Iraq sets fines and prison terms for unauthorised cannabis possession

From 14 June 1955, people breaking Iraq’s drug law faced a fine of 100–1,000 dinars, six months to five years in prison, or both.^[1] Unauthorised cannabis possession came within that law, which covered Indian hemp, its resin and preparations made from them.^[2] The amendment supplied one general penalty for violations of the law.^[1]

Cannabis holders needed lawful authority

The 1938 drug law had put cannabis within a system of professional licences, prescriptions and controlled trade.^[2] Doctors, dentists, veterinarians, licensed pharmacists and other authorised people could hold drugs through the permitted channels.^[2] Other holders needed to have obtained them from a licensed pharmacist on an authorised doctor’s prescription, or under the named pharmacy laws.^[2]

Manufacture required a licence, imports and exports needed permits, and pharmacists and dealers had to keep records.^[2] Those requirements explain the reach of the 1955 penalty: it applied to violations of an existing control system.^[1][2]

The court could choose a fine, imprisonment or both

Law 64 of 1955 replaced the drug law’s penalty clause.^[1] Its prison option had both a minimum and a maximum, while the fine had its own monetary range.^[1] The text expressly allowed the two punishments to be combined.^[1]

The amendment also required confiscation of materials and articles mentioned in the law when seized in the offender’s actual use.^[1] It began on publication in the Government Gazette; the reproduced publication notice gives 14 June 1955.^[1]

A new law kept the same general penalty range

The 1965 replacement law retained the general choice of a 100–1,000-dinar fine, six months to five years, or both.^[3] It brought the earlier drug and cultivation controls together and allowed supervised cannabis crops grown exclusively for fibre and seeds.^[3]

Its explanation pointed to shortcomings in the older laws and the need to match the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.^[3] Iraq was replacing a control system that had developed through separate laws and amendments.^[3]

Personal-use and supply penalties then separated

In 1967, personal possession or growing brought one to five years in prison and a fine.^[4] Supply, including giving drugs away, carried a term of hard labour and a higher fine.^[4] The earlier choice between fine and prison gave way to distinct penalties within Iraq’s continuing drug controls.^[1][4]