by Xiong YueWojciech Szabaciuk
Mises.org
Nowadays, cannabis has been legalized nationwide for recreational use in only one country: Uruguay. Decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana has occurred in various jurisdictions of Europe and several states in the US. Four US states have legalized possession and sale for recreational use.
In Poland, production, sale, or possession of marijuana remains illegal. Of course, this does not mean that cannabis does not exist in Poland at all. Marijuana is produced and sold in large amounts on the black market, often to students.
In the sphere of public policy, former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is now President of the European Council, confessed in 2008 that in his student days, he was a smoker of marijuana. But, during his tenure in Poland he was a fierce opponent of decriminalization of cannabis.
Meanwhile, the ruling Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc) party in Poland is a conservative party that claims to value personal freedoms. However, the party has also long stymied efforts to broaden legalization of cannabis.