Diverse cannabis legislation in the world: from recreational to medicinal

The Spanish Parliament debates this Tuesday on the regulation of the therapeutic and recreational use of cannabis, the most widespread drug in the world and that in Spain, despite the prohibitions, habitually consume more than three million people.

The legislation on cannabis in the world is diverse. Its use for medical purposes is quite widespread (more than 45 countries have already authorized it, according to the Spanish Observatory of Medicinal Cannabis), while its recreational use is only legal in Uruguay, Canada and several states of the United States and, more restricted, in South Africa and Georgia, while Mexico is awaiting regulation.

There are also countries that tolerate consumption in small doses – as is the case in the Netherlands – and others that punish not only cultivation and trafficking, but also consumption.

Countries where recreational use is legal

– Uruguay: In December 2013, it approved a pioneering law in the world that legalized and left the production, distribution and sale of marijuana in the hands of the State.

The regulation of said law, which came into force in May 2014, allows previously registered consumers to buy marijuana in pharmacies, up to a maximum of 40 grams per month, or to grow at home up to six plants that produce no more than 480 grams per month. harvest.

In 2015 the Government of Uruguay it also authorized the production of marijuana for scientific research and medicinal use.

– Canada: The legalization of marijuana was an electoral promise of the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and was approved by Parliament on June 20, 2018. It took effect on October 17, 2018.

– USA: Cannabis is allowed in 18 states and the District of Columbia, and Democrats have proposed decriminalizing marijuana use at the federal level. The first states to allow the use of small amounts of marijuana for recreational purposes were Colorado and Washington in November 2012, although the corresponding laws did not go into effect until 2014.

Likewise, the use of cannabis for recreational purposes has been decriminalized by the courts in countries such as South Africa, Georgia and Mexico.

– South Africa: In September 2018 the Constitutional Court declared null the law that prohibited the private consumption of cannabis, as well as its cultivation for personal use.

– Georgia: The Constitutional Court legalized personal consumption in July 2018.

– Mexico: In 2019 the Supreme Court of Justice considered unconstitutional the articles of the General Health Law that prohibited the recreational use of marijuana and ordered Congress to regulate it. The parliamentary process was blocked, but in June 2021 the Supreme Court lifted the prohibition of the self-consumption of marijuana, although it did not endorse its commercialization.

Countries in which medicinal use is authorized

– USA: Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia allow the medicinal use of cannabis.

Latin America: It is admitted in a dozen countries, among which Panama was one of the last to approve it, in October 2021.

Previously, other countries such as Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina or, more recently, Paraguay, where in 2020 President Mario Abdo Benítez tried to veto the law.

On Colombia The medicinal use of marijuana was legalized in 2015 and five years later the bill that sought to legalize its recreational use was also filed.

For its part, Mexico approved its medicinal use in 2017, although the regulations governing its use, sale and distribution were not published until January 2021.

– New Zealand: Parliament approved in December 2018 the medicinal use of marijuana and its acquisition by prescription for patients with chronic pain. In May 2020, the New Zealand Government presented a bill to legalize the consumption and production of marijuana for recreational use, but it was rejected in a referendum in October of that year.

– Europe: The Netherlands approved the medical use of cannabis in 2003, and years later other EU states such as Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic or Malta did.

On Germany, since 2017 doctors can prescribe cannabis treatments to their patients with serious illnesses, who receive it at the pharmacy with public funding. In the case of Portugal, the Parliament legalized medicinal consumption in June 2018 and in February 2019 the regulations came into force.

Other European countries that have programs for the medical use of cannabis are France, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden or Switzerland.

– Morocco: The Moroccan Parliament approved in June 2021 the bill that regulates the therapeutic and industrial uses of the cannabis plant, of which Morocco is the world’s largest producer.

Countries that tolerate private consumption in small quantities

In some countries, although cannabis is not legal, private consumption of small amounts is allowed.

For example, in Jamaica, where marijuana is culturally ingrained, in 2015 a legal amendment authorized small-scale consumption and cultivation for research, medicinal or religious purposes. The consumption of less than two ounces (56 grams) was decriminalized and the cultivation of up to five plants was allowed.

Also in much of Europe, consumption for recreational purposes and in small quantities is decriminalized or does not involve excessive legal problems. In some states it is considered a crime and is punishable by fines, community service or jail time, but it is often possible to escape prison by going to detoxification therapy.

In the case of the Netherlands, where growing, producing and distributing cannabis is illegal, so-called coffee shops have been in operation since the 1970s, where those over 18 can buy and consume. They can sell a maximum of 5 grams per person and the establishment must not have more than 500 grams in stock.

In 2012, the Dutch government banned the sale of soft drugs in coffee shops to foreign tourists, although after a legal dispute, the measure was subject to the discretion of each local government.