of muscle tension, or for neuropathic pain. Also, patients who order medical cannabis are not only from Prague anymore, but the numbers are on the rise also in other parts of the Czech Republic.

The law allowed the prescribing of medical cannabis in 2013, and was available two years later. At first only from abroad, but according to patients it was unaffordable. At present, SAKL has a contract with one Czech grower and is also supplied by foreign producers.