LENIENCY REGARDING CANNABIS CAUSING CONFLICT

The fact that cannabis offences are treated with more lenience than
those related to other narcotic drugs is leading to the publics
confusion with regards to this drug.

According to the 2006 World Drug Report of the United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime inconsistent messages about the abuse of cannabis
is leading to confusion within the global community.

On the one hand cannabis is controlled with the same degree of
severity as heroin and cocaine under the Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs, 1961. Virtually every country in the world is a party
to that Convention. On the other hand, however, cannabis offences are
treated far more leniently that those related to other narcotic drugs
in many countries. A conflicting message is thus sent to the
population and it is no wonder that public opinion becomes confused,
the report said.

It outlined that cannabis had been allowed to fall into a grey
area, stating that while it was technically illegal but widely
de-prioritised, it has grown in popularity outpacing others while at
the same time enriching those persons willing to break the law.

A global blind-spot has developed around cannabis, it stressed,
adding that the plant had been transformed to something more potent
than it had been in the past. According to the report, the world had
to come to terms with cannabis, the worlds most popular illicit drug
with an estimated four per cent of the global adult population using
it every year; more than all other illegal drugs combined.

It further said that with regards to the mechanics of the market,
this drug was the least understood as in contrast to drug crops like
coca and opium poppy very little was known about the extent of
cannabis cultivation around the world.

It noted that only a few governments could give a confident estimate
of the scale of cultivation in their own countries pointing to the
difficulties in ascertaining the information, including the fact that
the drug can grow almost anywhere, both outdoors and indoors.

Political attitudes reflect popular perceptions that cannabis was
different from other controlled substances, the report continued
while outlining that cannabis production was on the rise.