Criminalization : An Uneven Process With Uneven Results

Although in the last century this wonderful plant has constantly been labeled as “bad” or “amoral”, the result of the criminalization of cannabis have actually been quite uneven, if you think about it from a global perspective. Sure, it has been a non-stop (biased) media campaign, an inexhaustible effort thanks to which nowadays marijuana is illegal almost everywhere. Still, the exceptions are many and the wind seems to finally be ready to change.

Uruguay, as you probably know, was the first country where the use of cannabis became officially legal. But even in the US something is moving. Marijuana is legal in Washington State, and also in the city of Portland and in Colorado. In addition, there are other 14 States in which cannabis – especially medical marijuana – has been either completely/almost decriminalized. Sure, the States of the United States are 50. But the numbers are still quite impressive, especially if we consider how quickly public opinion is turning around.

There are countries like Cambodia, Brazil and Belize that have time and time again demonstrated their openness towards cannabis. Even Europe, a place that have been dominated by conservative institutions for centuries, presents its own exceptions. In Spain, for instance, you can’t smoke a joint in public, and you can’t sell marijuana or carry it around, but you can grow a plant at home and enjoy the harvest in the comfortable intimacy of your own personal nest. And, of course, everyone knows about Amsterdam, where you can buy the best marijuana ever (check it out: http://greenhouseseeds.nl). Although Holland hasn’t legalized cannabis, the country has decriminalized its transport, possession and sale.

Generally speaking, the rule is: you grow it, you smoke it, they grow it, they sell it.

Then there is Switzerland, where decriminalization have been welcomed in some of the cantons. Even in Belgium both possession and cultivation have been decriminalized.

In Canada marijuana is still illegal, but that’s not the case for medical marijuana, which many people enjoy. And then there is the case of Russia, where the only thing that’s still illegal is selling marijuana, but it is perfectly ok to cultivate it, carry it and use it.

In India both transportation and consumption are forbidden, but in some areas you can find people performing mysterious sacred rituals, under the supervision of the Government, where cannabis is sold as “bhang”. For those who don’t know, bhang is a drink obtained from marijuana flower buds. There are also countries where citizens live strange contradictions, like Cambodia, where soft drugs are illegal, but there are really no penalties of any kind for those who use or sell them.

We are not quite sure what’s happening in North Korea, but satellite images suggests the cultivation of cannabis is certainly an accepted practice there. And then you get to Iran, where it is legal to eat cannabis seeds.

Quite an interesting puzzle, don’t you think?