Legality of cannabis

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The legality of cannabis varies from country to country. Possession of cannabis is illegal in most countries and has been since the beginning of widespread cannabis prohibition in the late 1930s.[1] However, many countries have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis, particularly in North America, South America and Europe. Furthermore, possession is legal or effectively legal in the Netherlands, North Korea[2] and would be in the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington if it were not for federal law, which governs persons in all states.[3][4]

The medicinal use of cannabis is legal in a number of countries, including Canada, the Czech Republic and Israel. While federal law in the United States bans all sale and possession of cannabis, enforcement varies widely at the state level and some states have established medicinal marijuana programs in that contradict federal law—Colorado and Washington have repealed their laws prohibiting the recreational use of cannabis, and have instated a regulatory regime that is contrary to federal statutes.[5][6]

Some countries have laws that are not as vigorously prosecuted as others but, apart from the countries that offer access to medical marijuana, most countries have various penalties ranging from lenient to very severe. Some infractions are taken more seriously in some countries than others in regard to the cultivation, use, possession or transfer of cannabis for recreational use. A few jurisdictions have lessened penalties for possession of small quantities of cannabis, making it punishable by confiscation and a fine, rather than imprisonment. Some jurisdictions/drug courts use mandatory treatment programs for young or frequent users, with freedom from narcotic drugs as the goal and a few jurisdictions permit cannabis use for medicinal purposes. There are also changes in a more restrictive direction as in Canada. Drug tests to detect cannabis are increasingly common in many countries and have resulted in jail sentences and people losing their jobs.[7] However, simple possession can carry long jail sentences in some countries, particularly in parts of East Asia and Southeast Asia where the sale of cannabis may lead to a sentence of life in prison or even execution.

Contents

History[edit]

See also: Legal history of cannabis in the United States

Cannabis has been in use for thousands of years. Some baths in Ancient Rome were scented by burning cannabis.[citation needed] In India cannabis has long been used in religious rituals.[8] In the Arab world, the use of hashish has been widespread for many centuries, despite prohibition of its use in orthodox Islam.[citation needed] Under the name cannabis, 19th century medical practitioners sold the drug (usually as a tincture), popularizing the word amongst English-speakers. In 1894, the Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission commissioned by the UK Secretary of State and the government of India, was instrumental in the decision not to criminalize the drug in those countries.[9] From the year 1860, different states in the United States started to implement regulations for sales of Cannabis sativa.[10] A 1905 Bulletin from the US Department of Agriculture lists twenty-nine states with laws mentioning cannabis.[11] In 1925, a change of the International Opium Convention[12] banned exportation of Indian hemp to countries that have prohibited its use. Importing countries were required to issue certificates approving the importation and stating that the shipment was to be used "exclusively for medical or scientific purposes".

In 1937 the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration crafted the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, the first US national law making cannabis possession illegal except for industrial or medical purposes. Growers of hemp products were required to purchase an annual tax stamp priced at $24, retailers were required to purchase stamps priced at $1 per annum.

The name marijuana (Mexican Spanish marihuana, mariguana) is associated almost exclusively with the plant's psychoactive use. The term is now well known in English largely due to the efforts of American drug prohibitionists during the 1920s and 1930s. Mexico itself had passed prohibition in 1925, following the International Opium Convention.[13]

The use of cannabis became widespread in the Western world due to rise and influence of the counterculture beginning in the late 1960s.[citation needed] In the late 1990s in California Dennis Peron started a movement to legalize medical cannabis.

On November 6, 2012, Colorado Amendment 64 (2012) was passed by initiative, thereby legalizing the recreational use of cannabis. In a historical event with global significance, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed two bills on May 28, 2013 that made Colorado the world's first fully regulated recreational cannabis market for adults. Hickenlooper explained to the media: “Certainly, this industry will create jobs. Whether it’s good for the brand of our state is still up in the air. But the voters passed Amendment 64 by a clear majority. That’s why we’re going to implement it as effectively as we possibly can.” In its independent analysis, the Colorado Center on Law & Policy found that the state could expect a to see “$60 million in total combined savings and additional revenue for Colorado’s budget with a potential for this number to double after 2017.”[5]

Attitudes regarding legalization[edit]

Many advocate legalization of cannabis, believing that it will eliminate the illegal trade and associated crime, yield a valuable tax-source and reduce policing costs.[citation needed] Cannabis is now available as a palliative agent, in Canada, with a medical prescription. In 1969, only 16% percent of voters in the USA supported legalization, according to a poll by Gallup. According to the same source, that number had risen to 36% by 2005.[14] More recent polling indicates that the number has risen even further; in 2009, between 46% and 56% of US voters would support legalization.[15] According to press reports, supporters of the California initiative estimate that about $15 billion worth of marijuana is sold every year in the state. Thus, an excise tax on the retail sales of marijuana could raise at least $1.3 billion a year in revenue.[16]

Attitudes regarding marijuana regulation have also changed as some states (Colorado and Washington) have passed their own laws legalizing marijuana for recreational use. According to a Gallup Poll published in December 2012, 64% of Americans believe the federal government should not intervene in these states. The survey also found a difference in age groups for those that think marijuana should be legal and those that still support prohibition: 60% of 18-29 year-olds favor legalization while only 48% of those age 30-64 and 36% of those older than 65 feel this way.[17]

Main article: Legality of cannabis by country

Use of capital punishment against the cannabis trade[edit]

Main article: Capital punishment for drug trafficking

Several countries have either carried out or legislated capital punishment for cannabis trafficking.

Country Status Notes
Saudi Arabia Has been used An Iraqi man named Mattar bin Bakhit al-Khazaali was convicted of smuggling hashish and was executed in the northern town of Arar, close to the Iraqi border.[18]
Indonesia Has been used In 1997, the Indonesian government[citation needed] added the death penalty as a punishment for those convicted of drugs in their country. The law has yet to be enforced on any significant, well-established drug dealers. The former Indonesian President, Megawati Sukarnoputri announced Indonesia's intent to implement a fierce war on drugs in 2002. She called for the execution of all drug dealers. "For those who distribute drugs, life sentences and other prison sentences are no longer sufficient," she said. "No sentence is sufficient other than the death sentence." Indonesia's new president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also proudly supports executions for drug dealers.[19]
Malaysia Has been used Mustaffa Kamal Abdul Aziz, 38 years old, and Mohd Radi Abdul Majid, 53 years old, were executed at dawn on January 17, 1996, for the trafficking of 1.2 kilograms of cannabis.[20]
Philippines No Longer Imposed The Philippines abolished the death penalty on June 24, 2006.[21] Previously, the Philippines had introduced stronger anti-drug laws, including the death penalty, in 2002.[22] Possession of over 500 grams of marijuana usually earned execution in the Philippines, as did possessing over ten grams of opium, morphine, heroin, ecstasy, or cocaine. Angeles City is often a vatican for Filipino cannabis users and cultivators, although enforcement has been inconsistent.[23]
United Arab Emirates Sentenced In the United Arab Emirates city of Fujairah, a woman named Lisa Tray was sentenced to death in December 2004, after being found guilty of possessing and dealing hashish. Undercover officers in Fujairah claim they caught Tray with 149 grams of hashish. Her lawyers have appealed the sentence.[citation needed]

In July 2012, a 23-year-old British man Nathaniel Lees, [24] and an unnamed 19-year-old Syrian citizen were sentenced to death for attempting to sell 20 grams (about 3/4 of an ounce) of marijuana to an undercover officer in Dubai. [25] [26] [27]
Thailand Frequently Used Death penalty is possible for drug offenses under Thai law. Extrajudicial killings also alleged.[28]
Singapore Frequently Used Death penalty has been carried out many times for cannabis trafficking. (July 20, 2004) A convicted drug trafficker, Raman Selvam Renganathan who stored 2.7 kilograms of cannabis or marijuana in a Singapore flat was hanged in Changi Prison. He was sentenced to death on September 1, 2003 after an eight-day trial. (The Straits Times, July 20, 2004).
People's Republic of China Frequently Used Death penalty is exercised regularly for drug offenses under Chinese law, often in an annual frenzy corresponding to the United Nations' International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug trafficking.[29] The government does not make precise records public, however Amnesty International estimates that around 500 people are executed there each year for drug offenses. Those executed have typically been convicted of smuggling or trafficking in anything from cannabis to methamphetamine.
United States Never imposed While current U.S. Federal law allows for the punishment of death for those who have extraordinary amounts of the drug (60,000 kilograms or 60,000 plants) or are part of a continuing criminal enterprise in smuggling contraband which nets over $20 million, the United States Supreme Court has held that no crimes other than murder and treason can constitutionally carry a death sentence (Coker v. Georgia and Kennedy v. Louisiana)

Non-drug purposes[edit]

Main article: Hemp
Cannabis sativa (left), Cannabis indica (center) and Cannabis ruderalis (right)

Hemp is the common name for cannabis and is the English term used when this annual herb is grown for non-drug purposes. These include industrial purposes for which cultivation licenses may be issued in the European Union (EU). When grown for industrial purposes hemp is often called industrial hemp, and a common product is fibre for use in a variety of different ways. Fuel is often a by-product of hemp cultivation.

Hemp may not be used as food. though in the UK Defra (the UK's Department for the Environment, Food and the Rural Affairs) will not issue cultivation licenses for this purpose, treating it as a non-food crop, though the seed appears on the UK market as a food product.

In the UK hemp seed and fibre have always been perfectly legal products. Cultivation for non drug purposes was however completely prohibited from 1928 until circa 1998, when Home Office industrial-purpose licenses became available under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Industrial strains intended for legal use within the EU are bred to comply with regulations limiting THC content to 0.2%. (THC content is a measure of the herb's drug potential and can reach 25% or more in drug strains).

See also[edit]

Portal icon Cannabis portal

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Why is Marijuana Illegal?". drugwarrant.com. Retrieved 17 January 2011. 
  2. ^ Adam Taylor (January 15, 2013). "North Korea Has A Surprising Attitude To Marijuana". Business Insider. Retrieved January 18, 2013. 
  3. ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/federal-laws-pertaining-to-marijuana
  4. ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/state-laws-related-to-marijuana
  5. ^ a b David Knowles (28 May 2013). "Colorado becomes world’s first legal, fully regulated market for recreational marijuana as it anticipates millions in tax revenues". New York Daily News. Retrieved 29 May 2013. 
  6. ^ Jonathan Kaminsky (20 May 2013). "Marijuana waste helps turn pot-eating pigs into tasty pork roast". Reuters. Retrieved 29 May 2013. 
  7. ^ "Walmart fires Michigan man for using medical marijuana". Wzzm13.com. 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  8. ^ MIA TOUW. The Religious and Medicinal Uses of Cannabis in China, India and Tibet (PDF). Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Vol. 13(1). Retrieved 2013-04-10. 
  9. ^ Kaplan, J. (1969) "Introduction" of the Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission ed. by The Honorable W. Mackworth Young, et al. (Simla: Government Central Printing Office, 1894) LCCN 74-84211, pp. v-vi.
  10. ^ "Senate". New York Times (New York City). February 15, 1860. 
  11. ^ United States. Bureau of Chemistry (1905). Bulletin, Issues 96-99. Washington, DC: G.P.O. 
  12. ^ "W.W. Willoughby: Opium as an International Problem, Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1925". Druglibrary.org. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  13. ^ "MEXICO BANS MARIHUANA.; To Stamp Out Drug Plant Which Crazes Its Addicts". New York Times (New York City). December 29, 1925. 
  14. ^ "Who supports cannabis legalization?". Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
  15. ^ Grim, Ryan (2009-05-06). "Majority of Americans Want Pot Legalized". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
  16. ^ Ghosh, Palash R. "The Pros and Cons of Drug Legalization in the U.S.". International Business Times. Retrieved 10 October 2012. 
  17. ^ "Americans Want Federal Gov't Out of State Marijuana Laws". Retrieved 2013-04-04. 
  18. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Pakistani And Iraqi Beheaded In Saudi Arabia". Mapinc.org. 2005-01-02. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  19. ^ "Death for pot in Indonesia". Cannabisculture.com. 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  20. ^ "Amnesty International Deplores Recent Executions". Web.archive.org. 2005-04-08. Retrieved 2012-09-08. 
  21. ^ Toms, Saah (2006-06-24). "Philippines stops death penalty". BBC. Retrieved 2013-05-24. 
  22. ^ "Philippines Enacts Death Penalty for Drug Dealing, Possession of a Pound of Marijuana or Tens Grams of Ecstasy". Stopthedrugwar.org. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  23. ^ "Preda Foundation, Inc. "Philippine minors in Jail: report 6 September 2002"". Web.archive.org. 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2012-09-08. 
  24. ^ Blair, David (2012-06-29). "Briton on death row in Abu Dhabi is company director's son". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-24. 
  25. ^ Schreck, Adam (2012-06-26). "UAE: Death Sentence Handed Down To Briton Convicted On Drug Charges". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-05-24. 
  26. ^ "Briton facing UAE death penalty". BBC. 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2013-05-24. 
  27. ^ Associated Press (2012-06-26). "British man sentenced to death for attempting to sell drugs to UAE officer" (Text.Article). Fox News. Retrieved 2013-05-24. 
  28. ^ author: AP wire. "portland imc - 2003.05.07 - Is this the future of our own "War on Drugs"?". Portland.indymedia.org. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  29. ^ "China Celebrates UN Anti-Drug Day With 59 Executions". Stopthedrugwar.org. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 

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