Robert Veverka is the editor-in-chief and publisher of a Czech magazine called legalAnd that have been published since 2010. According to Volteface, often containing content related to how cannabis was obtained illegally, how the plant was grown, and how it was processed and used. They also sometimes feature seed packages, because the sale and possession of hemp seeds is legal, as well as advertisements for fertilizers or seed banks.
It began five years ago when a local Czech farmer was caught growing 38 cannabis plants using seeds found in legal. Although the farmer intended to use the cannabis to make a topical cream for himself, law enforcement began to look more closely at Veverka and his magazine.
Veverka was taken to court as of summer 2020. By November 2021, the Bruntál District Court had fined Veverka 50,000 CZK (or Czech koruna, roughly equivalent to $2,200 USD). According to Judge Marek Stach, Viverka was guilty of producing more than 200 articles published between 2010 and 2020 that could tempt readers to perform illegal acts related to cannabis. Stack added that “even one article potentially inciting readers is enough to legal magazine to commit the crime of inciting and promoting toxic mania,” according to a press release from legal and covers it the International Cannabis Business Conference.
Feverka chose to appeal the initial ruling, claiming that he was sentenced under the “elastic law”. “He’s very flexible. [and] It includes a clause stating that promoting illegal substances, with the exception of alcohol, may be considered an offense,” he said in an interview with CannaReporter about the law.
latest in He walks, Viverka was convicted in a regional court in Ostrava, the third largest city in the Czech Republic, of “inciting the use of addictive substances” and “spreading drug addiction through his magazine”. The next step is for Viverka to appeal to the Supreme and Constitutional Court. “I will try to go to the highest courts to protect not only myself but any other media that chooses to write about cannabis,” said Viverka. Prague morning.
In an interview with Cannabis treatment On March 13, Viverka spoke about the Last Judgment. “I feel branded and spoiled and personally disgusted,” Verka said. “Unfortunately, the ruling lends credence to the prosecution’s case, reflecting an ignorance of cannabis legislation and underpinning a general oppressive view that positive information about cannabis is unacceptable to the institution. Further, according to my three-year litigation and court ruling, publication is deemed illegal activity.”
“The court ruling refers to a section of the law relating to the propagation of ‘toxic mania’ — a toxic addiction — a relic of Bolshevism from the days of the totalitarian communist regime, which also prosecuted and punished people for inappropriate opinions,” He completed.
The current ruling leaves Veverka with the choice of either paying 250,000 CZK (about $11,000 USD) or going to jail. “I certainly do not agree with the ruling: I consider the punishment for publishing objective and comprehensive information — even on a controversial topic like the regulation and use of cannabis — a systematic error of judgment and punitive bullying,” said Viverka.
However, he ended the interview by saying that this would not prevent him from defending cannabis and eventually publishing his magazine in the future. “I still have obligations to my readers, so I’m not giving up on the idea of a relaunch [Legalization] magazine,” He said. “Therefore, I sincerely hope that I read into the reasoning of the judgment exactly what the facts are about where it was committed and because of what the crime of ‘drunken spreading’ said, so that I can avoid any illegal actions in the future. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to continue publishing,” Because one cannot do business within a cloud of legal uncertainty.”
Next, he plans to attend the 2023 Million Marijuana March Show which is being planned for end of may.
Cannabis has been decriminalized Czech Republic since 2010, and medical cannabis became legal in 2013. Recreational cannabis use and possession is not legal, but the Czech government is working on drafting a bill to regulate the industry, which was expected to be introduced in March 2023, according to the Forbes. In October 2022, the Commissioner for Drugs of the Czech Republic Jindřich Vobořil He explained that the Czech Republic is coordinating with German officials to create a similar approach to legalizing adult cannabis use.
