Judgment in the “ayahuasca” case: Outdated legislation in the field of addictive substances requires change!
For the second time, the Think Tank for Rational Addiction Policy takes the liberty of drawing the attention of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic to the problematic legislation in the field of illegal drugs. We are convinced that extremely strict penalties are imposed for acts that are often trivial or not very socially dangerous. Such a procedure does not make sense from the perspective of protecting public health or the safety of citizens (so-called public safety).
PRESS RELEASE
Brno, February 1, 2022
For the second time, the Think Tank for Rational Addiction Policy takes the liberty of drawing the attention of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic to the problematic legislation in the field of illegal drugs. We are convinced that extremely strict penalties are imposed for acts that are often trivial or not very socially dangerous. Such a procedure does not make sense from the perspective of protecting public health or the safety of citizens (so-called public safety).
On January 28, 2022, as reported by many Czech media, the Ostrava Regional Court issued a judgment in the case of organizing shamanic rituals, during which the psychotropic drink ayahuasca, prepared from South American vines, was served. Two organizers of the sessions received unconditional sentences of 8.5 and 5.5 years, the third defendant got off with probation.
Although we are aware that ayahuasca contains the active ingredient dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is included in the list of addictive substances and therefore its use is illegal, the amount of the sentence definitely does not correspond to the social danger of the act. DMT is a substance classified as a so-called classic psychedelic, unlike alcohol or opiates, it does not cause physical dependence. Classic psychedelics are being researched and increasingly used in combination with psychotherapy in the treatment of anxiety and depression, psychosomatic and sexual disorders, psychotic illnesses or personality disorders. In therapy, they are considered an effective tool that allows insight into and change of problematic behavior patterns, access to unconscious material or positive change of personality and value system. Psychedelics are not the drug of dealers and gangs, they are not associated with criminogenic risks or risks of addiction like alcohol or heroin.
We consider this and similar judgments to be the result of incorrect setting of legal regulation, and especially criminal regulation regarding addictive substances in the Czech Republic, which does not assess the general and social danger of individual substances. As a result of this adjustment, situations arise where offenses in this area are often punished more severely than violent crimes or child abuse. Recent judgments in cannabis-related cases are similarly strict, as we pointed out on November 8, 2021 in the case of Robert Veverka and the magazine Legalizace. Therefore, we believe that the only solution is to change the legislation, which would take into account the real, not the supposed, danger of individual addictive substances.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that we are not involved in the above-mentioned case, we learned about the case from the media and we have not contacted the actors of this case and we do not know each other.
Contact:
Jindřich Vobořil
+420 725 805 865
voboril@addiction-policy.eu
