Czech Republic Decides to Ban HHC – Possession to Become Punishable in the Future

The government in Prague has decided to once again place the cannabinoid HHC on the list of prohibited substances. In the future, not only the sale will be banned, but possession will also become punishable.

The cannabinoid HHC will soon be counted among the prohibited substances in the Czech Republic. As reported by the news channel ČT24, the government decided on Monday to place the substance on the list of prohibited addictive substances. Criticism of the step comes from both the Government Office for Drug Policy and the Chamber of Commerce.

With the new regulation, HHC will be included in the list of addictive substances and its sale will therefore be generally prohibited. The government is responding to a decision by the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which classified HHC as a prohibited substance last year under the international drug convention of 1971. In doing so, the country is fulfilling its international obligations.

HHC previously banned

The cannabinoid hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and its derivatives had already been banned two years ago by the government at the time. However, with the entry into force of the law on psychomodulatory substances, HHC was moved last year from the list of prohibited substances to the list of substances under investigation.

The new ban is to come into force one day after the regulation is published in the official gazette. From that moment on, possession will also be punishable. The authors of the regulation justify the step in part by arguing that the substance has not yet been sufficiently researched.

Among those opposing the ban was the Government Office for Drug Policy. Instead of a ban, HHC should remain classified as a substance under investigation. Experts in addiction issues had already pointed out during the first ban two years ago that such a step could strengthen the black market. There is also a risk that HHC could quickly be replaced by new, possibly even more risky substances with as yet unknown effects.