Legality of cannabis

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Many countries have laws regarding the cultivation, possession, supply or use of cannabis. It is a controlled substance in most countries, though its use is condoned in some locales for medicinal purposes. In some countries, such as Germany and Portugal, cannabis is legal for personal use, though restrictions may apply to its sale, distribution or consumption. In the U.S.A (nationwide, in 2004) a person is arrested on "marijuana charges" every 42 seconds.

Criminalization

Cannabis was criminalized across most of the world in the early parts of the 20th century. The reasons for and approaches to criminalization vary from country to country; for example, in the United Kingdom, cultivation of cannabis was outlawed in 1928 after Britain became a signatory to the International Opium Convention, held in Geneva in 1925, but tincture of cannabis remained available as a prescription only drug (POM) until is was banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971, while in the United States the significant legislation was the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, a federal culmination of many separate state laws that had been enacted in the previous years. Some claim that the U.S. laws may have been in response to lobbying by makers of synthetic fibers that competed with hemp.

Laws usually govern distribution, cultivation, and possession for personal use. Enforcement of the law varies from country to country. Large-scale domestic Marijuana growing operations, or grow-ops, are frequently targeted by police in raids to discourage the spread and marketing of the drug.

Decriminalization

United States

After 1969, a time categorized by widespread use of cannabis (drug) as a recreational drug, a wave of legislation in America sought to reduce the penalties for the simple possession of marijuana, making it punishable by confiscation and/or a fine rather than imprisonment. Decriminalization is a drug supply-side control strategy that discourages users, but largely removes them from the criminal justice system, while imposing stiff penalties on those who traffic and sell the drug on the black market. Some of the first examples of this adjustment in drug policy were found in: Alabama, when state judges decided to no longer impose five year mandatory minimum sentences for small possession (one marijuana cigarette); Missouri, when their legislature reformed statutes that made second possession offenses no longer punishable by life in prison; and in Georgia, when that state revised second sale offenses to minors no longer punishable by death.

Soon after these developments, an official decriminalization movement was started in 1973 with Oregon prompting other states, like Colorado, Alaska, Ohio, and California, to follow suit in 1975. By 1978, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, and Nebraska also had some form of marijuana decriminalization. In 2001, Nevada reduced marijuana possession from a felony offense to a misdemeanor. [1]

Regardless of these states' rights, decriminalization was never adopted as a national affair, principally because U.S. Congress disagrees with passing a version of legislation on the federal level. However, several petitions to reschedule marijuana have been filed to remove marijuana from the "Schedule I" category of tightly-restricted drugs that have no medical use. The Controlled Substance Act allows the executive branch to legalize medical and recreational use of marijuana without any action by Congress; however, such an initiative would depend on the findings of the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services on certain scientific and medical issues specified by the Act. [2]

Law enforcement

In some countries, law enforcement agents exercise discretion in following the letter of the law regarding cannabis. In the Netherlands, for instance, possession and use of cannabis is a misdemeanor; however, a widespread policy of non-enforcement has resulted in de facto decriminalization. Cannabis there may be purchased in licensed "coffee shops"; however, these shops must be supplied through illegal channels. See Drug policy of the Netherlands.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, law enforcement officials have expressed similar intentions: in 2002, police commander Brian Paddick in Brixton, England, instructed his officers not to arrest those found in possession of cannabis, and instead to issue on-the-spot warnings and confiscate the drugs. This move caused considerable controversy, though it had a positive effect on the crime rate of the Brixton area and resulted in a re-evaluation of the criminal status of cannabis in Britain: in 2004 Cannabis was reclassified from Class B to Class C which, while it does not effectively decriminalize the drug, does reduce the risk of arrest in cases of simple possession. Class C is considered to be a category of less harmful drugs, and includes pharmaceutical tranquilizers and anabolic steroids. Possession and trafficking are still punishable by law, though to a lesser extent than when cannabis was classified as a Class B substance.

While still technically illegal, in the vast majority of cases the police will no longer arrest users for possession or smoking. Some exceptions to this are:

  • if offender is 17 years of age or younger
  • if offender is found in possession of a large amount of cannabis
  • if offender is near a school or playground, or is suspected of attempting to give or sell cannabis to children

The Home Office has taken out full-page advertisements in national newspapers, as well as radio and television advertisements, informing people about the reclassification and reminding people that it is still illegal to smoke cannabis.

Australia

The state of South Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory have decriminalized possession of small quantities of cannabis, and growing limited numbers of plants for personal use; the government charges an on-the-spot fine of A$150 for people caught with less than 100gm. Western Australia has also recently decriminalized possession, with a fine of A$150 for possession of up to 30gm, or they can avoid paying the fine by attending a "Cannabis Education Session" on the dangers of cannabis. Police interest in personal usage and non-commercial growers in the rest of Australia appears to be limited with police given wide discretion.

Canada

As of early 2000s, Canada and some other countries have started to recognize medicinal use of cannabis separately from "normal" possession. In 2003 Canada began the process of decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Under the proposed law, possession of up to 30 grams would not be considered a criminal offense, but amounts greater than that could cause the individual to be charged with "possession with the intent to traffic".

New Zealand

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, it is a criminal offence to use, cultivate or supply cannabis. Penalties, which include heavy fines and/or jail, are strict for those prosecuted for cultivation and supply but usually more lenient for use. Even so, a criminal conviction for possession of cannabis may make it impossible to get some types of jobs or to travel in some countries. Possession of 28 grams of cannabis or more may lead to a charge of possession for the purpose of supply or sale.

Norway

In norway, all illegal substances are considered equal (for the law). Several propositions have been raised suggesting the use of a simplified procedure involving a fine and no permanent records as opposed to the current arrestation used for even minor cannabis offences.

Death penalty for possession or trafficking

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

In Malaysia, 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. [3]

The Philippines introduced stronger anti-drug laws, including the death penalty, in 2002. [4]

The death penalty is also possible under the laws of Thailand, Singapore, and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

In 1996 in the United States, Newt Gingrich, who was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives at the time, planned to introduce a mandatory death penalty for a second offense of smuggling 50 grams of marijuana into the United States, in the proposed law H.R. 4170. The proposal failed. Under the 1994 Crime Act, the threshold for sentencing a death penalty in relation to marijuana is the involvement with the cultivation or distribution of 60,000 marijuana plants (or seedlings) or 60,000 kilograms of marijuana.

See also

Hub article

(note that the following sites may express opinions for or against cannabis, and you are urged to visit more than one of the following for balance)

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