The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These policies in most countries are regulated by three United Nations treaties: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Cannabis was reclassified in 2020 to a Schedule I-only drug under the Single Convention treaty, with the schedules from strictest to least being IV, I, II, and III. As a Schedule I drug under the treaty, countries can allow the medical use of cannabis but it is considered to be an addictive drug with a serious risk of abuse.
The Marijuana Party is a Canadian federal political party, whose agenda focuses on issues related to cannabis in Canada. Apart from this one issue, the party has no other official policies, meaning party candidates are free to express any views on all other political issues. Passage of the Cannabis Act in June 2018 legalized cannabis on 17 October 2018. However, the party is critical of some of the laws relating to cannabis since legalization and wants to see them changed or reformed. It also seeks to represent and advocate for the rights of cannabis consumers, growers, and small cannabis based businesses.
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), also known as the Cannabis Party, is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to the legalisation of cannabis for medical, recreational and industrial use. It was founded in 1996 and has stood in every general election since, but has never won representation in Parliament. Several of its members have gone on to political success after leaving the party.
The British Columbia Marijuana Party was a minor political party in the Canadian province of British Columbia that advocated the legalisation of cannabis.
Legalise Cannabis Australia (LCA), also known as the Legalise Cannabis Party (LCP) and formerly the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party, is a registered single-issue Australian political party. It has a number of policies that centre around the re-legalisation and regulation of cannabis for personal, medicinal and industrial uses in Australia.
Drug liberalization is a drug policy process of decriminalizing, legalizing, or repealing laws that prohibit the production, possession, sale, or use of prohibited drugs. Variations of drug liberalization include drug legalization, drug relegalization, and drug decriminalization. Proponents of drug liberalization may favor a regulatory regime for the production, marketing, and distribution of some or all currently illegal drugs in a manner analogous to that for alcohol, caffeine and tobacco.
Reason Australia, commonly referred to as the Reason Party or as simply Reason, was an Australian political party. Its leader, Fiona Patten, described the party as a "civil libertarian alternative". Patten was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council as at the 2018 state election in the Northern Metropolitan Region, after formerly being elected as a Sex Party member for the same seat in 2014. However, she lost re-election in 2022.
Fiona Heather Patten is an Australian former politician. She was the leader of Reason Australia and was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council between 2014 and 2022, representing the Northern Metropolitan Region until she lost her seat at the 2022 state election.
The use of cannabis in New Zealand is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which makes unauthorised possession of any amount of cannabis a crime. Cannabis is the fourth-most widely used recreational drug in New Zealand, after caffeine, alcohol and tobacco, and the most widely used illicit drug. In 2001 a household survey revealed that 13.4% of New Zealanders aged 15–64 used cannabis. This ranked as the ninth-highest cannabis consumption level in the world.
The use, sale, and possession of cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight in the United States, despite laws in many states permitting it under various circumstances, is illegal under federal law. As a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970, cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight is considered to have "no accepted medical use" and a high potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependence. Cannabis use is illegal for any reason, with the exception of FDA-approved research programs. However, individual states have enacted legislation permitting exemptions for various uses, including medical, industrial, and recreational use.
Cannabis is a plant used in Australia for recreational, medicinal and industrial purposes. In 2022–23, 41% of Australians over the age of fourteen years had used cannabis in their lifetime and 11.5% had used cannabis in the last 12 months.
Cannabis political parties are generally single-issue parties that exist to oppose the laws against cannabis.
Marc-Boris St-Maurice is an activist, politician and Canadian musician, who has campaigned for many years for the legalization of cannabis, and to facilitate access to the drug for health reasons. He lives in Montreal, Quebec.
The Legal Marijuana Now Party (LMN) is a political third party in the United States. The party's platform includes abolishing the Drug Enforcement Administration and legalizing hemp and marijuana. As of 2024, the party has ballot access in Minnesota and Nebraska.
Cannabis in Germany has been legal for recreational usage by adults in a limited capacity since 1 April 2024, making it the ninth country in the world to legalise the drug. As of February 2024, it has been assessed that 4.5 million Germans use cannabis.
Legalise Cannabis Queensland, registered with the Electoral Commission Queensland as Legalise Cannabis Queensland (Party), is a single-issue political party based in Queensland, Australia. The party has a number of policies that centre around the adult legalisation and regulation of cannabis for personal, medical and industrial uses.
Abraham Gabriel Gray is an American-born New Zealand cannabis activist, politician and founder of the Whakamana Cannabis Museum, New Zealand's first and only cannabis museum. Gray was a University of Otago lecturer and tutor for over a decade before founding the museum.
The No Mandatory Vaccination Party is a political party formerly registered in the Australian state of Western Australia.
The Legalise Cannabis Western Australia Party (LCWA) is a political party registered in Western Australia. The party advocates for law reform in relation to cannabis.
The Legalising Cannabis Bill 2023 is a bill introduced to the Australian Senate on 10 August 2023, by Senator David Shoebridge, a Senator for the Australian Greens from New South Wales (NSW). The bill is similar to state legislation introduced in the past as it aims to legalise the sale, production and use of recreational cannabis, however this would provide for legalisation at a federal level. State and territory legislation introduced includes:
