In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is legalized in 24 states and decriminalized in 7 states, as of November 2023. Decriminalization refers to a policy of reduced penalties for cannabis offenses, typically involving a civil penalty for possessing small amounts, instead of criminal prosecution or the threat of arrest. In jurisdictions without penalty the policy is referred to as legalization, although the term decriminalization is sometimes used for this purpose as well.
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.
In the early 21st century, advocacy for drug legalization has increased in Latin America. Spearheading the movement, the Uruguayan government announced in 2012 plans to legalize state-controlled sales of marijuana in order to fight drug-related crimes.
Cannabis in South Dakota is legal for medical use as of July 1, 2021, having been legalized by a ballot initiative on November 3, 2020. Prior to then, cannabis was fully illegal, with South Dakota being the only U.S. state which outlawed ingestion of controlled substances. Testing positive for cannabis can be a misdemeanor offense. South Dakota would have become the first state in US history to legalize recreational and medical cannabis simultaneously, but an amendment legalizing recreational marijuana that was approved in the same election was struck down as unconstitutional the following February. The challenge claimed the amendment violated Amendment Z, the "Single-Subject Rule". The decision was appealed to the South Dakota Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court's decision on November 24, 2021.
Cannabis in Georgia is illegal for recreational use, but decriminalized in the cities of Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, Athens, and others. Limited medical use is allowed in the form of cannabis oil containing less than 5% THC.
Cannabis in North Dakota is legal for medical use but illegal for recreational use. Since 2019 however, possession under a 1/2 ounce has been decriminalized in the sense that there is no threat of jail time, though a criminal infraction fine up to $1,000 still applies. The cultivation of hemp is currently legal in North Dakota. In November 2018, the state's voters voted on recreational marijuana legalization, along with Michigan; the measure was rejected 59% to 41%. Two groups attempted to put marijuana legalization measures on the June 2020 Primary and the November 2020 elections, but were prevented from doing so by the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Political Centre – Girchi is a libertarian political party in Georgia. It was founded and registered in spring of 2016 by dissenting members of United National Movement. It included Zurab Japaridze, the chairman of the party from 2016 to 2018, as well as the de facto leader up until his departure in 2020, who went on to establish a new party with a similar name Girchi - More Freedom. Iago Khvichia has served as the party's chairman since 2018. The party received 2.9% of the vote in the 2020 Georgian parliamentary election, being granted 4 seats in the Georgian parliament as a parliamentary opposition, although it failed to receive any seats as a result of 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, despite marginally increasing its vote share to 3%, due to the increased electoral thershold.
Cannabis in Nevada became legal for recreational use on January 1, 2017, following the passage of Question 2 on the 2016 ballot with 54% of the vote. The first licensed sales of recreational cannabis began on July 1, 2017.
Cannabis in New Mexico is legal for recreational use as of June 29, 2021. A bill to legalize recreational use – House Bill 2, the Cannabis Regulation Act – was signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 12, 2021. The first licensed sales of recreational cannabis began on April 1, 2022.
Cannabis in Washington relates to a number of legislative, legal, and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis. On December 6, 2012, Washington became the first U.S. state to legalize recreational use of marijuana and the first to allow recreational marijuana sales, alongside Colorado. The state had previously legalized medical marijuana in 1998. Under state law, cannabis is legal for medical purposes and for any purpose by adults over 21.
Cannabis in Colombia is fully legal for medicinal purposes and for industrial purposes.
The consumption of cannabis is nominally illegal in Costa Rica; however, personal consumption does not carry any criminal penalties. The sale of marijuana, however, can be punished criminally. As of March 2022 medicinal cannabis has been approved.
The use of cannabis in Belize is common and largely tolerated; however, possession can result in fines or imprisonment. Possession or use of 10 grams or less on private premises was decriminalized in November 2017.
Cannabis has been cultivated in Japan since the Jōmon period of Japanese prehistory approximately six to ten thousand years ago. As one of the earliest cultivated plants in Japan, cannabis hemp was an important source of plant fiber used to produce clothing, cordage, and items for Shinto rituals, among numerous other uses. Hemp remained ubiquitous for its fabric and as a foodstuff for much of Japanese history, before cotton emerged as the country's primary fiber crop amid industrialization during the Meiji period. Following the conclusion of the Second World War and subsequent occupation of Japan, a prohibition on cannabis possession and production was enacted with the passing of the Cannabis Control Law.
Cannabis in Mexico is legal for both recreational and medicinal purposes. It became legal for recreational purposes in June 2021, upon application and issuance of a permit from the health secretariat, COFEPRIS. On 29 June 2021, the Supreme Court of Mexico decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed a bill that allows adults 18 and over to possess up to 28 grams of cannabis and grow up to six marijuana plants on their property.
The list includes and details significant events that occurred in the global history of national-level implementations of, or changes made to, laws surrounding the use, sale, or production of the psychoactive drug cannabis.
The Cannabis Act (C-45) of June, 2018 paved the way for the legalization of cannabis in Canada on 17 October 2018. Police and prosecution services in all Canadian jurisdictions are currently capable of pursuing criminal charges for cannabis marketing without a licence issued by Health Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada has held that the federal Parliament has the power to criminalize the possession of cannabis and that doing so does not infringe upon the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Ontario Court of Appeal and the Superior Court of Ontario have, however, held that the absence of a statutory provision for medical marijuana is unconstitutional, and to that extent the federal law is of no force and/or effect if a prescription is obtained. The recreational use of cannabis has been legalized by the federal government, and took effect on 17 October 2018.
Cannabis rights or marijuana rights are individual civil rights that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume cannabis include the right to be free from employment discrimination and housing discrimination.
The 2018 Georgian protests were series of mass protests in Tbilisi that started on 12 May, when police raided the nightclubs Bassiani and Gallery with a stated purpose of preventing illegal drug sale. Protesters gained momentum when thousands gathered in front of the Parliament building, where organizers called for the drug policy reform. The protests were met by various counter-protests and rallies. On May 13, the fascist organization Georgian National Unity rallied against the "drug dealers and LGBT propagandists", as its leader, Giorgi Chelidze has stated. Various conservative organizations headed by Georgian March and Georgian Idea also organized counter-protests against the drug liberalization, gathering thousands of people in front of the Parliament building. As the protests became more politicized, thousands demanded the resignation of prime minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.
Iago Khvichia is a Georgian politician who served as a member of Parliament from 2020 to 2024. He is the chairman of New Political Center — Girchi, a right-libertarian political party.
