Slovak Hospodárské noviny spoke with the Czech expert Tomáš Sadílek about the framework for drug regulation. Sadílek has represented the Czech Republic in EU and UN negotiations on drug policy coordination.
How would you compare the legislative regulation of addictions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia?
In the Czech Republic, it took us nearly 30 years to create a drug policy that was fully integrated for the first time, addressing alcohol, tobacco, and gambling together. The idea was to create one unified process that deals with all addictions, whether legal or illegal, substance-based or behavioral. The second difference is the degree of regulation, liberalization, decriminalization, and certain penalties.
Why did it take so long?
In unpopular drug policies, more than anywhere else, you take one step forward and then have to take two steps back. Even if you implement a measure backed by evidence and practice, it can be so politically and socially unpopular that it provokes a backlash that leads to regression.
That said, I’m not a fan of large revolutionary changes. The question is whether the state should imprison someone for growing cannabis for their own use, and whether society should bear the cost of their incarceration.
In Prague’s city center, the proliferation of shops selling cannabis and other products is noticeable.
This is precisely why some level of regulation is better than prohibition. The black market will always find its way to people. The products sold in these shops do not contain THC, so they cannot be classified as narcotics. They are chemically treated to remove cannabinoids, replacing them with synthetic psychoactive cannabinoids that are not yet regulated. These products are marketed as collectible items, not intended for consumption. We don’t know exactly where the money from these sales goes, but often it ends up in organized crime.
Recently, Slovakia added HHC, HHC-P, and HHC-O to its list of banned substances. Did you address this issue in the Czech Republic as well?
We were pioneers in this area, introducing legislation on psychomodulatory substances, which creates a new category where the harm and addiction potential are lower. The law is designed to regulate substances like HHC or kratom with strict controls while preventing access by children and adolescents.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the Czech Republic use these substances, so we needed a legal framework to make them available and safe. Otherwise, people would seek these substances on the black market, which is much more dangerous.
New substances are constantly emerging. How could the legislation be more flexible?
This is precisely why we hope that the model of the psychomodulatory substances law will be adopted by other countries, especially in the European Union. The law is written to allow any new substance to be easily incorporated into the regulatory framework and to clearly determine its availability.
To what extent does Brussels influence drug regulation, and how much freedom do national states have?
Illegal drugs are not harmonized within the EU, so the relevant laws fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of national states. This agenda is managed by ministries of the interior and justice.
Some level of coordination takes place through the EU Action Plan and similar initiatives. For tobacco regulation, an EU directive applies, while the situation with alcohol is more complicated.
Tobacco falls under the ministries of health and agriculture, while alcohol is handled by the health ministry. In total, up to five platforms address regulation, and it’s unfortunate that there isn’t greater integration at the European level.
You advocate for rational regulation of addictions. How would you define this?
Rational regulation is evidence-based and rooted in best practices. It respects the realities of the world and how people live. It’s not rational to imprison people for growing and using cannabis for personal use. In the Czech Republic, three-quarters of a million people use cannabis products.
We should regulate based on the level of harm, grounded in scientific knowledge. This applies to both legal and illegal drugs. For example, tobacco alternatives that are less harmful than combustible tobacco should be taxed at a lower rate.
A typical example is nicotine pouches, which the Czech Republic and Slovakia have innovatively regulated. Geographically, this reflects a transfer of the so-called Swedish experience.
Sweden has the lowest smoking rate in the European Union, with less than 5% of the population smoking. This is achievable thanks to the availability of less harmful alternatives.
The interview with Tomáš Sadílek was pubslihed on 4/12/2024 in Slovak Hospodárské noviny.