International Law And Cannabis

See also volume II, Regulation of Cannabis Cultivation and Trade for Recreational Use: Positive Human Rights Obligations versus UN Narcotic Drugs Conventions, here. Both volumes can also be purchased as a set here. What legal avenues do states have to regulate cannabis cultivations and trade for recreational use? This question has generated heated discussions in various societies, in political and academic discourses. Several states are considering adjusting or have adjusted their legal and policy approaches towards a more lenient regulation of cannabis cultivation and trade for the recreational user market. This book addresses the legal question to what extent domestic initiatives involving the regulation of cannabis cultivation for recreational use are compatible with the relevant UN narcotic drugs conventions and European Union law. To this end, the book provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), as amended by the Protocol in 1972, and the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs (1988). The relevant European law is also considered, particularly the so-called Schengen acquis (1985 Agreement and 1990 Implementation Agreement), the Joint Action on illegal drug trafficking (1996) and the Framework Decision on Illegal Drug Trafficking (2004). This analysis forms the basis for an evaluative framework for various initiatives that have advanced the regulation of cannabis cultivation for reactional use in several states, such as the 'coffeeshop system' in the Netherlands, the steps towards legalization of cannabis in several states in the Americas and Canada and the phenomenon of Cannabis Social Clubs. Piet Hein van Kempen, LLM, PhD, and Masha Fedorova, LLM, PhD, are Full Professors of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law at the Faculty of Law of Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

What legal avenues do states have to regulate cannabis cultivations and trade for recreational use? This question has generated heated discussions in various societies, in political and academic discourses. Several states are considering adjusting or have adjusted their legal and policy approaches towards a more lenient regulation of cannabis cultivation and trade for the recreational user market.Volume I addresses the legal question of to which extent domestic initiatives involving the regulation of cannabis cultivation for recreational use are compatible with the relevant UN narcotic drugs conventions and European Union law. To this end, the book provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), as amended by the Protocol in 1972, and the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs (1988). The relevant European law is also considered, particularly the so-called Schengen acquis (1985 Agreement and 1990 Implementation Agreement), the Joint Action on illegal drug trafficking (1996) and the Framework Decision on Illegal Drug Trafficking (2004). This analysis forms the basis for an evaluative framework for various initiatives that have advanced the regulation of cannabis cultivation for reactional use in several states, such as the coffeeshop system in the Netherlands, the steps towards legalisation of cannabis in several states in the Americas and Canada and the phenomenon of Cannabis Social Clubs.Volume II takes an innovative approach to this issue and approaches the possibility for regulation of cannabis for recreational use from the perspective of positive human rights obligations. To what extend can regulation of cannabis for recreational use, for the sake of health, safety and crime control, be considered a positive human rights obligation resulting from the right to health, the right to life, the right to physical and psychological integrity and the right to privacy? From the subsequent conclusions, a second pertinent question arises: what hierarchical relationship, if any, exists between these positive human rights obligations and the obligations arising from the UN drugs conventions? Through an in-depth and systematic analysis of relevant international human rights law and public international law, this book presents the steps, assumptions and conditions that are relevant if a state were to decide, on the basis of the incumbent positive human rights obligations, to permit cannabis cultivation and trade for the recreational user market under regulation.

This study takes an innovative approach to this issue and approaches the possibility for regulation of cannabis for recreational use from the perspective of positive human rights obligations.

What is sensible when it comes to developing and implementing a policy with regard to products which in the case of regular use are harmful, but which at the same time exert a strong attraction, even so strong that people (may) become dependent on or addicted to them? This question relates to many illicit drugs, but these days it is, both nationally and internationally, mainly related to the policy regarding the production, distribution and consumption of cannabis. Generally speaking, the legalization of cannabis in Uruguay and in some states of the United States of America, in particular Colorado and Washington State, has given a powerful impetus to the discussion about the cannabis policy. In the Netherlands, that discussion has become increasingly relevant over the past years because of the struggle of coffeeshop owners and political parties. This volume offers the first English-language analysis of the situation in the Netherlands in order to make a contribution to the international debate on this heated topic. Since the 1960s, the Dutch cannabis policy has been an important point of reference in the international discussion about the policy that should be pursued regarding the use of cannabis. However, in international and foreign literature about cannabis policy the developments in the Netherlands are often depicted in an incomplete or one-sided manner, which has a negative impact on the quality of the international debate about what has happened and what should happen now. This volume seeks to redress that imbalance.

See also volume I, Regulation of Cannabis Cultivation for Recreational Use under the UN Narcotic Drugs Conventions and the EU Legal Instruments in Anti-Drugs Policy, here. Both volumes can also be purchased as a set here. What legal avenues do states have to regulate cannabis cultivations and trade for recreational use? This question has generated heated discussions in various societies, in political and academic discourses. Several states are considering adjusting or have adjusted their legal and policy approaches towards a more lenient regulation of cannabis cultivation and trade for the recreational user market. Seen from the perspective of relevant United Nations narcotic drugs conventions, the legal avenues for regulation are virtually non-existent. This book takes an innovative approach to this issue and approaches the possibility for regulation of cannabis for recreational use from the perspective of positive human rights obligations. To what extend can regulation of cannabis for recreational use, for the sake of health, safety and crime control, be considered a positive human rights obligation resulting from the right to health, the right to life, the right to physical and psychological integrity and the right to privacy? From the subsequent conclusions, a second pertinent question arises: what hierarchical relationship, if any, exists between these positive human rights obligations and the obligations arising from the UN drugs conventions? Through an in-depth and systematic analysis of relevant international human rights law and public international law, this book presents the steps, assumptions and conditions that are relevant if a state were to decide, on the basis of the incumbent positive human rights obligations, to permit cannabis cultivation and trade for the recreational user market under regulation. PIET HEIN VAN KEMPEN, LLM, PhD, and MASHA FEDOROVA, LLM, PhD, are Full Professors of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law at the Faculty of Law of Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.--

It took Canada fifty years to reform its marijuana laws. Did it get them right?

This book explores one of the most pressing public policy questions for the 2020s: how should we regulate cannabis? The global cannabis prohibition regime is fragmenting as more countries experiment with decriminalization and legalization, and this book aims to make sense of this rapidly changing world. The ‘cannabis challenge’ is complex. How do we balance creating a potentially lucrative legal cannabis industry with protecting public health? How do we hardwire social and racial justice into our reform initiatives? How do we build a cannabis trade that is environmentally sustainable? The book seeks to make sense of our present through a state-of-the-art global review of cannabis law reform initiatives – mapping what has been done, where, and with what impacts. It attempts to generate new ideas for the future of cannabis regulation by viewing it through the lens of business regulation and learning lessons from how other consumer products are regulated.