Cannabis in Sweden is illegal for all purposes. It is illegal for recreational purposes, for most medical purposes and possession of even small amounts of cannabis is a criminal offence. Consequently, limited medical usage of cannabis-based drugs is only allowed for specific conditions.
Swedish singer Ängie has spoken about the attitudes towards cannabis in Sweden. In an interview in September 2016 she said, "In Sweden, it’s not ok to smoke weed [cannabis]. They’re like, ‘it’s a dangerous drug and you’re going to die.' It’s so weird. If I tell a regular boy or girl that I use it, they think I’m a real hard drug user because they don’t know the facts behind it. It’s just sad… I hate the law book here." [1]
In Sweden, cannabis has no officially recognized medical use and medical use is not considered an extenuating circumstance. A case was covered by the national press which involved the cannabis use of a multiple sclerosis patient. In the case, the court found that the fact that she stated that cannabis helped her symptoms constituted an aggravated circumstance. The court's verdict argued that she lacked the motivation to stop using the drug and therefore gave her an unconditional jail sentence. This was despite the fact that the patient was a first-time offender, and would have normally been given a suspended sentence or a fine. [2] [3]
In 2008, the Medical Products Agency reported that no drugs containing cannabinoids are available, although they can have beneficial effects on symptoms like neuralgia. [4] The cannabinoid mouth spray Sativex, which is derived from cannabis, was approved in Sweden for the treatment of spasticity as a symptom of multiple sclerosis on 22 December 2011. [5]
In 2018, the medical use of cannabis for situations in which conventional treatment is no longer available was being examined by the European Court of Human Rights. [6]
Some members of the Swedish Parliament, have voiced support for reforming the legal status of cannabis. During the legislature's question time on 11 January 2012, former Sweden Democrat MP William Petzäll asked Minister of Health and Social Affairs Maria Larsson if she would support the legalization of cannabis. Larsson responded in the negative on 2 February of the same year. [7] Moderate MP Hanif Bali has also supported the legalization of cannabis to fight drug traffickers and organized crime. [8] Liberal MP Joar Forssell is a cannabis rights activist [9] and a strong critic of Sweden's zero-tolerance policy on drugs. [10] The former leader of the Liberals, Nyamko Sabuni, has expressed support for the legalization of medicinal cannabis but does not support legalization for recreational use, proposing instead that "we should work more to ensure that addicts get the care they need". [11]
In 2013, Centre Party Youth (CUF) announced their advocacy for the legalization of cannabis. Among their justifications are the idea that the ban leads to greater harm than the drug itself, that prohibition favors organized crime, and that possession and controlled sale of alcohol is already legal. [12] The Moderate Youth League and the Liberal Youth of Sweden together with CUF all support the legalization of cannabis. [13] Young Left and the Young Greens both support the decriminalization of the drug. [13] The Swedish Social Democratic Youth League support investigation into the potential legalization of cannabis, while the Young Swedes SDU and the Young Christian Democrats oppose legalization of any kind. [13]
As part of the Pirate Party's 2022 election manifesto it stated its support for legalising cannabis in Sweden and creating a regulated market for it. It stated this would use state monopolies or licenses in a similar way to how alcohol and tobacco is regulated in the country. The party said this would "deprive criminal organisations of income from drug sales and free up police resources that instead could be used to fight crimes with human victims." [14]
As of 2021 over 30 countries have legalized marijuana for medical use and some have also legalized it for recreational use, such as Canada.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a terpenoid found in cannabis. It is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Its chemical formula C21H30O2 includes compounds, the term THC usually refers to the delta-9-THC isomer with chemical name (−)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. It is a colorless oil.
A cannabis edible, also known as a cannabis-infused food or simply an edible, is a food item that contains decarboxylated cannabinoids from cannabis extract as an active ingredient. Although edible may refer to either a food or a drink, a cannabis-infused drink may be referred to more specifically as a liquid edible or drinkable. Edibles are a way to consume cannabis. Unlike smoking, in which cannabinoids are inhaled into the lungs and pass rapidly into the bloodstream, peaking in about ten minutes and wearing off in a couple of hours, cannabis edibles may take hours to digest, and their effects may peak two to three hours after consumption and persist for around six hours. The food or drink used may affect both the timing and potency of the dose ingested.
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 2022, clinical research on CBD included studies related to the treatment of anxiety, addiction, psychosis, movement disorders, and pain, but there is insufficient high-quality evidence that cannabidiol is effective for these conditions. CBD is also sold as a herbal dietary supplement promoted with unproven claims of particular therapeutic effects.
In the United States, the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is a proposed legal and administrative change in cannabis-related law at the federal level. It has been proposed repeatedly since 1972. The category is the most tightly restricted category reserved for drugs that have "no currently accepted medical use."
Nabilone, sold under the brand name Cesamet among others, is a synthetic cannabinoid with therapeutic use as an antiemetic and as an adjunct analgesic for neuropathic pain. It mimics tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound found naturally occurring in Cannabis.
Nabiximols is a specific Cannabis extract that was approved in 2010 as a botanical drug in the United Kingdom. Nabiximols is sold as a mouth spray intended to alleviate neuropathic pain, spasticity, overactive bladder, and other symptoms of multiple sclerosis; it was developed by the UK company GW Pharmaceuticals. In 2019, it was proposed that following application of the spray, nabiximols is washed away from the oral mucosa by the saliva flow and ingested into the stomach, with subsequent absorption from the gastro-intestinal tract. Nabiximols is a combination drug standardized in composition, formulation, and dose. Its principal active components are the cannabinoids: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Each spray delivers a dose of 2.7 mg THC and 2.5 mg CBD.
Nyamko Ana Sabuni is a Swedish politician who was Leader of the Liberals between June 2019 and April 2022. She previously served as Minister for Integration from 2006 to 2010 and as Minister for Gender Equality from 2006 to 2013 in the Swedish government. A member of the Liberal Party, Sabuni was elected a Member of Parliament in 2002. Sabuni made history in June 2019, by becoming the first party leader in the Swedish parliament coming from an ethnic minority and the first party leader of a refugee background. In April 2022, Sabuni resigned as party leader.
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.
Geoffrey William Guy is a British pharmacologist, physician, businessman and academic, who co-founded GW Pharmaceuticals and has developed treatments using compounds found in cannabis, which are the first cannabis-based medicines approved by and available on the British National Health Service (NHS).
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.
In the United States, the use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 38 states, four out of five permanently inhabited U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, as of March 2023. Ten other states have more restrictive laws limiting THC content, for the purpose of allowing access to products that are rich in cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of cannabis. There is significant variation in medical cannabis laws from state to state, including how it is produced and distributed, how it can be consumed, and what medical conditions it can be used for.
The International Nonproprietary Name dronabinol, also known under the trade names Marinol and Syndros, is a generic name for the molecule of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the pharmaceutical context. It has indications as an appetite stimulant, antiemetic, and sleep apnea reliever and is approved by the FDA as safe and effective for HIV/AIDS-induced anorexia and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting only.
GW Pharmaceuticals Limited is a British pharmaceutics company known for its multiple sclerosis treatment product nabiximols which was the first natural cannabis plant derivative to gain market approval in any country. Another cannabis-based product, Epidiolex, was approved for treatment of epilepsy by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018. It is a subsidiary of Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Cannabis in Rhode Island is legal for medical and adult use. Medical use was legalized through legislation approved in 2006, and adult use in 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 Malta is legal, within limits, to grow, use, and possess for adults. In 2018, the Parliament of Malta legalised medical cannabis. On 14 December 2021, the Parliament of Malta legalised recreational cannabis for personal possession and use for those aged 18-years-old and over, becoming the first EU country to do so.
Cannabis in South Korea is illegal for recreational use. In November 2018, the country's Narcotics Control Act was amended and use of medical cannabis became legal, making South Korea the first country in East Asia to legalize medical cannabis.
Medical cannabis research includes any medical research on using cannabis. Different countries conduct and respond to medical cannabis research in different ways.
Cannabis in San Marino is illegal for recreational purposes, but some cannabis-based remedies are legal for medical purposes.
I domen nämns Susannes MS som en försvårande omständighet. Eftersom hon betraktar marijuana som effektiv medicin mot sin sjukdom anses hon inte vara motiverad till en drogfri tillvaro." / "In the verdict Susanne's MS is seen as an aggravating circumstance. Since she regards marijuana as an effective drug against her disease, she is not considered to be motivated to live a drug-free life.
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