Cannabis in Jordan is illegal. In 2018, Anwar Tarawneh, Director of the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) reported that "marijuana is the most consumed drug in Jordan", with the AND seizing 1.5 tonnes of cannabis that year. [1] As Jordan is a signatory to the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. [2]
The 1988 Law on Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which originally regulated the use of drugs in Jordan, issued harsh punishments on those caught with cannabis. In 2015, the law was amended, for the first time developing a legal difference between first-time users and repeat offenders. In 2016, a new law was passed. The Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 2016 states mandates the death penalty for the crime of collaborating with international gangs dealing with narcotic and/or psychotropic substances.
Jordan's drug laws make no distinction between CBD and cannabis, and the production, mail, use, sale, and distribution of both are illegal in Jordan. Additionally, Jordan's law makes no distinction between cannabis for recreational or medicinal use.
Jordan is party to all international drug control conventions, including the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, to the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and to the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. Jordan is also a party to the Unified Arab Law and a member of the Interpol, and the Organization for Social Defence against Crime and the Pall Arab Bureau for Narcotic Affairs. Jordan has also committed to several bilateral agreements providing for counter-narcotics cooperation with Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Israel, Iran and Hungary. [3]
The following 4 organizations work to prevent drug trafficking in Jordan:
In the mid-20th century, Jordan (then Trans-Jordan) was noted as a smuggling route, carrying hashish from Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, and Syria into Egypt. [5] [6] [7] In 1937 the total of all drugs seized in Jordan was just 6 kilograms of hashish.
For most of the 20th century, drug laws in Jordan were strict. However, since King Abdullah II's rise to the throne, first-time cannabis users are now offered treatment instead of a prison sentence. [8]
Jordan is generally considered a transit country for cannabis and other recreational drugs. However, in recent years, the seizures of Cannabis tripled from (444 kg) to (1478 kg) respectively between 2013 and 2018, with a 233% increase. This has been regarded by authorities as an indication of increased national drug use. Synthetic cannabis, also known locally as "Joker", is manufactured locally and consists of a combination of 14 substances. It was made illegally in 2015, under new drug laws. [9]
While recreational use, possession and trade of non-medicinal drugs described by the Opium Law are all technically illegal under Dutch law, official policy since the late 20th century has been to openly tolerate all recreational use while tolerating possession and trade under certain circumstances. This pragmatic approach was motivated by the idea that a drug-free Dutch society is unrealistic and unattainable, and efforts would be better spent trying to minimize harm caused by recreational drug use. As a result of this gedoogbeleid, the Netherlands is typically seen as much more tolerant of drugs than most other countries.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations Office at Vienna, adopting the current name in 2002.
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 is a United Nations treaty that controls activities of specific narcotic drugs and lays down a system of regulations for their medical and scientific uses; it also establishes the International Narcotics Control Board.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent treaty body, one of the four treaty-mandated bodies under international drug control law.
The expression International Opium Convention refers either to the first International Opium Convention signed at The Hague in 1912, or to the second International Opium Convention signed at Geneva in 1925.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, commonly referred to as the NDPS Act, is an Act of the Parliament of India that prohibits a person the production/manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchasing, transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 August 1985. It was passed by both the Houses of Parliament, received assent from then President Giani Zail Singh on 16 September 1985, and came into force on 14 November 1985. The NDPS Act has since been amended four times — in 1988, 2001, 2014 and 2021. The Act extends to the whole of India and it applies also to all Indian citizens outside India and to all persons on ships and aircraft registered in India.
The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 is one of three major drug control treaties currently in force. It provides additional legal mechanisms for enforcing the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The Convention entered into force on November 11, 1990. As of June 2020, there are 191 Parties to the Convention. These include 186 out of 193 United Nations member states and the Holy See, the European Union, the Cook Islands, Niue, and the State of Palestine.
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is one of the functional commissions of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and is the central drug policy-making body within the United Nations System. The CND also has important mandates under the three international drug control conventions, alongside the three other treaty-mandated bodies: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Health Organization, and International Narcotics Control Board.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 is a New Zealand drug control law that classifies drugs into three classes, or schedules, purportedly based on their projected risk of serious harm. However, in reality, classification of drugs outside of passing laws, where the restriction has no legal power, is performed by the governor-general in conjunction with the Minister of Health, neither of whom is actually bound by law to obey this restriction.
A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances, particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemented by governments, entities at all levels may have specific policies related to drugs.
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 is a United Nations treaty designed to control psychoactive drugs such as amphetamine-type stimulants, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and psychedelics signed in Vienna, Austria on 21 February 1971. The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 did not ban the many newly discovered psychotropics, since its scope was limited to drugs with cannabis, coca and opium-like effects.
Slovakia is a Central European country with a history of relatively low crime. While crime became more widespread after the Revolutions of 1989, it remains low when compared to many other post-communist countries.
The major drug laws of India are the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985) and the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1988).
Cannabis in Latvia is illegal for recreational and medical purposes, but production of industrial hemp is permitted.
Cannabis is illegal in Pakistan for recreational use, although since September 2020, extracts of cannabis can be used for industrial and medical use. Cannabis is widely consumed in Pakistan as charas and bhang.
Cannabis in Syria is illegal. Under the policies of the Syrian Arab Republic cannabis is illegal and punishable by up to 20 years in prison in large drug trafficking offenses, if someone is considered an addict by the Syrian government then they face no criminal penalties for drug use and possession. Since the start of the Syrian civil war cannabis laws have become widely unenforced by the Syrian government as well as Kurdish and rebel controlled territories, while civilians growing cannabis in Jabhat al-Nusra controlled territory face arrest. On multiple occasions Bashar al-Assad granted general amnesties to multiple crimes which included drug trafficking offenses.
The legal status of drugs and drug precursors varies substantially from country to country and is still changing in many of them. United Nations classify drugs internationally, it affects all its member states.
The status of cannabis in international law is a century-old history. Cannabis reform at the international level refers, in the 20th century, to efforts to increase restrictions on cannabis use under international treaties; in the 21st century, generally to efforts to ease or update such restrictions.
The removal of cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on narcotic drugs, 1961 is a change in international law that took place in 2021, on the basis of a scientific assessment by the World Health Organization.
The United Nations drug control conventions, also known as the internationaldrug control conventions, are three complementary and mutually supportive drug treaties that establish the legal framework for international drug control and the war on drugs. The treaties are the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971), and the Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988). Their core function is to maintain a list of controlled drugs, ensure a consistent supply of these drugs for medical and scientific purposes, and prohibit other uses. Adoption is near universal among UN member states; each party is required to implement the treaty provisions in their country's domestic law, which allows a degree of interpretative flexibility at the national level.