Pompo

Cannabis legalisation: Will Poland be next?
8/23/08|Canna Zine| Press Release



According to Polish Radio, a campaign to loosen the marijuana laws is underway in Poland.

A petition to the Ministry of Justice requesting the legalization of marijuana for personal use has already been signed by hundreds of people, including drug rehab specialists and members of Monar, a nonprofit group that works with addicts, the HIV/AIDS positive, and the homeless.
Now, would-be legalizers are trying a new tack: direct contact with members of parliament (MPs). "Cannabis canvassers" recruited via the Internet have been paying visits to politicians in an effort to win them
over, and it seems to be working. The canvassers have already collected the signatures of five MPs, including former health minister Marek Balicki.

Legalization of personal possession (or decriminalization) would be a step forward for Poland. Under current law, possession of even small amounts of marijuana is a serious criminal offense.

Poland became a member of the European Union on 1st May 2004 and has a population of around 38 million people.

Should the quest for decriminalisation be successful, Poland joins the Czech Republic, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, European states which have decriminalised cannabis in varying degree's over the last few years with the only noteable exception being Holland, which decriminalised the personal possession and use of cannabis over 30 years ago and as a result, now has one of the lowest drug user counts not only in Europe, but in the entire world.

GREENFOODGAMES

Wish we were as smart as Europe, although I dont think hundreds of signatures will be enough for a country of 38 million people to make a WOW factor, and I wish the fact that Holland has one of the lowest drug user counts on the whole planet and attributes it to marijuana decriminalization (at least to an extent) would be supportive real life evidance for over here. I wish Polland the best of luck in their efforts and maybe if the rest of the world does something about it maybe we can raise some attention over here.