Czech Republic legal cannabis is one step closer to a reality in the European nation. However, lawmakers there are taking an unusual approach that somewhat resembles the path taken by the state of Vermont years ago – legalize cannabis without setting up a legal cannabis market.

Vermont is one of states with legal recreational cannabis, a coalition of states that is now home to more than half of the United States population. The state made adult-use cannabis legal in 2018, but did not set up a regulated, retail cannabis market until 2022.

Czech Republic legal cannabis seems to be following a similar path. Lawmakers in the country recently revealed their intention to legalize adult-use cannabis, yet it appears that there won’t be provisions made for establishing a legal market. Reports from local Czech news outlets indicate that a proposed cannabis legalization bill released last week does not incorporate regulations for the establishment of a legal market.

The Czech Republic already decriminalized possession of cannabis for personal use in 2010 and made medical cannabis legal in 2013.

What the New Czech Republic Legal Cannabis Law Would Do

The Czech government recently released the draft of a new bill that does not include a regulated cannabis market, something lawmakers had discussed previously. According to Expats.cz, the Czech Pirate Party, a centrist liberal party, has supported cannabis legalization and called the proposed bill a “compromise version” that they hope to expand to include a regulated market through negotiation with other parties..

However, for now, the bill is somewhat limited in scope. It includes rules governing legal cultivation, operation of cannabis clubs, licensed sales and exports and taxation. It sets firm restrictions on production and sales and “proposes registration of users, small growers, and cannabis clubs (cafés or meetup spots where people can freely smoke marijuana),” according to Expats.cz.

Czech cannabis associations expressed concern about the lack of a regulated market in the bill.

“The existence of a commercial and strictly regulated market with licensed growers and stores is a basic prerequisite for the successful reform of anti-cannabis laws, as is evident all over the world – from Colorado to California to Canada or Switzerland and the Netherlands,” Lukáš Hurt, manager of the CzecHemp hemp cluster, said in a statement. “Thanks to regulation, it is possible to significantly reduce the revenues of the illegal market and at the same time obtain funds for effective drug prevention and education.”

Political Maneuvering Behind the Scenes on Czech Republic Legal Cannabis

In addition to the Pirates Party comments about further negotiation, national anti-drug coordinator Jindřich Vobořil, who helped draft the current proposal, said he has not given up hope that a regulated market can still be created. He said that a regulated cannabis market allows for better control of cannabis sales, and also would generate billions in taxes each year, according to Expats.cz.

At least one person said that the lack of a regulated market in the proposed bill is part of the complex political machinations going on behind the scenes. Dr. Tomas Ryska, Managing Director of Astrasana Czech, told the Business of Cannabis in an interview that keeping out the rules for a regulated cannabis market is meant to put pressure on the Christian Democrats, the only party among the Czech Republic’s five major parties to oppose a legal cannabis market.

He added that release of the proposal is intended to generate negative sentiment in the media and demonstrate to the Christian Democrats that people are unhappy with legalization if it does not contain a legal market.