The Czech Republic Annual Report 2010 Drug ... - Drogy-info.cz

In the Czech Republic, the treatment and care of people infected with HIV or with AIDS is provided at seven AIDS
centres and is predominantly covered by health insurance; the provision of dispensary care and therapy for
uninsured HIV-positive clients, which potentially also applies to injecting drug users, poses a problem. A
questionnaire survey was conducted in centres for the treatment of viral hepatitis in the spring of 2011. Its outcomes
included the estimate that injecting drug users (mostly ex-IDUs) were treated for viral hepatitis C in 39 centres in
2010.
Various police sources and information available from public prosecutors’ offices indicate that approximately 2.4 to
2.5 thousand individuals were prosecuted for drug-related criminal offences in the Czech Republic in 2010. Almost
2.2 thousand people were indicted, which corresponds to the enduring rate of 90% of those prosecuted. Almost 1.7
thousand individuals were convicted in 2010. Women account for 15% of drug offenders. The largest proportion of
offences (approximately 80%) pertains to the manufacturing and trafficking of drugs and dealing in them. Drug crime
associated with pervitin (approximately 55–70%, depending on the source of data) and cannabis shows the highest
rates; the involvement of heroin and cocaine, respectively, in offending remains below 5%. The regions reporting the
highest relative rates of drug offending include Prague, Central Bohemia, Karlovy Vary, and Ústí nad Labem. 1,021
misdemeanours of the possession of a small quantity of a drug or the cultivation of a small quantity of a plant
containing a narcotic or psychotropic substance for personal use were registered in 2010. In the majority of cases
(94%), such misdemeanours involved the possession of drugs; only 6% of the misdemeanours concerned the
cultivation of plants containing a narcotic or psychotropic substance.
There has been a long-term increase in the number of people prosecuted for drug-related offences, and the
proportion of people prosecuted for the possession of drugs for personal use is also rising. From the long-term
perspective, there has been an increase in the number of pervitin-related drug crimes, while offending associated
with ecstasy and heroin recorded a decline; the number of cocaine-related cases remains relatively small.
Out of the aggregate of 117.7 thousand, 19.6 thousand (16.6%) criminal offences were committed under the
influence of an addictive substance, 17.3 thousand (14.7%) and 2.3 thousand (1.9%) under the influence of alcohol
and drugs other than alcohol respectively, in 2010.
Marijuana and methamphetamine (pervitin) were the most widely available drugs in 2010. The popularity and
availability of cocaine is increasing. The prices and purity of drugs are stable or within the range where moderate
year-on-year fluctuations may be observed in certain substances.
The majority of the marijuana produced is intended for the domestic market. Part of the production of cannabis
grown under artificial lighting is well organised and mostly involves people of Vietnamese origin. 278 kg of marijuana
and almost 65 thousand cannabis plants were seized, which is twice as many cannabis plants as in 2009. The
number of cannabis plantations detected is also growing – 145 were discovered.
Pervitin is made by domestic manufacturers, particularly in small home labs. Nevertheless, the large-scale
production of pervitin, controlled by organised groups originating from Vietnam or Albania, is becoming a common
practice. Pervitin is generally manufactured using medication containing pseudoephedrine, mainly imported from
Poland. The drug is primarily intended for the Czech market. A minor proportion of the production is exported
abroad, particularly to Germany, which is especially facilitated by German citizens who are involved in the individual
trafficking of small quantities as part of drug tourism. A total of 21.3 kg of pervitin was seized, which is the largest
amount in the past four years, and 307 pervitin cooking labs were detected.
Cocaine is mainly associated with the recreational and nightlife settings in the Czech Republic. In addition to
Albanians, Romanians, and Bulgarians, people originally from West Africa, mostly Nigeria, are engaged in the import
and distribution of cocaine. The body cavities of couriers (swallowers) are used to smuggle the drug. Couriers bring
cocaine directly from South America or from Western European countries. Since 2008 there has been an increase in
both the number of seizures and the quantity of the cocaine seized; the year 2010 recorded 42 seizures of cocaine in
a total quantity of 14.2 kg.
The demand for heroin on the Czech market is satisfied by means of small shipments (up to 10 kg), and the drug is
diluted (mostly with paracetamol and caffeine) before being sold at the street level. The purity of the street heroin
seized ranged from 5 to 10%. The quantity of the heroin seized and the number of seizures remain stable; there are
approximately 50–100 seizures annually, involving a total quantity of 20–40 kg.
Since 2010 the Czech Republic has experienced a rise in the emergence of legal highs. They are substances with
effects similar to traditional drugs such as pervitin, marijuana, ecstasy, and hallucinogens, but are not subject to
international and national illicit drug control systems, as they are not scheduled as illegal narcotic and psychotropic
substances. They are primarily imported from Asia (China, in particular) and include mainly synthetic cannabinoids
and cathinone derivatives, especially mephedrone. In 2010 the Customs Administration seized and analysed
approximately 250 kg of new synthetic drugs (including 80 kg of mephedrone). In response to the increased supply
of legal highs, Act No. 167/1998 Coll., on addictive substances, was amended in the spring of 2011; 33 new
substances, including 30 synthetic drugs, were added to its schedules.
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