Adult-Use Legalization Proposed in Croatia

Mirela Holy, a Croatian politician and former leader of the center-left Croatian Sustainable Development party, has proposed adult-use cannabis legalization in the face of rapid global reforms and shifting public opinion, Total Croatia News reports.

The bill was first released last week and will be debated in the public sphere before an official parliamentary debate.

”We propose a state agency hybrid (state/private) model to maintain the high quality [of the product] in the market. When it comes to the use of cannabis for recreational purposes, the bill would allow every adult to grow as many as nine female plants with high THC content for their personal needs.” — Mirela Holy, via RTL Direkt

The bill would also establish hemp industry opportunities in the country.

Minor cannabis possession is already decriminalized in Croatia. Growing and/or selling the plant, however, remain felonies punishable by a 3-year minimum mandatory prison sentence.

“When I started talking about this a few years ago, reactions were very negative, but things have changed,” Holy said. “People need to be educated first and then they will change their attitudes. The addictive potential [of cannabis] is much less than the addictive potential of nicotine or alcohol. And, to my knowledge, nobody has ever died from an overdose of natural cannabis.”

Croatia passed national medical cannabis reforms in 2015, legalizing the plant as a treatment option for severe illnesses including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and AIDS. If the latest reforms succeed, Croatia would become the first member nation of the European Union to fully legalize cannabis.