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Uzone.id – In recent years, cannabis regulation has shifted globally. Marijuana is becoming increasingly popular for legalization, either by decriminalization or legalization.
Those who propagated the existing prohibition of medical marijuana today were influenced by the US drug policy of yesterday. In 1910, the US passed the Pure Food and Drug Act which marked the first attempt at federal control of marijuana.
In America today, the Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) addresses laws that legalize the cultivation, sale, or use of recreational (non-medical) marijuana, along with laws that impose various prohibitions and restrictions on the practice.
In this context, “legalized” means that no civil or criminal penalties are imposed for the recreational use of marijuana by adult residents.
“Legalized” should not be confused with “decriminalized,” meaning no criminal penalties are imposed for certain activities, although some activities may result in civil penalties.
Some States have decriminalized recreational use of marijuana but have not fully legalized such use.
One of the states that legalized marijuana is California, namely with the passing of California’s Control, Regulate, and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA 2016) on November 8, 2016.
AUMA was approved by 57.13% of the vote and finally legalized non-medical recreational marijuana. AUMA came into effect on November 9, 2016.
11 This rule allows people over 21 to possess limited amounts of marijuana for personal use and to grow marijuana in their private yards.
Support for the passing of this law generally conveys the narrative of marijuana legalization as something that touches on issues of justice, both from a social and legal perspective, especially criminal law.
Since January 1, 2018, licensed businesses have been allowed to grow, distribute, and sell non-medical recreational marijuana.
Like many other countries, the Netherlands also has policies that govern the use of cannabis particularly for medical purposes. Since the year 2001-01, the Netherlands has created the OMC or the Office for Medicinal Cannabis/Medical Marijuana Department which is under the Department of Health, Welfare, and Sports of Netherlands and the main function of this office is to supply marijuana for medical uses and research..
Decriminalization and regulation of the distribution of marijuana have also been implemented in Uruguay; This also makes Uruguay the first country in the world to regulate marijuana in the market, from seeds to marijuana trade.
The state takes control over the import, export, cultivation, production, and distribution of cannabis through the Institute for Regulation and Control of Cannabis (Institute de Regulacion y Control de Cannabis, IRCCA).
IRCCA is tasked with controlling the quality of marijuana before it is marketed to reduce the consequences of marijuana counterfeiting by traders or illegal pharmacies who want to make more profits.
This control is also carried out to open access to the distribution of marijuana to make tracing easier while ensuring that the marijuana being sold complies with applicable regulations. Therefore, setting standards for cannabis criteria is very important for IRCCA before this product reaches consumers.
In the end, the decriminalization of marijuana will play a significant role in the criminalization process, especially in reducing the backlog of cases.
Decriminalizing marijuana will also encourage a more effective sentencing process by targeting more serious narcotics crimes so that in the end it can minimize the occurrence of overcrowding in prisons and detention centers.
At the moment, there are at least 20 countries that already regulate the use of medical marijuana. Meanwhile, several other countries are also researching to determine the benefits of marijuana for public health.
On the other hand, it also needs to be emphasized that regulations regarding the distribution and distribution of medical marijuana need to be carried out very carefully. Relative to some of the nations in legalizing marijuana, Thailand does not make the best example.
The laws surrounding marijuana in Thailand are not very sound to this date, thus making it legal to engage in the use, sale, and production of cannabis products.
Thus, the possession, distribution, and cultivation of what is referred to as legal marijuana for use medical and recreational differs from one country to the next, and (in the medical realm) how cannabis can be ingested and for what illnesses it can be utilized.
These policies in most countries are regulated by three United Nations treaties: The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances in 1971, and the Convention against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances in 1988.
Marijuana was reclassified in 2020 to become Schedule I drugs only under the Single Convention agreement (from previously being Schedule I and IV drugs), with the schedule from most stringent to lightest being IV, I, II, and III.
As a Schedule I drug under the treaty, states can allow medical use of marijuana but it is considered an addictive drug with a serious risk of abuse.
