Medical Marijuana Laws Around the World

Often, it is easy to assume that a policy debate is taking place only in our own backyard. However, medical marijuana has been in use for thousands of years and debates over its effectiveness and legality have been raging for nearly as long. Worldwide, the issue of medical marijuana gets attention and has its supporters and detractors. Here are some of the medical marijuana laws of foreign countries.

Australia – Legislators in the Australian Capital Territory voted to allow doctors the right to determine when medical marijuana was appropriate. Enraged, Australian law enforcement agencies began intense lobbying efforts to reverse the decision. Eventually, the politicians caved in to law enforcement agencies and reversed their earlier decision. However, in that territory, the possession of up to 25 grams of marijuana or two plants is not a criminal offense but carries only a $100 fine.

Belgium – The Belgian government has recently initiated clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of medical marijuana and may soon decriminalize it. However, individual marijuana use by adults takes a very low priority with Belgian police, as long as it doesn’t cause any problems in the user’s environment. Only public use, possession of over 3 grams, and the sale of marijuana are pursued in court.

Canada – The Medical Marijuana Access Regulations allow for the legal use of marijuana by medical patients, but did not set up a legal apparatus by which to attain it. Now, Canada produces about 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of medical marijuana annually and in 2005 approved the prescription sale of the marijuana extract drug Sativex.

Germany – Consumption of marijuana is legal and possession is treated differently between federal states. There are no special laws for medical marijuana, but in 2007 some patients got an exception to use medical marijuana from the public health authority.

Netherlands – The possession and purchase of marijuana is “tolerated”. Famously, those 18 and over can purchase and use marijuana in “coffee shops”. Laws are on the books that criminalize marijuana use and possession, but due to non-enforcement it has been effectively decriminalized.

Portugal – In 2001 officially abolished all criminal penalties for the personal possession of all drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. This was done at the recommendation of a commission analyzing Portugal’s drug problem, which found that jailtime was offered instead of therapy. They found that the fear of incarceration drove drug use underground, and in the years since the decriminalization of drug possession, drug use and HIV rates have fallen significantly, while the number of those seeking drug therapy has doubled.

Perhaps we in America, with some of the highest rates of criminal violence and jail overpopulation in the world, can learn something about drug policy from one of these countries, where leniency on drug offenders and the allowance for medical marijuana has not created chaos but rather social stability.