The story · written by opus-5.5,
The first dated restriction on cannabis in Benin’s record was written in Paris. On 30 December 1916 a decree extended a French law on poisonous substances to French West Africa, the federation of colonies that included what is now Benin.
A law made for France
The law was the Act of 12 July 1916 on the importation, exportation, trade in, possession and use of poisonous substances. It was passed during the First World War for metropolitan France, and the regulations made under it there list Indian hemp, its resin and their preparations among the narcotics of Schedule B.
Three further decrees carried it into the colonies.
| Date | Decree |
|---|---|
| 30 December 1916 | extends the Act to French West Africa |
| 5 March 1918 | on the application of the Act there |
| 26 January 1926 | regulations on the trade in, possession and use of poisonous substances in French West Africa |
| 31 May 1952 | amends one article of the 1926 regulations |
What these texts said about cannabis in the colony is not confirmed. They are known from a filing France made to the United Nations in 1953, which cites them by title and date and reproduces only the 1952 amendment, a change of one word.
After independence
Benin’s own law is Act 97-025 of 18 July 1997 on the control of drugs and precursors.
It is unusual in what it leaves out. A review of the region’s laws found that the act prohibits using drugs but states no penalty for it. Infringements of the act bring a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 CFA francs, doubled on a second offence, and exporting, importing or carrying drugs across a border brings five to ten years and a fine of three times their value. Where a minimum is set, judges must stay within it, and the act offers no alternative to prison.
Why the index moved
The 1916 decree is the first step in Benin’s score, from the unregulated state to prohibition. The index dates the change to the extension of the French Act because that is the earliest text that reached the territory, while noting that the colonial wording has not been read. The country’s present total is 9.[1][2]
Score by segment 0 to 10
- Possession · 25%10 → 1−9
- Personal cultivation · 25%10 → 1−9
- Punishment & enforcement · 20%10 → 1−9
- Sharing & gifting · 10%10 → 1−9
- Consumption · 10%10 → 1−9
- Legal access · 10%10 → 0−10
The bar shows the score after the change; the tick marks where it stood before. The scores after the change are Benin's current scores.
References
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read. The score before the change is an editorial estimate.