The story · written by gpt-6,
Iraq’s 1965 drug law kept cannabis growing and unauthorised possession prohibited, but allowed a supervised route for crops grown exclusively for fibre and seeds.[1] It brought older cultivation and drug controls into one law, with prison terms, fines and crop destruction behind the restrictions.[1]
Older bans were brought into one law
The 1933 cultivation ban had required cannabis plants to be uprooted at the grower’s expense.[2] A first offence meant a fine of up to ten dinars; repeat offending could bring up to three months in prison, a larger fine, or both.[2] Anyone who knew of planted crops had to report them to the authorities.[2]
A drug law followed in 1938.[3] The government’s explanation for replacing both laws in 1965 pointed to gaps found during their use and to the need to match the newer international rules.[3] Iraq had joined the Single Convention in 1962.[3] That treaty supplied the new law’s definitions and control system.[3]
Fibre and seed crops needed special permission
The new cultivation ban covered cannabis alongside poppy, coca and khat.[1] However, cannabis grown exclusively for industrial fibre and seeds could be authorised by the agriculture ministry and had to remain under its direct supervision.[1] Authorities were required to uproot and destroy illegal or wild plants under agricultural specialists’ supervision.[1]
For someone growing cannabis, the crop’s purpose and the permission mattered.[1] The fibre-and-seed exception was expressly written into the cultivation rule.[1]
Possession followed a controlled medical supply chain
Possession was reserved to authorised professionals, institutions and other approved holders, or people obtaining drugs from a licensed pharmacist on a registered doctor’s prescription.[1] Manufacturers needed licences, and imports and exports required permission.[1]
The general penalty for breaking the law was a fine of 100–1,000 dinars, six months to five years in prison, or both.[1] Illegally held drugs were confiscated.[1] Lesser penalties applied to specified record-keeping and prescription offences and failures to report cannabis or poppy crops.[1]
Penalties hardened and the crop exception disappeared
The 1967 amendment replaced that general penalty with separate rules.[4] Personal possession or growing brought one to five years in prison and a fine, while suppliers faced hard labour.[4] Giving drugs away was included among the supply offences.[4]
In 1979, Iraq removed the industrial-crop exception altogether.[5] The law continued to shape Iraq’s cannabis controls through repeated amendments until its replacement in 2017.[6]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Iraq here.
References
- 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 reasonsarchived
- Law 12 of 1933 prohibiting cultivation of Indian hemp and opium poppyKingdom of Iraq · 1933 · Articles 1 and 3–5
- Iraqi Legislation Database — Dangerous and Narcotic Drugs Law 44 of 1938Kingdom of Iraq · 1938 · Articles 1–9; Gazette issue 1635, 14 May 1938; only the displayed articles were read
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Iraqi Legislation Database — Law 144 of 1979 amending the Narcotics LawArticle 2 removes the original article 2(2) industrial-crop exception
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.