Student presentation exploring Europe’s cannabis reform efforts

Because there are so many domestic issues to cover in my seminar, I find that I never have time to talk about all the notable international developments in the marijuana reform space.  Consequently, I am very excited that some of these wroldly topics are to be expored in  the third presentation scheduled for this week in my Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform seminar.  Specifically, a student will be presenting on European cannabis reform and regulation, and here is how he has described his topic along with background readings:

On the international level, cannabis legalization is surprisingly sparse with less than 5% of countries having full legalization regimes.  The lack of legalization in some regions garners no shock, however, Western Europe appears as an outlier. The traditional ideological front of Western Europe is one of progressive and left-leaning nature, however, cannabis legalization efforts are at least half a decade behind the United States.  Common factors contributing to cannabis movements including use, interest, values, and access all of which appear to align with a pro-cannabis legalization in Europe.  However, as of 2023 only one country has a semi-legalized regime, Malta.  Are their explanations for the lag in cannabis legalization in Europe or is it a legislative anomaly?

Links of Particular Interest:

1. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, “European Drug Report 2020: Trends and Developments” (2020) 

2. Hanway Associates, “Recreational Europe” (2022) 

3. Leafwell, “A Guide to Medical Marijuana Legalization Around the World” (2023)

4. United Nations, “Commentary on the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988” (June 1988)

5. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, “European Drug Report 2022: Trends and Developments” (2022)