The Daily Star, April 02, 2013
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| Picture taken on May 5, 2012 shows Czech youth shouting slogans as they take part in a march calling for the legalization of marijuana, in Prague. AFP PHOTO / MICHAL CIZEK |
PRAGUE:
Medical marijuana legally went on sale Tuesday in pharmacies across the Czech
Republic for patients suffering from cancer, Parkinson's disease, multiple
sclerosis or psoriasis.
The new law
does not foresee health insurance coverage for marijuana, touted by some as a
medical miracle drug.
The
prescription-only drug formally became legal on Monday, but was virtually
unavailable as most pharmacies across the ex-communist European Union state of
10.5 million were closed over to the Easter long weekend.
Prague will
first import the drug for about a year, reportedly from Israel or the
Netherlands, until the State Institute for Drug Control starts issuing licences
to local growers for a maximum of five years.
The
institute will also determine the crop area and organise tenders for marijuana
purchases from farmers.
An EU
member since in 2004, the Czech Republic provides some of the most liberal
access to soft drugs in Europe.
People
holding up to 15 grammes (0.53 ounces) of marijuana or growing up to five
plants of cannabis risk just a small fine -- an approach that often attracts
smokers from other countries such as neighbouring Poland, where tougher laws
apply.
A 2011
national report on narcotics said 16.1 percent of Czechs aged 15-34 admitted to
having used marijuana in that year, down from 20.3 percent a year earlier.
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