Centenary of Cannabis prohibition

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Centenary of Cannabis Prohibition
Part of the History of cannabis
Photograph of the Commentary on the Single Convention on narcotic drugs, 1961 (page 456, article 44).jpg
Date1 January – 31 December 2025 (2025-01-01 – 2025-12-31)

The Centenary of Cannabis Prohibition occurred in the year 2025 with events organised by cannabis activists in several countries, also noted in some academic publications. [1] [2] It marked the hundred years since the first international drug control measures were applied to "Indian hemp" ( Cannabis sativa ) in the 1925 International Opium Convention; [3] [4] it also represents a hundred years of the inclusion of medical cannabis in the 1925 International Pharmacopoeia Agreement. [5]

Contents

Background

The earliest treaties applying to cannabis were bilateral treaties related to trade in industrial hemp products, or other indirect topics like intellectual property. The first two direct references to cannabis in international treaties occurred in 1925: [6]

This addition was not an initiative of the United States [7] [8] but rather the result of "a triangulation between various State interests and blocs" [9] (Egypt, South Africa, and Italy). [4] [10] On its website, the group "Cannabis Embassy" explains the following:

The modern prohibition of Cannabis sativa L. plant […] originated before 1925 in Brazil, Egypt, and South Africa. The USA came much, much later. But it was only in 1925 that Cannabis acquired a marked world character that continues to this day. [5]

While the Brussels Pharmacopoeia treaty became the International Pharmacopoeia without cannabis, [2] the Geneva Opium treaty was replaced with the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961, with more-severe measures than in 1925. The 1925 Opium Treaty also signified the birth of the International Narcotics Control Board, which continues to control cannabis policy today. [11]

From 1961 to 2020, cannabis and haschich were listed in Schedule IV, the most restrictive category of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the main treaty establishing legal dispositions on cannabis in international law. [4] It was removed in 2020 after a scientific assessment by the World Health Organization and a narrow vote at the United Nations drugs commission.

During the second half of the 20th century, a number of treaties were adopted with some disposition affecting directly or indirectly the plant genus Cannabis and/or cannabis products. This is the case in particular for international human rights law, treaties on plant breeders' rights, farmers' rights, or biological diversity, or aspects such as international trade or intellectual property law.

Commemorative events

In Toronto, Canada, the four-day exhibition Reclaiming Our Narratives in February 2025 explored the "history of cannabis in Black communities from pre-colonial times to today" in the framework of the Centenary. [12] In Paris, the activists of NORML France themed the 2025 marijuana march around the Centenary commemoration. [13] The Centenary was otherwise discussed in cannabis specialised press in Australia, [14] Czechia, [15] Ghana, [16] Spain, [17] [18] and Sweden. [19]

During the 2025 session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the European group ENCOD organised a conference on the centenary. [20] The South African NGO Fields of Green for All set up an exhibition and shared a written statement. [21] The "Cannabis Embassy" announced intentions to share a statement during the UNESCO's 2025 World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development. [22]

The centenary is also noted in the academic field, with an article in Nature deploring for instance that "a century of prohibition has severely restricted development of breeding and germplasm resources, leaving potential hemp-based nutritional and fibre applications unrealized." [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lynch, Ryan C.; Padgitt-Cobb, Lillian K.; Garfinkel, Andrea R.; Knaus, Brian J.; Hartwick, Nolan T.; Allsing, Nicholas; Aylward, Anthony; Bentz, Philip C.; Carey, Sarah B.; Mamerto, Allen; Kitony, Justine K.; Colt, Kelly; Murray, Emily R.; Duong, Tiffany; Chen, Heidi I. (2025). "Domesticated cannabinoid synthases amid a wild mosaic cannabis pangenome". Nature. 643 (8073): 1001–1010. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09065-0 . ISSN   1476-4687.
  2. 1 2 Riboulet-Zemouli, Kenzi (2025-12-31). "1925–2025: a century of international pharmaceutical law". Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice. 18 (1): 2470840. doi:10.1080/20523211.2025.2470840. PMC   11892055 . PMID   40066186.
  3. ↑ Clarke, Myrtle; Riboulet-Zemouli, Kenzi (2025-02-27). "Centenary of Cannabis Prohibition: Global Cannabis History Year". Cannabis Therapy Magazine. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  4. 1 2 3 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2008). "A Century of International Drug Control: The Development of the Legal Framework and Codification of the International Control System" (PDF). Bulletin on Narcotics . Special issue – via United Nations.
  5. 1 2 Cannabis Embassy—Legatio Cannabis—大麻大使馆—القنب سفارة (2024). "Centenary of Cannabis Prohibition 2025: Background".
  6. ↑ "The cannabis problem: A note on the problem and the history of international action". Bulletin on Narcotics, XIV, 4, 27–31. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Archived from the original on 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  7. ↑ Scheerer, S (1997). "North-American Bias and Non-American Roots of Cannabis Prohibition". In Böllinger, L (ed.). Cannabis Science: From Prohibition to Human Right. Peter Lang.
  8. ↑ "Cannabis amnesia – Indian hemp parley at the Office International d'Hygiène Publique in 1935". www.authorea.com. 2022. doi:10.22541/au.165237542.24089054/v1 (inactive 11 July 2025). Retrieved 2022-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  9. ↑ Collins, John (2020). "A Brief History of Cannabis and the Drug Conventions". AJIL Unbound. 114: 279–284. doi: 10.1017/aju.2020.55 . ISSN   2398-7723.
  10. ↑ ""The cannabis problem: A note on the problem and the history of international action."UNODC – Bulletin on Narcotics – 1962 14(4):27–31". United Nations : Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  11. ↑ HION. "Centenary of Cannabis Prohibition". Centenary of International Organisations, sponsored by History of International Organizations Network (HION). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  12. ↑ "Reclaiming Our Narrative". Reclaiming Our Narrative. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  13. ↑ NORML France (2025-05-13). "La Cannaparade dit "STOP" à 100 ans de prohibition". NORML France (in French). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  14. ↑ "2025 Centenary of Cannabis Prohibition". Legalise Cannabis Queensland. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  15. ↑ Redakce (2025-03-02). "Stoleté výročí zákazu konopí". Magazín Konopí (in Czech). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  16. ↑ Beenie, Elorm (2025-02-19). "100 Years of Cannabis Prohibition: Time for abolition, not just legalization | Beenie Words" . Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  17. ↑ Kannabia (2025-01-02). "Los hitos más destacados del sector del cannabis para este año 2025". Kannabia (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  18. ↑ "Cien Años de Prohibición del Cannabis: Un Fracaso". softsecrets.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  19. ↑ Redaktionen (2025-08-01). "Från Genève 1925 till Cannabisrenässansen: Ett sekel av kontroll, kamp och återupprättelse". Hampamagasinet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  20. ↑ Ghehiouèche, Farid (2025-02-28). "CND68 - ENCOD side event "1925-2025 : One centenary of Cannabis as a narcotic drug under international control"". ENCOD. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  21. ↑ Fields of Green for ALL, NPC (2025). "Statement submitted by Fields of Green for All NPC, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council: 2025 Centenary of Cannabis Prohibition Global Cannabis History Year (E/CN.7/2025/NGO/13)". United Nations . Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Sixty-eighth session. Vienna, 10–14 March 2025. Agenda Item 5(e). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  22. ↑ Legatio Cannabis —大麻大使馆 — سفارة القنب, Cannabis Embassy (2025-07-31). "UNESCO Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development + World Indigenous Peoples Day + Centenary of Cannabis Prohibition". Cannabis Embassy. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
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