Jindřich Vobořil, the international anti-drug coordinator of the Czech Republic, presented a plan for the legalization e regulation of the market cannabis.
Previously, Vobořil had already told the Czech news agency ČTK that he wanted to prepare a bill that would allow the legal purchase of marijuana in Czechia, since, as he himself underlined, the controlled cannabis market could lead billions of crowns in taxes to the state budget.
The priorities of the regulatory plan of the Czech Republic
The plan for the regulation of cannabis is part of one strategy for dealing with addictions nationally by 2027.
The taxation of addictive substances depending on their harmfulness, the launch of a regulated market of cannabis and the increase in spending on prevention and the addiction treatment are among the first steps set out in the Czech government's draft plan to tackle addictions in the country.
As stated by Vobořil to ČTK: "The action plan will have five clear priorities. The controlled market, taxes, i.e. the improvement of their collection and a definition of fiscal policy, prevention and treatment, promoting EU-relevant measures and preparing for the possible impacts of the refugee wave."
In its policy statement, the Fiala cabinet wrote that it aims to tackle addiction based on scientific data and promised to ensure sufficient funding for prevention and services in this area.
In addition to cannabis, new taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling
According to the ratio defined by the government, the state collects every year 60 billion of Czech crowns (CZK) in excise duties on tobacco products and 13 billion in alcohol taxes. Gambling brings every year 5.1 billion of CZK to the national budget e 4.9 billion to the city budget.
On the other hand, according to the draft, the company loses from 150 to 180 billion of Czech crowns per year for health and other consequences of addictions. Consequently, the idea of defining is clear new taxes on addictive substances based on their harmfulness.
