The Czech Republic, long considered one of Europe’s most progressive countries on cannabis and wider drug reform, is entering a period of political transition following its parliamentary election earlier this month.
While the result introduces new variables for reform efforts, industry observers suggest existing legislative progress, including decriminalisation measures due to take effect in January, is unlikely to be reversed.
Babiš, who previously served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021, is now seeking to form a government supported by right-leaning parties that traditionally take a more conservative stance on drug policy.
Yet, according to figures within the Czech cannabis sector, his track record of backing key decriminalisation measures and interest in the medical cannabis market may help sustain a degree of continuity in the country’s approach.
The ‘Czech Trump’
The parallels between Babiš and the US President run deeper than catchy headlines. He is running for the second time after blitzing his way into power in 2017 with a campaign promising to root out corruption (drain the swamp) and run the country like a business, having taken control of key media outlets.
He exerts near total control of the widely anti-establishment ANO (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens) movement, with loyalty to taking priority over almost anything else.
During his premiership from 2017 to 2021, Babiš cultivated an image as a pragmatic problem-solver but faced persistent accusations of conflict of interest due to his continuing ties to Agrofert, the conglomerate he built after the fall of the soviet union that has made him a billionaire.
The EU and Czech courts have investigated whether he misused European subsidies through a company project known as Stork’s Nest. Although he was acquitted in 2022, a High Court reopened the case in June 2025, leaving him once again under scrutiny.
“Predicting outcomes now is impossible,” Dr Tomas Ryska, Managing Director of Astrasana Czech, and member of influential cannabis lobby group Rational Regulation (RARE) told Business of Cannabis.
“Some say Babiš is pursuing all this partly to avoid prosecution, which could influence how he negotiates coalition agreements. His personal interests may shape political decisions, which makes things unpredictable.”
Now, following the election on October 3-4, ANO secured around 35% of the vote, well above the current Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s centre-right coalition Spolu (Together), which followed with about 23%.
Despite its decisive lead, ANO did not secure enough seats to form a majority in the 200-seat lower house, and is in talks to form a single-party minority government backed by other right-wing outfits, the SPD and Motorists for Themselves.
What does this mean for cannabis reform?
Decriminalisation, Homegrow and Social Clubs
In June, we reported on the passage of a landmark amendment in the country, which will legalise home cultivation of up to three plants, home possession of up to 100g of cannabis per person, and public possession of up to 25g per person, from January 01.
Crucially, this bill was only successful thanks to support from ANO. Another member of Rational Regulation (RARE) and editor-in-chief of Magazine Konopí, Lukas Hurt, told us that Babiš ‘must have given approval to his MPs to support the decrim bill… without him, it wouldn’t have passed. ’
As such, he believes the bill will ‘likely remain unchanged’ moving forward, and argues that because of the ‘very hard’ work ANO put into pushing through the criminal code reform, particularly in relation to cannabis, a rollback was highly unlikely.
“It doesn’t make any sense, and it would be a very unpopular move,” Hurt added.
Dr Ryska suggested that while there were ‘some voices’ suggesting ANO’s support was a tactic to gain votes, and when in power they could ‘cancel’ this bill, he ‘didn’t think this would happen’.
As seen in German states, where local governments are making it near impossible for social clubs to get licensed, he suggested this could also come into play in the Czech Republic.
“Another threat comes from certain state officials, not police, but legal authorities such as state attorneys, who reportedly plan to interpret the new law in a restrictive way. It was even leaked to the media that some officials said they ‘don’t care’ about the new law and will continue enforcing it according to what they consider ‘right’.
“There’s a misconception that from 1 January, people can immediately open cannabis social clubs. Many groups are preparing to launch on that date, but that will likely cause backlash from authorities. If people push too far, the government may respond with stricter enforcement rather than moderation.”
Because of these potential legal hurdles, ‘much of what could happen remains speculation.’
Full legalisation and commercial cannabis market
The Czech Republic is also still technically considering a plan for a fully regulated consumer market, but these developments have made the likelihood of its success even slimmer.
Though the outcome of the coalition discussions now taking place is difficult to predict, ANO will likely join with their natural stablemates on the populist and far-right, parties that take a more traditional ‘war on drugs’ approach to prohibition.
These smaller coalition partners, our sources suggested, would make progress towards full legalisation especially difficult.
“What could happen instead is some continuation of the criminal code reform that began this summer. There might also be a limited research project related to recreational cannabis, but it would have to be clearly framed as a scientific or university study with strict limits on quantities – otherwise, the smaller coalition parties would certainly oppose it,” Lukas Hurt from Magazine Konopí explained.
Medical Cannabis
More optimistically, Babiš has always been a strong advocate of medical cannabis, and there is confidence among the industry that ‘further improvements in the medical cannabis system’ are incoming, with even the more hard-line parties generally supporting medical use.
With Babiš’ reputation for pursuing his own interests, it’s notable that his most loyal voters are older citizens, and he is thought to understand how beneficial medical cannabis can be for older people. Questions have also arisen as to what ties Babiš and his business empire have to the local medical cannabis cultivation market.
Political support despite the change in the cabinet
Alongside a record of support from the ANO, regardless of the underlying motivations, many MPs who generally support cannabis reform have been reelected.
There are also some ‘promising new faces’, including Dr. Vaclav Trojan, a member of the Czech Hemp Cluster who has now been elected as an ANO MP, and runs the country’s only (most likely the world’s only) medical cannabis cultivation facility inside a hospital, potentially providing a ‘strong and knowledgeable’ voice in the lower chamber
Dr Ryska continued: “For us, it means that we’ve got several people in the parliament, so we are not in a bad position, I would say, but we have to wait to see what happens shortly after the new government is established. If there is no direct interest in cancelling the new legislation, then I think we have important people in the right places.”
If Babiš truly is the Czech Trump, then there are certainly lessons we can learn from the US. While Babiš may have a much more anti-cannabis coalition behind him, policy decisions will ultimately come down to personal, often opaque motivations.
However, the Czech Republic is already one of the most progressive countries in Europe when it comes to cannabis policy, and advocates like RARE already have a solid plan for further reform and support within the new government. The method of navigating the new administration may have changed, but the tools and motivation have not.
