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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 the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs that was ratified in 1961, along with the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Marijuana, or marihuana, is a name for the cannabis plant and more specifically a drug preparation from it. "Marijuana" as a term varies in usage, definition and legal application around the world. Some jurisdictions define "marijuana" as the whole cannabis plant or any part of it, while others refer to "marijuana" as a portion of the cannabis plant that contains high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Some jurisdictions recognize "marijuana" as a distinctive strain of cannabis, the other being hemp. The form "marihuana" is first attested in Mexican Spanish; it then spread to other varieties of Spanish and to English, French, and other languages.
Cannabis in the United Kingdom is illegal for recreational use and is classified as a Class B drug. In 2004, cannabis was made a Class C drug with less severe penalties but it was moved back to Class B in 2009. Medical use of cannabis when prescribed by a registered specialist doctor was legalised in November 2018.
Cannabis in India has been used since as early as 2000 BCE. In Indian society, common terms for cannabis preparations include charas (resin), ganja (flower), and bhang, with Indian drinks, such as, bhang lassi and bhang thandai, made from bhang, being one of the most common legal uses.
Cannabis in Papua New Guinea is illegal, but the nation is a significant producer and consumer of cannabis. Cannabis is sometimes called spak brus in local parlance.
Cannabis in Nigeria is illegal, yet the country is a major source of West African-grown cannabis, and ranked the world's eighth highest consumer of cannabis. Cannabis is widely grown across the States of Nigeria, including Ondo State, Edo State, Delta State, Osun State, Oyo State and Ogun State.
Cannabis in Guyana is illegal for all uses, but is both grown and consumed in the nation. Possession of 15 grams or over can result in charges of drug trafficking.
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.
Cannabis in Benin is illegal. The country is not a major drug producer or consumer, but increasingly serves as a transshipment point for drugs produced elsewhere. Cannabis is the only drug produced locally in Benin, though mostly on a small scale.
Cannabis in Lesotho is illegal for any use, but largely tolerated. Cannabis is widely produced in the country, being the nation's most significant cash-crop. In the 2000s it was estimated that 70% of the cannabis in South Africa originated in Lesotho. In 2017 Lesotho became the first African nation to grant a license for the cultivation of medical cannabis.
Cannabis in Georgia is legal in terms of its possession and consumption due to a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Georgia on 30 July 2018. Cultivation and sale of cannabis remains illegal.
Cannabis in Armenia is illegal for all uses.
The history of cannabis and its usage by humans dates back to at least the third millennium BC in written history, and possibly further back by archaeological evidence. For millennia, the plant has been valued for its use for fiber and rope, as food and medicine, and for its psychoactive properties for religious and recreational use.
Cannabis in Ghana is illegal without license from the Minister of Health, but the nation is, along with Nigeria, among the top illicit cannabis-producing countries of West Africa. Cannabis in Ghana is known as wee or devil's tobacco.
Cannabis in Mauritania is illegal, but the country serves as a major transit point for Moroccan cannabis en route to Europe.
Cannabis in Senegal is illegal; the drug is locally referred to as yamba.
Cannabis in Kazakhstan is illegal.
Cannabis in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was prior known to be illegal but is now decriminalized up to 2 ounces. Persons caught with 56 grammes or less of the drug will not be subject to incarceration. Instead, they will be fined a maximum of $500 and be subject to other measures including begin given educational material about cannabis; counselling and rehabilitative care. These provisions were among several amendments that were made to the Drugs Amendment Act (2018), which was passed in Parliament on July 25. In addition to only being a ticketable offense, the amendment provides for Vincentians to smoke the herb in the privacy of their homes and in places of worship of the Rastafarian faith without punishment. The amendment also said that the Minister may designate a list of public areas where the smoking of cannabis may be allowed. The country has correlating legal medical marijuana laws. Parliament on December 11, 2018 passed two Acts, one which establishes a Medical Cannabis Industry in St Vincent and the Grenadines and the other which offers amnesty for traditional marijuana growers. The Vincentian Parliament passed legislation to protect the intellectual property of breeders of new plant varieties in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), the Plant Breeders’ Protection Bill, 2019. It sets up the jurisprudential framework within which these persons will be able to accrue the rights, how these rights will be protected, how they will be published so that persons in the entire society, in the court and globally, can be aware of the hard work which was done, the agriculture minister said. Under the law, a person must obtain the authorization of a grantee with respect to propagating material of the protected variety, to produce or reproduce, condition the material for the purpose of propagation, offer the material for sale, to sell the material, import or export the material, or stock the material for any of the previous purposes. Regarding infringement of plant breeders’ rights, the following acts are exempt: an act done privately for non-commercial purposes, an act done for experimental purposes, or an act done for the purpose of breeding other plant varieties. The law allows for compulsory licenses where a person may apply to the court for the grant of a compulsory license to exploit a protected variety in SVG. Subject to terms that the court thinks fit, the court may make an order for the grant of compulsory licenses if it is satisfied that the grant of the compulsory licenses is in the public interest. Offense under the law include falsification of register and falsely representing a plant variety as a protected variety. The law also orders the registrar to publish applications for plant breeders’ rights, proposed and approved denominations, withdrawals of application for plant breeders’ rights, the rejection of applications for plant breeders’ rights, any grant of a breeders’ right, any change in the breeder or the agent in respect of a plant variety, lapses of plant breeders’ rights, any invalidation or revocation of a plant breeder's rights, the licenses in relation to plant breeders’ rights, where applicable. Cannabis is widely grown illicitly on the island and is the nation's most valuable agricultural product. Saint Vincent is the most prolific producer of cannabis in the Caribbean, other than Jamaica.
Cannabis in Ivory Coast is illegal. The country produces some amount of low-grade cannabis for local and regional consumption.
Cannabis in Liberia is illegal.
References
- ↑ Omer Massoumou; Ambroise Queffélec (2007). Le français en République du Congo: sous l'ère pluripartiste (1991-2006). Archives contemporaines. pp. 289–. ISBN 978-2-914610-42-1.
- ↑ United Nations. Commission on Narcotic Drugs (1959). Summary of Annual Reports of Governments Relating to Opium and Other Narcotic Drugs.
- ↑ Ch. Didier Gondola (10 April 2016). Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity in Kinshasa. Indiana University Press. pp. 223–. ISBN 978-0-253-02080-2.
- ↑ Guy Arnold (13 May 2013). The International Drugs Trade. Routledge. pp. 183–. ISBN 978-1-135-45515-6.
