Croatia: MP proposes legalizing cannabis for recreational purposes

Representative Mirela Holy, from the Sustainable Development Party (SDP) has presented a draft law that provides for the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes in Croatia, the website recently announced. Total Croatia News. The bill, which provides for the self-cultivation of up to nine plants per person, is now under public debate, before going to parliamentary debate. 

The project includes “the full legalization of cannabis, which means that the full potential of the plant is expected to be used for economic, recreational and medicinal purposes.”, explained Mirela Holy, President of the SDP's Green Development Council, to the RTL Direct, last February.

In recent years, the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) has eased its stance on cannabis, but more and more people believe that decriminalization is not enough. One of them is Mirela Holy, one of the most prominent public figures supporting the “Lex Cannabis”, an international online library of cannabis law.

According to Mirela Holy, the proposal of a hybrid model of governmental or private activity could maintain the high quality of the product in the market. “When it comes to using cannabis for recreational purposes, the project will allow each adult to grow a limit of nine plants with a high THC content for their personal needs,” said the Croatian MP. “Cannabis farming has great economic potential. Due to its high quality in terms of soil cleaning and the absorption of four times more CO₂, cannabis cultivation can also be an important tool in the fight against climate change. The economic benefits are enormous, for the development of science, the use of cosmetics and the production of paper”, added Holy.

The deputy mentioned that current models of recreational regulation are under the control of the government, as in Uruguay, or through the private sector, as in Canada and the United States of America.

Experience in other countries shows that there is still a black market, and according to Holy, with government regulation the role of the black market can be minimized. The deputy explained that estimates regarding the sale of cannabis-related products in Canada and the US reach 43,7 billion dollars a year (about 40 billion euros). “In addition, the potential of cannabis has not yet been fully exploited, and the plant could be used to manufacture cars and materials in the construction industry,” continued Mirela.

In Canada, Uruguay, Georgia and South Africa, cannabis is legal not only for medicinal purposes but also for recreational purposes, in addition to eleven US states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

Recreational cannabis use is decriminalized but illegal in the following European Union countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, the Netherlands, Italy, Moldova, Portugal and the Czech Republic.

Croatia could be the first country in Europe to fully legalize cannabis 

Croatia legalized medical cannabis in 2015 and could be the first EU country to legalize recreational cannabis. Under current Croatian law, the cultivation or sale of cannabis is considered a crime punishable by a mandatory prison sentence (minimum three years). Possession of a small amount of cannabis and other soft drugs is considered an offense and can lead to a fine of 5.000 to 20.000 HRK (671 to 2.682 EUR), depending on the case.

However, many question whether Croatia is still too conservative as a society to fully legalize cannabis. Mirela Holy has her vision: “When I started talking about it a few years ago, the reactions were very negative, but things have changed. People need to be educated first to change their attitude. The addictive potential (of cannabis) is much less than the addictive potential of alcohol or nicotine. And, as far as I know, no one has ever died from an overdose of natural cannabis. Still, there are major biases that are fueled by the interests of certain groups and industries,” she concluded.

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Featured Image: Mirela Holy | RTL Direct