ABSTRACT
After 1989, the Czech Republic opened up to a process of economic transformation and social change. This brought about not only fundamental changes in the drug scene, but also in legislation, public administration, general health and the welfare system, and, consequently, in the institutional context of drug demand reduction. In 1993, the Czech Government approved the “Concept and Programme of the Anti-Drug Policy”. Since then, a focused effort has been observed towards institutional integration and the establishment of an institutional infrastructure that is able to meet the needs of education, communication, cooperation and the sharing of information between the various institutions that deal with the drug problem in the Czech Republic. Legislative measures form an important part of the government’s anti-drug policy. In 1997, the existing (obligatory) punishment of a prison sentence was complemented by another alternative.
