Prague - The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic stood up for people growing cannabis, a plant that can be used to produce marihuana, if they are using the drug to treat their ailments.
Under the Court's latest ruling, both public authorities and courts have an obligation to consider and prove very carefully whether the growers are producing or preparing to produce marihuana out of cannabis, whether their actions represent a danger to society and whether they really are using the plant for medication.
Cannabis against ulcers
At two occasions, the police had raided a garden belonging to a woman from Nymburk region and found first 58 then 12 cannabis plants. The Supreme Court judges now have returned her case to a new hearing.
The woman claimed she used the plant extracts for treatment of soles of her feet and of a stomach ulcer. She was growing hemp for at least three years.
Her GP knew about her using cannabis. She offered one of the plants to a friend who used extract from cannabis to treat skin disease.
The woman´s son was previously sentenced for dealing in marihuana but the prosecution failed to prove a connection between his own business activities and his mother's plant growing.
Nevertheless, the Nymburk District Court and then Prague Regional Court found the woman guilty of illegal production and possession of narcotic substances.
It's not legal but do differentiate
The Supreme Court's ruling does not make growing cannabis legal. But it is necessary to consider individual aspects of each case.
"To grow cannabis sativa doesn't constitute in itself production of a narcotic substance," the Court's Senate led by Vladimír Jurka says in its ruling.
In an expert report submitted to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Prosecution Office supported the woman saying the case was atypical and as a consequence the grower's activities couldn't be qualified as criminal.
The State Prosecutor quoted data on therapeutic effects of cannabis. "Czech doctors know of the possibility of applying this substance and, where there are positive results, its use is tolerated," she said.
The Supreme Court ruling from two years ago says growing hemp without proper authorisation is still illegal, as the plant itself is a narcotic under the Addictive Substances Act.
But the Court's statement also says one cannot automatically equal growing hemp with production of drugs. That's why the courts have an obligation to assess circumstances of each case individually, it adds.
