Timeline of global law changes of cannabis use, sale, or production
The list includes and details significant events that occurred in the global history of national-level implementations of, or changes made to, laws surrounding the use, sale, or production of the psychoactive drugcannabis.
1300s
1378: Soudoun Sheikouni, the Emir of the Joneima in Arabia, outlawed the use of cannabis across his jurisdiction. Sheikouni's prohibition is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, attested cannabis ban in the world.[1]
1830: The Municipal Council of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, prohibited bringing cannabis into the city, and punished its use by any slave.[4]
1840: The British colony of Mauritius banned cannabis.[5]
1861: British Guiana passed a law entitled An Ordinance to Regulate the Sale of Opium and Bhang.[6]
1867: The British colonial government of Sri Lanka introduced the Opium and Bhang Ordinance, restricting the sale of cannabis to licensed dealers only.[7][8]
1870: The British Natal Colony (now in South Africa) passed the Coolie Law Consolidation prohibiting: "the smoking, use, or possession by and the sale, barter, or gift to, any Coolies [Indian indentured workers] whatsoever, of any portion of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa)..."[9]
1877: The Ottoman government in Constantinople mandated that all hashish in Egypt be destroyed, and in 1879 importation of cannabis was banned by the Khedivate of Egypt.[11][12]
1890: Morocco's Sultan Hassan I instituted strict regulations on cultivation and trade, but also conferred clear cannabis production privileges on several Rif tribes.[13]
1890: Greece banned the cultivation, importation, and use of cannabis.[14]
1894: In British India the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission released its findings, concluding that "The moderate use practically produces no ill effects. In all but the most exceptional cases, the injury from habitual moderate use is not appreciable."[15]
1900s
1913: Jamaica banned cannabis with the Ganja Law, supported by the white ruling class and the Council of Evangelical Churches in Jamaica.[16]
1937: The United States passed the Marijuana Tax Act, effectively prohibiting most use of cannabis on a federal level due to the heavy burdens of the tax.
1939: Burma legalized and licensed the production and sale of cannabis.[38]
1948: Japan adopted the Cannabis Control Law, establishing a licensing system for dealers, and punishments for unlicensed use or sale.[39]
1951: Poland classified cannabis as a narcotic.[40]
1956: Morocco becomes independent, and banned cannabis by royal decree.[44]
1961: The United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs decreed: "The use of cannabis for other than medical and scientific purposes must be discontinued as soon as possible but in any case within twenty-five years..."
1965: New Zealand banned cannabis under the Narcotics Act.[45]
1968: The government of the Republic of Vietnam "publicly condemned" the use or trafficking of cannabis, and instructed local chiefs to prevent its cultivation.[47]
1970: The United States passed the Controlled Substances Act, prohibiting cannabis federally along with several other drugs and replacing the 1937 act.
1972: The Netherlands divided drugs into more- and less-dangerous categories, with cannabis being in the lesser category. Accordingly, possession of 30 grams or less was made a misdemeanor.[49]
1973: Nepal canceled the licenses of all cannabis shops, dealers, and farmers, under pressure from the United States and the international community.[50]
1973: Afghanistan's King Zahir Shah outlawed cannabis production, followed by genuine commitment to eradication, backed by $47 million in funding from the United States government.[50]