The story · written by gpt-6,
Iraq raised the maximum prison term for personal-use drug possession and growing to fifteen years in 1979, while allowing treatment instead for some people with dependence caused by a medical condition.[1] The same law removed permission for supervised cannabis crops grown exclusively for fibre and seeds.[1]
The personal-use maximum rose again
The 1968 drug amendment had set three to ten years for personal-use possession or cultivation.[2] The 1979 law retained the three-year minimum but extended the maximum to fifteen years, alongside a fine.[1]
It kept special penalties for members of the armed forces and people working with or for them.[1] Drug offences in that group could bring life imprisonment or at least ten years, with death possible when committed while confronting the enemy.[1]
The changes preserved a severe criminal response while introducing a separate route for a defined group of people needing treatment.[1]
Courts could send some people to a health facility
A court could replace the personal-use punishment with six months in a designated health facility when dependence had arisen from a medical condition.[1] Earlier release required medical evidence of recovery and a court decision following a request from the prosecutor or the person detained.[1]
The law’s stated reasons referred to treatment and rehabilitation ideas in the amended international drug convention.[1] The practical decision still rested with the court, and the medical circumstances specified in the law determined eligibility.[1]
This linked the sentencing decision with a health assessment and a facility authorised for treatment.[1]
The industrial crop exception disappeared
The 1965 law had allowed cannabis cultivated exclusively for fibre and seeds, with special agriculture-ministry permission and direct supervision.[3] The 1979 amendment deleted that exception.[1]
It also gave the police narcotics office a larger role in the licensing system, including consultation over manufacturing permissions and notification of import authorisations.[1]
For growers, the reform therefore removed a specific permitted industrial purpose while keeping crop control within the drug-enforcement system.[1][3]
A broader treatment route came much later
The 2017 drug law replaced the old legislation and reduced the ordinary personal-use prison range to one to three years.[4] It also protected people who voluntarily presented themselves to a specialist hospital for treatment, subject to its conditions.[4]
Treatment in Iraq had moved from the narrow medical exception of 1979 towards a wider set of hospital, outpatient and prosecution rules.[1][4]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Iraq here.
References
- Iraqi Legislation Database — Law 144 of 1979 amending the Narcotics LawRepublic of Iraq · In Al-Waqa'i al-Iraqiya, issue 2741, 19 November 1979, p. 480 · 1979 · Articles 2–7, especially replacement article 14(II) and new article 14(VII); article 8 commencementarchived
- 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
- 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
- Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law 50 of 2017, original GazetteRepublic of Iraq · In Al-Waqa'i al-Iraqiya, issue 4446, 8 May 2017 · 2017 · Articles 28, 32, 37, 39–40 and 50–51; original article 39(1) cross-reference corrected in January 2018archived
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.