Cannabis in Denmark

Cannabis in Denmark is illegal for recreational use, but certain cannabis derivatives are allowed for medical use by prescription.

Penalties

The punishment for small amounts (up to 9.9 g or 0.35 oz) for personal use is typically a fine.[1] In certain cases such as socially vulnerable people, a warning can be given instead of a fine.[1] Larger quantities (more than 100 grams or 3.5 ounces) generally results in a prison sentence.[1] Driving under the influence of cannabis is illegal and all but the smallest amounts of THC in a blood sample results in a fine and loss of the driver's license (conditional or unconditional).[2]

Usage

Despite its illegal status, a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2015) shows that slightly more than  1⁄3 of adult Danes have tried cannabis at some point in their life, which is above the European average where only France is positioned higher.[3] Based on the same study, less than 7% have used cannabis in the last year, which also is above European average, but almost the same as Finland and the United Kingdom, and below the Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.[3]

Politics

Danish political parties are split on the legality of cannabis for recreational use: Red-Green Alliance, Socialist People's Party, Liberal Alliance and The Alternative support a legalization, while the Social Democrats, Danish People's Party, Conservatives and Venstre are opposed.[4][5][6] The Danish Social Liberal Party has traditionally been opposed, but in 2016 the party leader announced that they supported a legalization on a trial basis.[7] The goal of the Cannabis Party is a legalization, but the party is marginal without representation in the Danish Parliament, regional councils and municipial councils.[8] In contrast to the opposition by the parent parties, both the Social Democrats of Copenhagen (Denmark's capital and a major stronghold of the party) and the youth wing of Venstres support a legalization.[9][10]

A poll from 2016 showed that the Danes are divided exactly on the middle, with 43% supporting legalization and 43% against (11% "neither"; 3% "don't know").[11]

Medical cannabis

Three types of cannabis derivatives for medical use (Sativex, Marinol and Nabilone) were approved by the Danish Medicines Agency in 2011, but require prescription.[12][13] These are primarily prescriped as a relief of pain and nausea in cancer patients, or to alleviate muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis patients.[14] Cannabis in other forms such as hashish and the raw plant are illegal,[12] but from 2018 this and other variants will be prescribed on a trial basis to some patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, spinal injury and chronic pain.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dinforsvarer: Besiddelse af narkotika og hash. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Engmann, T.S. (30 June 2016). Mildere straf for hashkørsel på vej. DR Nyheder. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 Ingeman, N. (8 August 2016). Hver tredje dansker har røget hash. bias-nu. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Kristeligt Dagblad (3 June 2015). Det mener partierne om legalisering af hash. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  5. ↑ TV2 News (17 April 2016). Nu vil SF også gøre hash lovligt. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Berlingske (23 March 2016). Alternativet vil lade staten sælge hash. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  7. ↑ Newsbreak (3 September 2016). Det Radikale Venstres formand, Morten Østergaard, vil i første omgang have et landsdækkende forsøg med statskontrolleret hashsalg. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Berlingske (22 October 2009). 16 listige lister. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Berlingske (7 April 2013). Socialdemokrater: Fri hash vil gøre København mere sikker. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  10. ↑ Venstre Ungdom (24 October 2009). VU støtter fri hash. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Brandsen, M. (20 June 2016). Danskerne delt: Fire ud af ti vil gøre hash lovligt – og fire ud af ti vil ikke. TV2 News. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  12. 1 2 Danish Medicines Agency (30 September 2016): Cannabis for medicinal use – questions and answers.
  13. ↑ DR Nyheder (10 October 2016). BAGGRUND Derfor er cannabis-medicin faktisk lovligt. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Sygeforsikring Danmark (November 2014): Cannabis som medicin (Cannabis as medicine).
  15. ↑ DR Nyheder (8 November 2016). Medicinsk cannabis på vej til kræft- og sclerosepatienter. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.