History
1970s
World average score and entries per decade
13.2 today, from 99.1 in 1860
World average score, every country counted the same Entries that moved a score Context only
No entries for the chosen countries here.
197913 entries2 score changes
๐น๐น Trinidad and Tobago International โ
Trinidad and Tobago joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Trinidad and Tobago acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 23 July 1979. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐จ๐ณ China Other law โ
China's first Criminal Law punishes making and trafficking drugs
The Criminal Law adopted on 1 July 1979 set out the crimes of manufacturing, selling and transporting narcotics and their penalties. Rules on using and possessing drugs came later, in 1990.
๐น๐ญ Thailand Tightening โ
Thailand's Narcotics Act takes effect
The Narcotics Act expressly included cannabis in category 5 and repealed the earlier cannabis statute. Under original Section 76, unauthorised possession carried up to five years in prison and a fine up to 50,000 baht; possession for sale carried two to fifteen years and a 20,000โ150,000-baht fine. Section 75 set the same higher band for manufacture, sale, import or export. Signed on 22 April 1979 and published on 27 April, the Act commenced the following day under Section 2. Its penalties were subsequently amended.
196โ13 points
๐ต๐น Portugal International โ
Portugal joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Portugal acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 20 April 1979. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฌ๐ฉ Grenada Tightening โ
Grenada's revolutionary government cracks down on ganja
After the 1979 coup the new government decided to clamp down on marijuana growing, and in 1980 it violently broke up a demonstration by growers.
๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark Culture & science โ Article
Christiania drives out hard drugs and keeps cannabis
Residents of the freetown in Copenhagen patrolled for 40 days in what they called the Junk Blockade, pushing dealers of hard drugs out and helping addicts into treatment. The cannabis trade stayed, and the line between the two became the community's own rule.
๐ฆ๐บ Australia Debate โ
A royal commission rejects decriminalisation
The Australian Royal Commission of Inquiry into Drugs recommended against decriminalising cannabis, two years after a New South Wales parliamentary committee had proposed removing jail sentences for personal possession.
197816 entries2 score changes
๐ฑ๐พ Libya International โ
Libya joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Libya acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 27 September 1978. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq International โ
Iraq joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Iraq acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 25 September 1978. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐บ๐ธ United States Culture & science โ
Up in Smoke opens and starts the stoner film
The comedy starring Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong opened in nine theatres in Texas in early September 1978. Poorly reviewed at the time, it went on to gross more than 104 million dollars worldwide and is credited with establishing the stoner film genre.
๐ฐ๐พ Cayman Islands Tightening โ
Cayman requires forfeiture of vehicles used for drug offences
Cayman required courts to confiscate a vehicle, boat or aircraft under an offenderโs control when it was used, or intended to be used, to commit or facilitate a drug offence. The earlier law made forfeiture discretionary for a first conviction and allowed recovery through a fixed CI$6,000 redemption payment; the amendment introduced an ownership-restoration process with conditions including an innocent-owner route or a payment linked to the vesselโs value. The official legislation history dates the change to 4 July 1978.
๐ง๐ณ Brunei Ban โ
Brunei's Misuse of Drugs Act takes effect
The Act made cannabis an illegal drug. It was reclassified as Class B in 2001.
1002โ98 points
๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong Tightening โ
Hong Kong's legislature passes a broader cannabis definition
Lawmakers passed a broader cannabis definition intended to cover the whole plant and synthetic active ingredients, after prosecutors encountered difficulties with the earlier wording. The government also proposed higher penalties for unlawful transit of dangerous drugs. The 21 June entry records the legislative vote; the bill passed without committee changes.
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom International โ
United Kingdom joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
United Kingdom ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 20 June 1978. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia International โ
Malaysia joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Malaysia acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 20 April 1978. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica Debate โ
Peter Tosh demands legalisation at the One Love Peace Concert
On stage in Kingston, Tosh lit a spliff and lectured the audience about legalising cannabis, attacking the attending political leaders Michael Manley and Edward Seaga for failing to do it. According to The Gleaner he became a regular target for the police; in September he was arrested at Half Way Tree for smoking marijuana and attacking a police officer, and reported being badly beaten in custody.
๐ต๐ช Peru Tightening โ
Peru's military government issues the drug law that is still the base of its legislation
Decree Law 22095 became the foundation of Peru's drug legislation, later amended by a legislative decree of 1981 and overlaid by the Penal Code of 1991, which removed the penalty for possession for immediate personal use.
๐ฆ๐น Austria International โ
Austria joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Austria acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 1 February 1978. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐บ๐ธ United States Medical โ
Randallโs civil settlement secures continued federal cannabis
After difficulties continuing his physician-supervised supply, Robert Randall sues federal agencies. A settlement restores cannabis access under a new IND arrangement and helps establish the Compassionate IND process for other patients. This is separate from the 1976 medical-necessity acquittal and supplies no general recreational or medical access right.
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom Debate โ
The Legalise Cannabis Campaign is founded in Britain
The Legalise Cannabis Campaign was started to campaign for full legalisation of the use and distribution of cannabis in the United Kingdom. The chapter notes that such politicised campaigns failed in a hostile policy environment, and that arguments for medicinal cannabis were overwhelmed by them.
๐ซ๐ฒ Micronesia Enforcement โ
Chuuk police records begin documenting cannabis on Moen
A later exploratory field study reports that the first marijuana case in the police records it reviewed occurred on Moen late in 1978, when one plant was uprooted. This identifies an early recorded local case, not Micronesiaโs first cannabis prohibition or a national arrest total.
๐ฐ๐ฒ Comoros Ban โ Article
The Comoros ban cannabis again
After President Ali Soilih was overthrown and killed, the new government reversed his decrees and prohibited cannabis.
729โ63 points
197713 entries2 score changes
๐ท๐ผ Rwanda Other law โ Article
Rwandaโs criminal code allows a fine alone for drug use
Rwandaโs criminal code signed in August 1977 specified three months to five years in prison for illicit drug use, a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 francs, or both. It prohibited growing, selling, transporting and holding narcotics outside health-ministry conditions, and required confiscation and crop destruction. The code replaced older legislation, including a smoking-hemp ordinance, while the 2012 replacement later specified prison plus a fine for use.
๐บ๐ธ United States Debate โ
Carter proposes federal decriminalisation for small personal possession
In his message to Congress, Jimmy Carter supported replacing federal criminal penalties for possession of up to one ounce with a fine, while retaining trafficking penalties and leaving states free to choose their own laws. This was a proposal, not an enacted federal change.
๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico International โ
Mexico joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Mexico acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 27 April 1977. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฐ๐พ Cayman Islands Tightening โ Article
Cayman raises cannabis possession penalties to seven years
Cayman raised the prison ceiling for possessing less than a pound of cannabis from five to seven years on a first conviction, with a possible fine of up to CI$10,000. A repeat conviction below that weight carried at least five months in prison, while a first conviction involving a pound or more also triggered a five-month minimum; the amendment barred specified probation and sentencing powers from avoiding or reducing these sentences. It separated cannabis from a defined group of hard drugs, building on the 1973 law; the official legislation history records commencement on 12 April 1977.
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom Enforcement โ
Bob Marley is fined for cannabis in London
Living in London after an attempt on his life in Jamaica, Bob Marley and his bassist Aston Barrett were arrested in March after police stopped their car in Ladbroke Grove and found two joints; a search of Marley's home found about a pound. At Marylebone Magistrates' Court each was fined ยฃ50. The chairman warned them that whatever the attitude in their own country, cannabis was still an offence in Britain.
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore Tightening โ
Singapore launches Operation Ferret
CNB, police and other agencies began a nationwide drive against drug users and traffickers. More than 26,000 people were arrested on suspicion of consumption by February 1978, and 7,348 who tested positive were sent to drug rehabilitation centres.
๐ฒ๐ป Maldives Ban โ Article
The Maldives passes its Law on Drugs
Law 17/77, the Law on Drugs, was the country's first act on narcotic drugs. It was passed the year a person was arrested with 350 grams of hashish, as drug use appeared alongside tourism in the 1970s.
1000โ100 points
๐ฎ๐ช Ireland Easing โ Article
Ireland passes the Misuse of Drugs Act
The Act treated cannabis more leniently than other drugs: the first two convictions for possession for personal use can only be punished with a fine.
911+2 points
๐จ๐พ Cyprus Other law โ
Cyprus adopts a new law covering drug possession, growing and supply
Cyprus published a new national drug law in June 1977, prohibiting unauthorised possession, cultivation and supply while allowing regulated exceptions. It replaced the 1967 legislation and organised controlled drugs into classes. Later amendments introduced special sentencing limits for young first offenders and presumptions of supply based on quantities.
197623 entries5 score changes
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท District of Columbia Medical โ Article
D.C. Superior Court accepts Randallโs medical-necessity defence
Judge James A. Washington finds glaucoma patient Robert Randall not guilty on grounds of medical necessity and dismisses the charges. Initial federally authorised cannabis supply also dates from November 1976. The criminal ruling is distinct from his 1978 civil settlement securing continued federal access; neither established general legal supply for all patients.
๐ง๐ธ Bahamas International โ
Bahamas joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Bahamas acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 23 November 1976. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐น๐ฌ Togo International โ
Togo joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Togo ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 10 November 1976. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ง๐ท Brazil Easing โ
Brazil separates users from traffickers again
Law 6.368 ended the 1968 rule that punished users like dealers. Possession for personal use carried six months to two years in prison; trafficking carried three to fifteen.
79+2 points
๐ต๐ฆ Panama Enforcement โ
A Panamanian freighter is seized with 82 tons of marijuana
At Panama's request the United States Coast Guard seized the Panamanian-flagged freighter Don Emilio, which was carrying about 82 tons of marijuana.
๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg International โ
Luxembourg joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Luxembourg ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 13 October 1976. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ณ๐ต Nepal Ban โ Article
Nepal passes the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act
Three years after closing the licensed shops, Nepal made growing, producing, selling and using cannabis criminal offences. Use at Shiva festivals has been tolerated all the same.
4312โ31 points
๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia International โ
Indonesia joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Indonesia ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 3 September 1976. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐จ๐ฆ Canada International โ
Canada joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Canada acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 5 August 1976. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฎ๐น Italy Other law โ
Italy's Constitutional Court sends back a forced-treatment case after the 1975 reform
A Naples magistrate had asked whether the 1954 drug law was unconstitutional because people facing forced confinement in a clinic had no right to a defence. Before the court ruled, the 1975 reform repealed that law and brought in new treatment rules with safeguards for the people concerned. The court therefore sent the case back to Naples to reconsider whether the question still mattered, without answering it (Order 224/1976).
๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia Tightening โ Article
Independent Indonesia passes its first narcotics law
Law 9 replaced the Dutch colonial ordinance while keeping cannabis restricted to medical and scientific purposes. It raised punishment to two years for personal use, six years for growing, possessing or small-scale supply, and as much as life imprisonment for trafficking.
123โ9 points
๐จ๐ฉ DR Congo International โ
DR Congo joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
DR Congo acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 15 July 1976. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ง๐ท Brazil Enforcement โ Article
Gilberto Gil is arrested for cannabis in Florianรณpolis
Police detained the singer and his drummer in a Florianรณpolis hotel during the Doces Bรกrbaros tour and found about thirty cannabis cigarettes among Gil's belongings. Nine days later he was sentenced to a year of reclusion, converted into treatment in a psychiatric clinic, and a fine of fifty minimum wages. Rita Lee received a similar sentence in August, converted into house arrest. The cases drew criticism from artists and showed a growing public tolerance: the city's mayor guessed that most residents disapproved of the arrest.
๐น๐ณ Tunisia International โ
Tunisia joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Tunisia ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 29 June 1976. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ง๐ง Barbados International โ
Barbados joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Barbados deposited its succession to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 21 June 1976. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica Debate โ
Peter Tosh releases Legalize It
The former Wailer's first solo album, recorded in Kingston, was released by CBS Records. Its title track became popular among supporters of cannabis legalisation, reggae audiences and Rastafari around the world, and a favourite at his concerts.
๐บ๐ธ United States Debate โ Article
American parents organise against marijuana
A grassroots movement of parent activists began in 1976, in reaction to decriminalisation in a dozen states and rising use among teenagers: by 1978, 37.1 per cent of high-school seniors reported smoking in the past month. By 1980 the activists had formed a national federation and, by the chapter's account, had persuaded state governments to overturn most of their decriminalisation laws and to regulate the trade in paraphernalia heavily. Nancy Reagan took up their cause.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Hawaii Tightening โ
Hawaiสปi begins Operation Green Harvest
Operation Green Harvest began on Hawaiสปi Island, targeting outdoor cannabis cultivation with police and National Guard helicopter support. The campaign subsequently expanded across the islands. A later National Guard chronology records its Green Harvest helicopter-support phase from August 1978; this is distinct from the programmeโs reported 1976 beginning.
๐น๐ฟ Tanzania Hemp โ Article
Tanzania stops the sale of seed that contains bhang
Government Notice 31 of 1976 lists hemp, under the name marijuana, and Cannabis sativa, called true hemp and in Swahili bhang or bangi, as prohibited noxious weed seeds. A sample of seed graded under the Seeds (Regulation of Standards) Act may not contain any of them. One such seed in a kilogram is within the tolerance. Two or more put the lot under a stop-sale until it is recleaned and tested again. The consolidation does not print the gazette day.
๐ฐ๐ท South Korea Ban โ Article
South Korea passes the Cannabis Control Act
Hemp had been grown for cloth for centuries and smoking it was not an offence. The Act banned possession and use, with prison terms, in the middle of a government campaign against youth culture.
1002โ98 points
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands Easing โ Article
The Netherlands separates cannabis from hard drugs
A revised Opium Act put cannabis on its own list and made possession of up to 30 g a minor offence that prosecutors would not pursue. The same policy let coffeeshops sell small amounts openly.
1239+27 points
๐ฑ๐ท Liberia Other law โ Article
Liberia punishes cannabis possession and orders plants destroyed
Liberiaโs public-health law treated unauthorised cannabis possession as a second-degree misdemeanor, while growing it or allowing it on oneโs property was a first-degree felony. Landholders had to destroy wild cannabis or report it to police or health officers. A separate court-ordered treatment system could keep a dependent person under inpatient care and supervision for up to seven years. These criminal rules were replaced in 2014.
197528 entries5 score changes
๐ฒ๐จ Monaco International โ
Monaco joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Monaco ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 30 December 1975. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฎ๐น Italy Easing โ Article
Italy stops punishing users for a "modest quantity" of drugs
Law 685 made buying or holding a "modest quantity" of drugs for personal use no longer a crime, though the drugs were still seized. It set no gram limit, so courts decided case by case what counted as modest. The law also brought in treatment and rehabilitation for drug users. Growing and sharing cannabis were still covered by other offences. It took effect on 30 December 1975, replacing the 1954 law that had punished possession like dealing.
1121+10 points
๐จ๐ฑ Chile International โ
Chile joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Chile ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 19 December 1975. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ญ๐น Haiti Other law โ
Haiti issues a decree on narcotics
The decree of 18 December 1975 governed the trade in and use of narcotics and the offence of illicit trafficking. It was amended by laws of 1979 and 1980, partly repealed by a law of 7 June 1982, and amended again by decree in 1989, before the 2001 law took its place. Its text was not read; it is known from the 2001 law's preamble.
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa International โ
South Africa joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
South Africa ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 16 December 1975. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore Death penalty โ
Singapore introduces mandatory death sentences for drug trafficking
An amendment made death mandatory for trafficking, importing or exporting more than 30 g of morphine or 15 g of diamorphine. Cannabis was not yet covered by a capital threshold; that change came in 1990.
๐ฌ๐น Guatemala International โ
Guatemala joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Guatemala ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 9 December 1975. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฐ๐ท South Korea Tightening โ Article
South Korea arrests its pop stars for marijuana
A crackdown that prosecutors had begun late in November reached the stage on 3 December, when three folk singers, Lee Jang-hee among them, were arrested; the rock musician Shin Joong-hyun followed. Within a month more than eighty entertainers had been arrested. Most were not jailed but banned from recording and performing, some for life, and magazines reported that some were confined in mental institutions as addicts. President Park Chung- hee, who had already criminalised long hair, said young people smoking marijuana would bring ruin to the country. The Cannabis Control Act followed the next year.
๐บ๐พ Uruguay International โ
Uruguay joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Uruguay acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 31 October 1975. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria Death penalty โ Article
Nigeria removes the death penalty for growing cannabis
Nigeriaโs military government removed the death penalty for cultivating and importing or selling cannabis, replacing it with imprisonment of at least ten years. Smoking or possession became punishable by a 200-naira fine, imprisonment of at least six months, or both. In 1984 the government raised the cultivation prison term to at least 21 years.
๐ง๐ธ Bahamas International โ
The Bahamas joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
The Bahamas deposited its succession to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 13 August 1975. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐จ๐ญ Switzerland Tightening โ
Switzerland makes consumption an offence
A revision of the Narcotics Act made using drugs punishable for the first time, though as a minor offence, and let courts waive the penalty in light cases.
1816โ2 points
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore International โ
Singapore joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Singapore acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 9 July 1975. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ง๐ช Belgium Tightening โ
Belgium tightens its drug law
A major revision of the 1921 law raised penalties, added aggravating circumstances and made using drugs in a group an offence.
๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh International โ
Bangladesh joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Bangladesh acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 25 April 1975. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark International โ
Denmark joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Denmark ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 18 April 1975. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฎ๐น Italy International โ
Italy joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Italy ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 14 April 1975. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฉ๐ช Germany International โ
Germany joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Germany ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 20 February 1975. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria Death penalty โ Article
Algeria allows capital punishment under a sweeping drug ordinance
Illicit drug use carried two months to one year in prison, a 500โ5,000-dinar fine, or either penalty alone. A broad clause allowed capital punishment for offences under the ordinance when their character threatened the Algerian peopleโs moral health. Courts could order detoxification, and the law applied to acts after 1 October 1974 that had not received final judgment by publication.
51โ4 points
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Alaska Easing โ Article
Alaska's Supreme Court protects cannabis at home
In Ravin v. State the court ruled that the state constitution protects possession of cannabis at home.
๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand Easing โ
New Zealand passes the Misuse of Drugs Act
The Act put cannabis in Class C, the lowest. The maximum for possession became three months in prison or a $500 fine, with a presumption against imprisonment.
1113+2 points
๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica Culture & science โ Article
Rubin examines Jamaican accounts of a ganja vision
Vera Rubin's chapter in Cannabis and Culture examines recurring accounts of a small dancing figure associated with an early smoking experience. Ten smokers in a selected sixty-man clinical sample reported such visions. Rubin interpreted the narratives through peer belonging and initiation; they do not establish a universal Jamaican custom, national prevalence or a predictable cannabis effect.
๐ฉ๐ช Germany International โ
East Germany joins the UN drug conventions
Two years after its Narcotic Drugs Act made producing, trafficking and consuming cannabis a crime, the German Democratic Republic signed on to the Single Convention and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
๐ฐ๐ฒ Comoros Legalisation โ Article
The Comoros legalise cannabis
The revolutionary president Ali Soilih, courting the support of young people, lifted the ban on cannabis. It stayed legal for three years.
1172+61 points
197427 entries7 score changes
๐ณ๐ช Niger Other law โ
Niger adopts national rules on narcotic sales, possession and use
A national ordinance placed the import, export, purchase, sale, possession and use of poisonous substances and narcotics under rules to be set by decree. It was issued under the Supreme Military Council and was followed by implementing schedules in 1977. The 1999 drug ordinance later expressly repealed both texts.
๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho International โ
Lesotho joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Lesotho deposited its succession to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 4 November 1974. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐บ๐พ Uruguay Easing โ Article
Uruguay stops punishing possession for personal use
Decree-law 14.294 exempted from punishment anyone holding a minimal quantity only for their own use. Growing and selling stayed crimes, so there was no legal way to obtain it until 2013.
1132+21 points
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina Tightening โ
Argentina makes personal possession a crime again
Law 20.771 punished possession of drugs with one to six years in prison "even if intended for personal use", reversing the 1968 exemption. The Supreme Court went back and forth on it for the next 35 years.
2211โ11 points
๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar International โ
Madagascar joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Madagascar ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 20 June 1974. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland Tightening โ
Iceland writes its cannabis ban into law
The ban first made by regulation in 1969 was incorporated into the Act on addictive drugs and narcotics, No. 65 of 1974, which is still in force.
๐ต๐ญ Philippines International โ
Philippines joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Philippines ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 7 June 1974. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ธ๐ฉ Sudan International โ
Sudan joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Sudan acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 24 April 1974. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica Debate โ
Jamaica proposes heavy penalties for ganja trafficking
Amid reports of large-scale organised export of ganja, apparently partly in exchange for guns, Michael Manley told the House that the people behind the trade came from the best residential areas, not the ghettos. A bill introduced in April 1974 proposed life imprisonment for trafficking in opium and cocaine and much harsher penalties for ganja trafficking.
๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar Ban โ
Burma bans cannabis again
The Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Law prohibited cannabis along with opium, with long prison sentences.
494โ45 points
๐ธ๐พ Syria International โ
Syria joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Syria acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 1 February 1974. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel International โ
Israel joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Israel ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 1 February 1974. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands Debate โ
The Dutch government says it would legalise cannabis if the treaty allowed
A government memorandum stated that use of cannabis and possession for personal use should be removed from criminal justice as soon as possible, but that this would conflict with treaty obligations. It promised to explore amending the Single Convention; the idea was not pursued, and the 1976 law used non-prosecution instead.
๐ท๐ด Romania International โ
Romania joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Romania acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 14 January 1974. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ช๐ฌ Egypt International โ
Egypt joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Egypt ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 14 January 1974. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ช๐ธ Spain Easing โ
Spain's Supreme Court: possession for personal use is not a crime
The court held that possessing drugs for one's own use fell outside the criminal offence of trafficking. Parliament wrote this into the penal code in 1983.
๐ท๐บ Russia Tightening โ
The Soviet Union makes possession for personal use a crime
Under the criminal codes of the 1920s only making and dealing in drugs were punished; personal use and possession without intent to sell carried no penalty. A decree of the Supreme Soviet, "On reinforcement of the fight against drug addiction", changed that: possession without intent to sell now brought up to three years in prison, and production and trafficking ten to fifteen. It was copied into Article 224 of every republic's code and covered all drugs listed in the UN conventions.
198โ11 points
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands Enforcement โ Article
Dutch navy pursues the hashish-carrying fishing boat Lammie
The Dutch navy pursued the fishing boat Lammie carrying about 10,000 kg of hashish from Lebanon. Stephen Snelders describes the captain sinking the vessel as it was about to be boarded. The transport linked criminal entrepreneurs with fishermen and maritime contacts, illustrating the growth of the illegal supply network before the 1976 toleration reform.
๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco Tightening โ
Morocco reaffirms the ban in its narcotics law
New legislation on narcotic drugs restated the prohibition of cannabis that had applied nationwide since 1956.
๐ฑ๐ป Latvia Tightening โ
The USSR tightens its drug law
Under Soviet law in Latvia smuggling and dealing in marijuana had been punished with one to three years, while possession and use were not penalised. A Soviet decree of 1974 on strengthening the fight against drug addiction changed that across the union, Soviet Latvia included: possession without intent to sell became a crime.
2014โ6 points
๐ง๐พ Belarus Tightening โ
Soviet law makes possession for personal use a crime in Belarus
Until 1974 the Soviet criminal codes punished making and dealing in drugs; personal use and possession without intent to sell carried no penalty. A decree of the Supreme Soviet, copied into the code of every republic, made possession without intent to sell punishable with up to three years in prison. Belarus was a Soviet republic.
198โ11 points
๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh International โ
Newly independent Bangladesh signs an international drug agreement
Three years after independence Bangladesh signed an international anti-narcotics agreement. The ban on growing ganja that followed in 1987 is attributed to it. The licensed trade went on in the meantime: the Naogaon society built a cold store of a thousand tonnes in 1975.
๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia Tightening โ
Soviet law makes possession for personal use a crime in Armenia
Until 1974 the Soviet criminal codes punished making and dealing in drugs; personal use and possession without intent to sell carried no penalty. A decree of the Supreme Soviet, copied into the code of every republic, made possession without intent to sell punishable with up to three years in prison. Armenia was a Soviet republic.
2011โ9 points
197348 entries6 score changes
๐ณ๐ช Niger International โ
Niger joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Niger ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 28 December 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฐ๐พ Cayman Islands Other law โ
Cayman brings possession, use and growing under one drug law
Caymanโs replacement drug law prohibited unauthorised possession, consumption, cultivation and supply of cannabis, which it listed as ganja. Possession or growing carried imprisonment of up to five years with hard labour on a first conviction, rising to ten years on a repeat conviction, with additional fines possible. The law replaced an earlier Dangerous Drugs Law and described its purpose as bringing drug control into line with international standards; the official legislation history dates commencement to 12 December 1973.
๐จ๐พ Cyprus International โ
Cyprus joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Cyprus ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 30 November 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji International โ
Fiji joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Fiji acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 21 November 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐จ๐ฉ DR Congo International โ
The DR Congo joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
The DR Congo ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 19 November 1973. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina International โ
Argentina joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Argentina ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 16 November 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ณ๐ด Norway International โ
Norway joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Norway ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 12 November 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait International โ
Kuwait joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Kuwait acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 7 November 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ง๐ฏ Benin International โ
Benin joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Benin acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 6 November 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Oregon Easing โ Article
Oregon becomes the first US state to decriminalise
Possession of up to an ounce became a violation with a $100 fine. Ten more states followed by 1978, covering about a third of Americans, before the trend stopped for two decades.
1116+5 points
๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi International โ
Malawi joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Malawi acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 4 October 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฏ๐ต Japan International โ
Japan joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Japan ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 27 September 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฌ๐น Guatemala Other law โ Article
Guatemala sets prison terms for cannabis growing, supply and possession
Unauthorised growing of drug-producing plants and possession or supply of their seeds carried three to five years in prison plus a fine under the new penal code. The same prison range applied to unlawful drug import, delivery, sale and keeping drugs. The code took effect on 15 September 1973; a separate 1992 drug law later set higher cultivation and trafficking terms and a distinct personal-possession offence.
๐น๐ด Tonga International โ
Tonga joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Tonga deposited its succession to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 5 September 1973. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐บ๐ธ United States Debate โ
American lawyers' bodies vote to decriminalise possession
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, meeting as a committee of the whole, voted 42 to 7 to amend the Uniform Controlled Substances Act to decriminalise private possession of marijuana for personal use and casual non-profit distribution. The same week the American Bar Association's House of Delegates resolved, by 122 votes to 70, that there should be no criminal laws punishing simple possession by users.
๐ International Culture & science โ Article
Anthropologists compare cannabis traditions at a Chicago conference
The Conference on Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Cannabis convened in Chicago during the Ninth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Vera Rubin reports that about sixty scientists attended, comparing ethnobotany, traditional practices, social settings, national commissions and legal questions. Papers were collected in Cannabis and Culture, published in 1975. The conference documents a comparative research programme, not a legal reform or a modern clinical consensus.
๐ช๐จ Ecuador International โ
Ecuador joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Ecuador ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 25 July 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ณ๐ต Nepal Ban โ Article
Nepal closes its legal cannabis shops
Under pressure from the United States and the United Nations, Nepal cancelled the licences of every cannabis shop, dealer and farmer, ending the legal trade that had made Kathmandu a stop on the hippie trail. Growing and using cannabis only became crimes with the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act of 1976.
4943โ6 points
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore Tightening โ
Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act takes effect
The Act replaced the 1951 Dangerous Drugs Ordinance and the 1969 Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act. It consolidated drug offences and gave CNB broad arrest, search and urine-testing powers, alongside compulsory treatment and heavier penalties.
110โ11 points
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom Easing โ Article
Britain's Misuse of Drugs Act takes effect
The Act sorted drugs into three classes and put cannabis in Class B. The maximum for possession was halved from ten years to five, the one recommendation of the Wootton Report that became law.
1113+2 points
๐ฎ๐น Italy Debate โ
Italy's Radicals hold a "Freedom and Drugs" congress in Rome
The Radical Party and Stampa Alternativa brought campaigners together in Rome on 23โ24 June to argue for changing Italy's drug laws. Giancarlo Arnao was among those taking part. Parrella sees the meeting as an early step in Italy's cannabis reform movement.
๐ฑ๐ฆ Laos International โ
Laos joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Laos acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 22 June 1973. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ณ๐ฎ Nicaragua International โ
Nicaragua joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Nicaragua ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 21 June 1973. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ต๐พ Paraguay International โ
Paraguay joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Paraguay ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 20 June 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฌ๐ฎ Gibraltar Other law โ
Gibraltar brings cannabis growing, possession and supply under a new drug law
Gibraltarโs new drug law took effect on 1 June 1973, providing separate offences for unauthorised possession, possession with intent to supply, production and cannabis cultivation. Its later amendments extended the supply wording to recipients abroad and introduced a quantity-based presumption of intent to supply. The Act remained the main drug statute until the Crimes Act replaced it in November 2012.
๐ง๐ท Brazil International โ
Brazil joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Brazil ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 16 May 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Texas Easing โ
Texas replaces the country's harshest marijuana law
The Texas legislature replaced what Bonnie and Whitebread call the most severe marijuana law in the country with a substantially more lenient one. A respectable segment of the legislature even favoured decriminalisation, which a special state senate committee had recommended.
๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia International โ
Saudi Arabia joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Saudi Arabia acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 21 April 1973. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ญ๐ณ Honduras International โ
Honduras joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Honduras acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 16 April 1973. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea Easing โ
Supreme Court confirms alternatives to mandatory imprisonment
Henderson v Blackwell held that the three-month minimum written into the 1970 possession law did not stop a district court from imposing a fine or conditional discharge in an appropriate marijuana case. The court remitted Henderson's sentence for rehearing.
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore International โ
Singapore joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Singapore acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 15 March 1973. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ง๐ญ Bahrain Tightening โ
Bahrain raises the maximum prison term for drug supply to ten years
Bahrainโs replacement drug decree raised the maximum prison sentence for supply from three years to ten, with a fine up to 10,000 dinars available instead or alongside imprisonment. Personal possession carried up to three years, a fine up to 3,000 dinars, or both, with hospital treatment available instead. The decree expressly listed cannabis and resin, replaced the 1959 ordinance and took effect on publication on 8 March 1973.
๐ฏ๐ด Jordan International โ
Jordan joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Jordan ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 28 February 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐จ๐ฎ Cรดte d'Ivoire International โ
Cรดte d'Ivoire joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Cรดte d'Ivoire ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 28 February 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg Ban โ
Luxembourg passes its drug law
The law on the sale of medicinal substances and the fight against drug addiction replaced the 1953 rules, under which holding cannabis without a licence was already an offence, and made using, holding and growing it crimes, with prison for personal use.
1811โ7 points
๐จ๐ท Costa Rica International โ
Costa Rica joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Costa Rica ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 14 February 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฐ๐ช Kenya International โ
Kenya joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Kenya acceded to the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 9 February 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ญ๐น Haiti International โ
Haiti joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Haiti ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 29 January 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฐ๐ท South Korea International โ
South Korea joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
South Korea ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 25 January 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ซ๐ฎ Finland International โ
Finland joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Finland ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 12 January 1973. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom Tightening โ
Cannabis medicines are withdrawn in the United Kingdom
Cannabis-based medicines were finally withdrawn in the United Kingdom after decades of declining medical use. Recreational prohibitions were already in place, and the entry records medical context without a separate score movement.
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands Culture & science โ Article
Artists save Ruigoord from demolition
Artists prevented the demolition of Ruigoord during Amsterdam's harbour expansion. The village became a continuing cultural enclave of studios and gatherings, later hosting cannabis competitions and exchanging visits with Christiania through the Free Cultural Spaces network. Its cultural autonomy did not create a separate cannabis jurisdiction.
๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho Tightening โ
Lesotho passes the Dangerous Medicines Act
The Act governed cannabis in Lesotho for thirty-five years, until the Drugs of Abuse Act replaced it in 2008.
๐ฌ๐ท Greece Enforcement โ
Greek police files record about three thousand hashish users
Psychiatrists from the University of Athens searched the files of the narcotics units of Athens, Piraeus and the Athens suburbs for 1958 to 1973. They found 3,696 drug users, of whom 3,128 were men using only hashish, 330 heroin users and 186 foreigners. They wrote that the laws had grown steadily harsher since 1932, but were not strictly enforced until the civil war ended in 1950. By the early 1970s they allowed one to ten years in prison, fines of up to 10 million drachmas, loss of a driving licence for life and a ban on foreign travel.
๐ฉ๐ช Germany Ban โ Article
East Germany passes a Narcotic Drugs Act
The East German Volkskammer passed a Narcotic Drugs Act that criminalised the production, trafficking and consumption of cannabis and other drugs. It replaced reliance on the 1929 opium law, which the Soviet occupation authority had reinstated in 1945. This regional event does not move the Germany-wide index series.
๐จ๐ด Colombia Culture & science โ Article
A field study finds marijuana farming in Colombia's Sierra Nevada
Partridge's fieldwork from 1972 in a municipality below the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta found highland peasants, many of them families who had fled la Violencia, growing cannabis as a cash crop. A pound brought 100 to 300 pesos, against 12.50 for a kilo of coffee. Wealthy buyers moved large quantities to the coastal cities, often for export to the United States. No local grower had yet been arrested; the police commissioner grew cannabis himself, but farmers knew that American pressure had led to arrests elsewhere.
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina Tightening โ
Argentina repeals the law that spared personal use
Law 20,509 repealed the 1968 code reform under which possession was a crime only when it exceeded personal use. The rules of 1926 returned, and the following year the first specific drug law, framed as a matter of national security, set one to six years for possession, personal use included.
๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan Tightening ?
Afghanistan renews cannabis prohibition under American pressure
King Zahir Shah renewed cannabis prohibition as American pressure for stronger drug control grew. The campaign followed rising drug-smuggler arrests and the expansion of hashish exports to Western buyers. Afghanistan's foreign minister had already said in 1971 that hashish cultivation was prohibited but difficult to control in remote areas.
71โ6 points
197228 entries3 score changes
๐ฆ๐บ Australia International โ
Australia joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Australia ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 22 November 1972. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท California Debate โ
California voters reject legalisation
The first ballot initiative to legalise cannabis in an American state lost by 66 per cent to 33. Later attempts failed in Oregon in 1986, Alaska in 2004, Nevada and Colorado in 2006 and California again in 2010, before Colorado and Washington passed theirs in 2012.
๐บ๐ธ United States International โ
United States joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
United States ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 1 November 1972. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg International โ
Luxembourg joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Luxembourg ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 27 October 1972. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ต๐ฆ Panama International โ
Panama joins the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention
Panama ratified the Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on 19 October 1972. The Protocol, adopted in Geneva on 25 March 1972 and in force from 8 August 1975, strengthened the international control board and, among other changes, lets parties provide treatment, education, after-care and rehabilitation for people who use drugs, as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to it.
๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic International โ
The Dominican Republic joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
The Dominican Republic acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 26 September 1972. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands Other law โ Article
Dutch court rejects a narrow reading of the hashish prohibition
Stephen Snelders describes a Hague court decision that hashish was prohibited under the Opium Act even when its origin in dried cannabis tops could not be proved. Three Rotterdam businessmen received sentences of eighteen months, eighteen months and nine months after a case involving a 110 kg seizure. This records a historical enforcement interpretation, not a new national ban.
๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali Other law โ
Mali sets a special court procedure for drug offences
Order No. 173 established a special procedure for criminal acts related to drugs and for robbery. Until then drugs in Mali fell under the French poisonous substances law of 1926, amended by decrees of 1948, 1949 and 1952, which regulated their trade, possession and use.
๐ฌ๐ท Greece International โ
Greece joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Greece acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 6 June 1972. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica Culture & science โ
Jamaica's newspaper publishes the national ganja study
The health minister, Kenneth McNeill, gave the final report of the Rubin and Comitas field study of chronic ganja smokers to the Daily Gleaner, which printed it in 50 daily instalments. The study found no significant relationship between ganja and crime. McNeill cited it in August when parliament abolished mandatory sentences, while saying ganja would stay on the list of dangerous drugs.
๐ต๐ญ Philippines Tightening โ Article
The Philippines pass the Dangerous Drugs Act
Republic Act 6425 created the Dangerous Drugs Board and a comprehensive offence system. Marijuana possession or use carried six months and one dayโsix years, giving it a lower range than other prohibited drugs, while cultivation carried 14 years and one day to life.
42โ2 points
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Michigan Easing โ
Michigan Supreme Court reverses John Sinclairโs conviction
In People v. Sinclair, the court reverses and sets aside the possession conviction and orders his discharge. The justices write separate opinions. This is distinct from his earlier release shortly after the December 1971 rally.
๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan Debate โ Article
The US embassy reports a press campaign for Afghan narcotics control
A confidential embassy telegram described circulating alarming foreign press reports to Afghan officials and editors to encourage narcotics enforcement. It documents the mission's persuasion campaign, including concern over hashish, rather than a new law or independent verification of the newspaper claims. The date is that of the embassy report.
๐ต๐พ Paraguay International โ
Paraguay joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Paraguay ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 3 February 1972. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ญ๐น Haiti International โ
Haiti ratifies the Single Convention
A decree ratified the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, eleven years after it was signed. The date is given in the preamble of Haiti's 2001 drug law.
๐บ๐ธ United States Debate โ Article
The Shafer Commission recommends decriminalisation
The national commission created by the Controlled Substances Act recommended removing criminal penalties for possessing and casually distributing small amounts.
๐บ๐ธ United States Culture & science โ
Students laugh at Reefer Madness, and the scare becomes a joke
Keith Stroup, the founder of the reform group NORML, found a worn print of Reefer Madness at the Library of Congress, learned that the film was in the public domain and bought a copy for 297 dollars. He showed it on college campuses after his lectures to raise money for reform. Students who were meant to be frightened laughed, the film became a midnight cult movie, and "reefer madness" became a name for exaggerated drug scares.
๐ International International โ
A protocol amends the Single Convention
The 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs moved the treaty slightly towards treatment and social reintegration and allowed alternatives to penal sanctions for trade and possession offences committed by drug users. The prohibitive character of the system and its focus on supply stayed as they were.
๐ธ๐ช Sweden Tightening โ
Sweden raises the maximum drug sentence to ten years
The Narcotic Drugs Penalty Code of 1968 had set a maximum of six years for sale. In 1969 penalties for the gravest offences rose and police drug units grew about fivefold; in 1972 the maximum became ten years. In 1981 the ceiling for ordinary offences went from two years to three and the minimum for serious ones from one year to two.
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands Debate โ Article
The Baan Commission proposes separating the drug markets
A government working group argued that drugs should be ranked by risk and that keeping cannabis users away from dealers of harder drugs mattered more than punishing them. Its report became the basis of the 1976 law.
๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica Easing โ Article
Jamaica drops mandatory prison for ganja
After three decades, an amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Law passed on 11 August 1972 removed the compulsory prison sentence and gave courts discretion: a first possession offence carried a fine of up to $1,000 or three years, or both. Four days later about 200 prisoners serving mandatory sentences, most of them for ganja, were pardoned and released.
211+9 points
๐ซ๐ฎ Finland Tightening โ Article
Finland makes personal use a crime
After a vote of 92 to 80 the year before, the new Narcotics Act made using drugs an offence in itself, which few countries had done.
1711โ6 points
๐จ๐ฆ Canada Debate โ
Canada's Le Dain Commission recommends ending the possession offence
After three years of hearings, the royal commission concluded that possession of cannabis should no longer be a crime. The government introduced a bill to ease penalties, but it died in Parliament and the law stayed as it was for another 46 years.
๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan Enforcement โ Article
Afghanistan begins arresting drug smugglers in earnest
Bradford describes the transfer of counternarcotics work to the interior ministry and new anti-smuggling units amid American pressure over the hashish trade. Reported smuggler arrests rose from 72 in 1971 to 221 in 1972 and 584 in 1973. A December 18 US memorandum records new prime minister Musa Shafiq's commitment to stronger action; the annual totals should not all be attributed to his late-year government or treated as cannabis-only convictions.
197121 entries2 score changes
๐ต๐น Portugal International โ
Portugal joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Portugal ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 30 December 1971. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฉ๐ช Germany Tightening โ Article
West Germany replaces the Opium Law with the Narcotics Law
Reacting to the drug wave of the late 1960s, the new law replaced the 1929 Opium Law and raised the maximum sentence from three years in prison to ten. Pharmacy sales of cannabis had already ended.
2415โ9 points
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Michigan Debate โ
Lennon and Ono headline the John Sinclair Freedom Rally
John Lennon and Yoko Ono join musicians, poets and political speakers at Ann Arborโs Crisler Arena to demand John Sinclairโs release and oppose cannabis prohibition. The concert brings public attention; it does not itself overturn a conviction.
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa International โ
South Africa joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
South Africa acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 16 November 1971. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore Tightening โ
Singapore establishes the Central Narcotics Bureau
The government created CNB as a dedicated agency and centralised drug enforcement in one department. It remains Singapore's primary drug-enforcement body.
๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji International โ
Fiji joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Fiji deposited its succession to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 1 November 1971. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ง๐ท Brazil Tightening โ
Brazil confirms that users are punished like traffickers
Law 5.726, passed under President Mรฉdici, reaffirmed the rule of the 1968 decree-law that a person holding a drug for their own use faced the same penalty as a dealer. The rule was reversed only in 1976, when the Lei dos Tรณxicos separated the two: three to fifteen years for trafficking, six months to two years of detention for users.
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands Debate โ
The Hulsman Commission proposes taking cannabis out of criminal law
A commission set up by the national federation of mental health organisations and chaired by the criminal law professor Louk Hulsman argued that forcing users of different drugs into one criminal subculture exposed cannabis users to harder drugs. It recommended removing use and small possession of cannabis from criminal law.
๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan Debate โ Article
Afghanistan promises drug-control cooperation while describing weak enforcement
Afghan foreign minister Musa Shafiq told US secretary of state William Rogers that hashish and opium cultivation were prohibited under Islamic law but that enforcement was difficult, especially in remote mountain areas. He blamed growing demand from foreign tourists and promised cooperation on drug control. The discussion came as Washington worried that successful action elsewhere could push drug production towards Afghanistan.
๐ต๐ท Puerto Rico Easing โ Article
Puerto Rico cuts personal-possession penalties and offers probation
People possessing drugs for their own use faced one to three years in prison under the original new law, replacing the five-to-twenty-year cannabis penalty. Eligible first offenders could receive probation without a finding of guilt and later have the case dismissed once in their lifetime. The possession rule took effect on 23 June 1971 and benefited people convicted afterwards even when charged under earlier legislation; most other provisions followed after 180 days.
๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark Other law โ
Denmark removes the mandatory review clauses from its drug laws
Law No. 296 repealed the clauses requiring proposals for review of the Euphoriant Substances Act and the 1969 Penal Code amendment in the 1970โ71 parliamentary session. The government's explanatory memorandum had argued against changing cannabis's legal status while supporting further research. The repeal removed review requirements rather than legalising cannabis or repealing the possession and supply offences. This entry uses the law's date; separate commencement was not established.
๐ International International โ
The UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances
The second drug treaty brought synthetic and isolated substances under international control. THC, identified only seven years earlier, was placed in the strictest schedule, separately from the plant itself.
๐ฉ๐ฏ Djibouti Other law โ Article
Djibouti publishes French drug penalties and treatment rules
The local official journal published French rules punishing illicit drug use with two months to one year, a fine alone, or both, and providing treatment routes away from prosecution. Ordinary trafficking carried two to ten years, while production, import and export carried ten to twenty. The law expressly applied its criminal rules to overseas territories, with local assemblies setting treatment arrangements in the French Territory of the Afars and Issas.
๐บ๐ธ United States Easing โ Article
Most American states cut their marijuana possession penalties
Twenty-one states had reduced penalties for possession by the start of 1970 and eleven more did so that year. In 1971 fifteen further states eased their laws and fourteen cut them again. By the end of 1971 only Texas, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island kept mandatory felony penalties for possession, though bills to reduce penalties failed in New York and California.
๐บ๐ธ United States Debate โ
Lester Grinspoon publishes Marihuana Reconsidered
Harvard University Press publishes psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon's review of cannabis and prohibition. Grinspoon later recalled beginning research in 1967 expecting to establish the drug's dangers, then changing his view after reviewing the literature. The book questioned whether criminal penalties were justified and helped inform reform campaigning; publication did not change the federal scheduling rules.
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa Tightening โ
South Africa imposes mandatory prison for dagga
The Abuse of Dependence-producing Substances Act set a minimum of two years in prison for a first possession offence and five for dealing. The government called it the toughest drug law in the Western world.
117โ4 points
๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia Tightening โ
South Africa's 1971 drug act covers South West Africa
The Abuse of Dependence-producing Substances Act applied in the territory South Africa then ruled. Namibia kept it as its drug law at independence in 1990.
๐ฎ๐ช Ireland Debate โ
An Irish working party advises against prison for small amounts
The Working Party on Drug Abuse, set up by the government in 1968, recommended reviewing the legal status of cannabis and not imprisoning people for possessing a small amount for their own use. The Misuse of Drugs Act of 1977 put cannabis in a category of its own, with fines for the first two offences.
๐ช๐ฌ Egypt Culture & science โ Article
Soueif publishes a behavioural study of Egyptian cannabis users in prison
M. I. Soueif's report in Bulletin on Narcotics compares 850 male cannabis users detained in 1967โ68 with 839 non-user prisoners. It documents water-pipe smoking, group consumption and attitudes under prohibition. Its findings describe a selected prison sample, not national prevalence or proof that cannabis caused differences between the groups. The publication did not change Egyptian law.
197025 entries5 score changes
๐บ๐ธ United States Easing โ Article
The United States passes the Controlled Substances Act
The Act replaced the tax law struck down the year before. It put marijuana in Schedule I, the category for drugs with no accepted medical use, where it largely remains. It also repealed the mandatory minimum sentences of the 1950s and made simple possession a misdemeanour.
711+4 points
๐ฉ๐ช Germany Debate โ Article
East Germany's party newspaper says hashers do not read Marx
Neues Deutschland published Gรผnter Bรถhme's article under the headline commonly translated as 'Hashers don't read Das Kapital', presenting Western drug culture as a distraction from socialist politics. Historian Ned Richardson-Little traces the phrase to the West German magazine konkret. The archive confirms the dated item; no new law resulted from it.
๐ธ๐น Sรฃo Tomรฉ and Prรญncipe Ban โ Article
Sรฃo Tomรฉ and Prรญncipe comes under Portugalโs wider drug ban
Portugal published an order extending its drug law to the overseas provinces, including Sรฃo Tomรฉ and Prรญncipe, with local publication directed to follow. Cannabis possession and cultivation for personal use, and supply without profit, carried up to two years in prison plus a fine; the ordinary trafficking range was two to eight years plus a fine. Authorised industrial, scientific and therapeutic activities were exempt, with overseas prescription rules adapted by the extension order.
1007โ93 points
๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique Tightening โ Article
Mozambique receives Portugal's prison terms for cannabis offences
Portugal extended its new drug law to Mozambique, exposing people who possessed or obtained cannabis for themselves, or supplied it without profit, to up to two years in prison plus a fine. Other unauthorised dealings, including cultivation and sales, carried two to eight years plus a fine; convicted foreigners faced expulsion after their sentence. The law followed earlier colonial cannabis bans and was explicitly repealed by Mozambique's 1997 drug law.
๐ฆ๐ด Angola Other law โ
Angola receives Portugal's prison terms for cannabis offences
Portugal extended its new drug law to Angola, with up to two years in prison plus a fine for personal possession or supply without profit, and two to eight years plus a fine for other unauthorised dealings. Convicted foreigners faced expulsion after their sentences, while authorised medical, scientific and industrial activities were exempt. Angola's 1999 drug law later explicitly repealed this colonial legislation.
๐ณ๏ธ Somaliland Other law โ
Somalia expressly lists cannabis and hashish in its northern drug controls
A health decree expressly listed cannabis, with hashish as a synonym, and Indian hemp in the Somali Republicโs narcotics schedule. The list supplied the controlled substances for the health-ministry licensing law, which covered the territory now administered as Somaliland. The decree was dated 26 September 1970 and appeared in the gazette the following month.
๐ธ๐ด Somalia Other law โ
Somalia expressly lists cannabis in its narcotic substances schedule
Health Secretary Decree 227, made under article 3 of Law 46, establishes the alphabetical list of controlled narcotic substances, salts and preparations. It expressly includes Cannabis with Hashish as a synonym, and Indian Hemp with Cannabis. The decree is dated 26 September and was published on 29 October 1970.
๐ป๐ณ Vietnam International โ
Vietnam joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Vietnam acceded to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 14 September 1970. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan Enforcement โ Article
Afghanistan arrests thirteen foreigners in a Kabul hotel drug raid
A raid on Kabul's Shak-Foladi Hotel led to the arrest of thirteen foreign nationals and the seizure of 200 grams of hashish and 100 grams of opium. Their involvement sharpened American concern that travellers were buying Afghan drugs for export. A US narcotics agent was stationed in Kabul later that year, as the hashish trade became more closely connected to Western markets.
๐จ๐ท Costa Rica International โ
Costa Rica joins the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Costa Rica ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 on 7 May 1970. The convention lists cannabis and cannabis resin among its controlled drugs and obliges its parties to limit their production, trade, possession and use to medical and scientific purposes.
๐ณ๏ธ Somaliland Other law โ Article
Somalia places northern drug possession and growing under health licences
The Somali Republicโs new narcotics law, covering the territory now administered as Somaliland, set two to seven years in prison plus a fine for unauthorised possession and supply, and six months to two years plus a fine for unauthorised cultivation. It put control under the health ministry, with prescription and record-keeping rules for pharmacies and medical institutions. A subsequent schedule expressly named cannabis, hashish and Indian hemp.
๐ธ๐ด Somalia Other law โ Article
Somalia places narcotics under a health-ministry licensing system
Somalia put narcotics possession and trade under health-ministry authorisation, with two to seven years in prison and a fine for unauthorised possession or supply. Growing controlled plants required a separate permit, with six months to two years and a fine for a breach. The law also regulated prescription dispensing and transfers without payment; a subsequent schedule expressly listed cannabis and hashish.
๐บ๐ธ United States Debate โ
Keith Stroup founds NORML
The lawyer Keith Stroup founded the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws, with 5,000 dollars in seed money from the Playboy Foundation, and soon changed "Repeal" to "Reform". It became the leading advocacy group for decriminalising marijuana in the United States.
๐บ๐ธ United States Debate โ
A US health official proposes Schedule I for marijuana as a stopgap
While the Controlled Substances Act was being drafted, Assistant Secretary of Health Roger Egeberg recommended placing marijuana in Schedule I temporarily, until the commission the Act created had reported. The commission recommended decriminalisation in 1972; the classification was not changed.
๐ธ๐ช Sweden Ban โ
Sweden bans growing hemp
Hemp cultivation was prohibited as the growing of a drug. The ban lasted until 2005, when industrial hemp with less than 0.2% THC was allowed again under European Union rules.
๐ต๐น Portugal Tightening โ
Portugal makes drug use a crime
Decree-Law 420/70 was the first Portuguese law to punish using drugs, with up to two years in prison. The approach lasted until the 2001 decriminalisation.
179โ8 points
๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea Ban ?
Papua New Guinea closes the locally grown marijuana loophole
A prosecution had exposed that people could possess or smoke locally grown marijuana despite the territory's drug controls. The House of Assembly adopted the Dangerous Drugs (Possession) Act, bringing possession, conveyance and cannabis plants within an offence carrying three months to two years in prison.
10011โ89 points
๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel Debate โ
The writer Yoram Kaniuk argues for legalising hashish
As hashish use spread among Israeli students and the middle class, the novelist Yoram Kaniuk put forward a case for legalisation, arguing that it had not been proven anywhere that hashish was truly dangerous and that, unlike alcohol, it did not provoke violence.
๐ฉ๐ช Germany Enforcement โ Article
East Germany finds itself a transit route for hashish
In 1968 a single person was caught bringing hashish into East Germany. In 1970 there were 328 seizures totalling 142 kg of drugs, 141 kg of it hashish, almost all bound for West Berlin. The traffic, and the opening of transit roads to West Berlin in 1971 and 1972, preceded the Narcotic Drugs Act of 1973. Cannabis remained exceptionally hard to obtain for East Germans themselves until the border opened in 1989.
๐ช๐จ Ecuador Other law โ
Ecuador's 1970 narcotics law treats users as patients
The Ley de Control y Fiscalizaciรณn del Trรกfico de Estupefacientes ordered that anyone found under the influence of illicit drugs be taken to a hospital and, if dependent, kept in medical care until rehabilitated. Its penalties centred on growing plants that yield controlled substances and on pharmacy controls.
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