Government looks to stop the sale of new, unrestricted drugs from Poland

The government is trying to speedily resolve a sharp increase in the recreational use of certain legal but addictive drugs brought in to the country from Poland. In just the past few months, a wave of specialty shops has cropped up along the Polish border, vending obscure, synthetic narcotics that aged legislation does not prohibit. With four such shops in the town of Český Těšín alone, the government fears an explosive problem on the horizon if the law is not amended to ban the new market, but passage through parliament is not a given as similar plans have failed before. Today I spoke with the government’s antidrug coordinator, Jindřich Vobořil, who explained why the problem has arisen so suddenly.

“The main thing is that the Polish parliament adopted a new law which made all of these drugs illegal – they were having the same problem – so a lot of people who were selling them on the Polish side moved to the Czech side, because we are in the process of putting those drugs on the list of illegal substances.”

What specific substances are we talking about?

“One particular one is called ‘Spice’, it’s a synthetic cannabinoid, similar to hashish or marijuana, but we have about 14 other, different drugs which are new, and which are being distributed in the Czech Republic in various ways, but this one is being distributed through official shops.”

Have there been examples of people suffering problems as a result of taking these drugs?

“At this moment in the Czech Republic, not that I know of. There have been some problems on the Polish side, I think, but since it’s still new we do not have reports of specific problems. Although the ‘Spice’ is not an unknown drug so, as with other drugs, obviously we know some of the risks.

So why are they being banned if they are not necessarily dangerous?

Jindřich Vobořil

“It’s always the case, when we see proof, either inside or outside of this country, that substances are being purposely used, against Czech law, spreading what we call ‘toxikomanie’, which means drug use or addiction. When the purpose of selling the drug or using the drug for marketing purposes is to develop an addiction or dependency, it becomes a concern. All of the 15 drugs I mentioned would qualify as spreading addiction behaviour, and we find addiction behaviour is always risky for people’s health.”

What exactly do the amendments that the government wants to make to the law on addictive substances involve exactly? Does it simply mean lengthening the list of banned substances?

“Yes, there are two steps: the first step that is happening at the moment is the amendment, which just bans 15 new drugs and explains why these drugs seem to be risky and should be illegal. But what we want to work on for the future is to have the possibility to make such amendments faster, to not have to do it through parliament, as the procedure is now, but as a governmental decision.”