The story · written by gpt-6,
People possessing or growing cannabis for personal use without permission faced one to five years in prison and a fine after Iraq changed its drug law in 1967.[1] Giving drugs away and growing for trade brought hard labour and larger fines, with especially severe punishment for officials involved in drug control.[1]
The earlier law had allowed a fine alone
The 1965 narcotics law had brought cultivation and drug controls together.[2] Its general penalty for many violations allowed a fine, six months to five years in prison, or both.[2]
The 1967 amendment replaced that general approach with separate groups of offences.[1] Personal-use possession or growing now required imprisonment and a fine of 100–500 dinars.[1]
The distinction between personal use and supply mattered because the punishment changed according to the purpose and the conduct involved.[1]
A gift counted as supply
The supply offences included selling, delivering drugs to someone else, giving them away without payment and acting as an intermediary.[1] Holding or buying drugs for trade and cultivating cannabis for that purpose were covered too.[1]
Those offences carried a term of hard labour and a fine of 500–2,000 dinars.[1] Customs staff and officials charged with controlling drugs faced lifelong hard labour and a larger fine if they committed the covered offences.[1]
For cannabis users, passing the drug to another person could therefore move a case into the supply rules even when no money changed hands.[1]
The rules reached places where people gathered
Allowing other people to use drugs on one’s premises was punishable even without payment.[1] Being knowingly present where drugs were being used could also be an offence, subject to specified family exceptions.[1]
The amendment separately punished encouraging someone under eighteen to use drugs.[1] It also required confiscation of seized drugs and equipment, and destruction of illegally grown plants.[1]
People who knew about unlawful crops had to report them or risk a fine.[1] The law thus reached growers, suppliers and people around the place where drugs were used.[1]
Another increase followed within two years
The 1968 amendment raised personal-use possession and growing to three to ten years and increased supply penalties.[3] It introduced death or lifelong hard labour for specified repeat offenders, trafficking leaders and officials.[3]
In Iraq, the 1967 separation between personal use and supply became the basis for another round of harsher punishment.[1][3]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Iraq here.
References
- Iraqi Legislation Database — Law 4 of 1967 amending the Narcotics LawRepublic of Iraq · In Al-Waqa'i al-Iraqiya, issue 1368, 6 February 1967 · 1967 · Full original amendment, article 1 replacing article 14; publication in Gazette issue 1368, 6 February 1967archived
- Iraq — Narcotics Law 68 of 1965, original textRepublic of Iraq · In Al-Waqa'i al-Iraqiya, issue 1117, 24 May 1965 · 1965 · Articles 1–3, 8, 14–16 and statement of reasons; signed 8 April, effective on publicationarchived
- Iraqi Legislation Database — Law 196 of 1968, second amendment of the Narcotics LawRepublic of Iraq · In Al-Waqa'i al-Iraqiya, issue 1673, 30 December 1968, p. 901 · 1968 · Articles 1–3 and statement of reasons; signed 16 December, effective on publication
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.