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The first dated restriction on cannabis in Senegal’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 Senegal.
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
Senegal’s own law is the Drug Code, Law 97-18 of 1 December 1997, amended in 2007.
| Offence | Article | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Using or possessing a drug of the code’s third table | 100 | 2 to 5 years, and a fine of three times the drug’s value |
| Growing or producing a high-risk drug | 95 | 5 to 10 years, and a fine of three times the value |
| Importing, exporting, international transport | 96 | 5 to 10 years, and a fine of three times the value |
The code makes no clear distinction between use and possession. It does allow one way out: a person who has not reached the age of criminal majority and is a first offender may be exempted from punishment on a solemn declaration at the hearing not to do it again.
Why the index moved
The 1916 decree is the first step in Senegal’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 Senegal'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.