This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(January 2018) |
During the First Liberian Civil War, Charles Taylor raised funds for his fighters by selling cannabis from territories under National Patriotic Front of Liberia control. [1]
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around 5 million and covers an area of 111,369 square kilometers (43,000 sq mi). English is the official language, but over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. The country's capital and largest city is Monrovia.
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis; C. ruderalis may be included within C. sativa; all three may be treated as subspecies of a single species, C. sativa; or C. sativa may be accepted as a single undivided species. The genus is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from Asia.
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 is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Single Convention treaty, meaning that signatories can allow medical use but that it is considered to be an addictive drug with a serious risk of abuse.
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions, resulting in limited clinical research to define the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat diseases.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid discovered in 1940. It is one of 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis plants, along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract. As of 2019, clinical research on CBD included studies related to anxiety, cognition, movement disorders, and pain, but there is insufficient high-quality evidence that cannabidiol is effective for these conditions.
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant. Native to Central and South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.
Cannabis indica is an annual plant in the family Cannabaceae. It is a putative species of the genus Cannabis. Whether it and Cannabis sativa are truly separate species is a matter of debate. The Cannabis indica plant is cultivated for many purposes; for example, the plant fibers can be converted into cloth. Cannabis indica produces large amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The higher concentrations of THC provide euphoric effects making it popular for use both as a recreational, alternative medicine, and a clinical research drug.
Cannabis strains are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant genus Cannabis, which encompasses the species C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis.
Cannabis in Portugal is decriminalized, as a result of the decriminalization of all drugs in Portugal in 2001. Medical use of cannabis was legalized in 2018.
Cannabis in Greece is illegal for recreational purposes. In 2017, the Greek government legalized the use of cannabis for medical purposes, and a year later, they lifted the ban on growing or producing it. This enables pharmaceutical companies to grow cannabis legally, and industrial hemp suppliers too.
Entwurf eines Cannabiskontrollgesetzes is a proposed bill that would remove cannabis from the list of Scheduled drugs in Betäubungsmittelgesetz, the federal controlled substances law in Germany. The issue was proposed by Alliance '90/The Greens. It would regulate cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol, with adults 18 years old permitted to buy and possess up to 30 grams in regulated stores.
Cannabis in Guadeloupe is illegal, but is cultivated and transported illicitly. A 2007 report noted the prevalence of cannabis among youth in Guadeloupe at 7%.
Cannabis in Tanzania is illegal but remains the most common drug and it is produced for different usage, such as domestic usage and exporting. It is locally known as bangi. Tanzania is one among multiple countries in Africa that produce cannabis in large quantities.
Cannabis in Kyrgyzstan is illegal, but has a long history in the nation, which has been posited as the ancestral homeland of the cannabis plant.
In Barbados, cannabis is illegal for recreational use, but is in high demand nonetheless. Cannabis is sourced from St. Vincent and Jamaica by local dealers who pool resources to buy consignments of the drug, transported by go-fast boats.
Cannabis in Cameroon is illegal; the drug is locally referred to as banga.
Cannabis in Rwanda is legal for medicinal purposes, but illegal for recreational purposes.
Cannabis is illegal in Samoa.
Cannabis in Djibouti is illegal with penalties for the production, sale, and possession of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes. Offenders may be fined or receive up to five years in prison. Use of cannabis in Djibouti is low due to poor conditions for cultivation and the local preference for the legal drug khat.
Cannabis in Haiti is illegal with severe punishments for the production, sale, and possession of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.