Croatia presents its plan to legalize cannabis

Mirela Holy, a member of parliament from the Croatian Sustainable Development Party, unveiled her Lex Cannabis on Croatian radio. She also announced that the bill would be presented for parliamentary debate within a week to 10 days, and that it does indeed provide for legalize cannabis.

«We invite all interested parties to participate in the public debate, read the bill, and provide feedback. It provides for the legalization and deregulation of hemp and aims to fully harness hemp’s potential for economic, recreational, and medical purposes,» said declared Holy.

«No one has ever died from a cannabis overdose.»

As for the black market’s hold on the cannabis trade—even in states or countries where it is legal—Mirela Holy has a solution. She believes that government regulation is necessary and will minimize the black market. According to her, estimates show that in Canada and the United States, annual revenues are approximately $43.7 billion, even though cannabis’s full potential has not yet been realized. She states that it can be used to manufacture aerospace composites, automobiles, and in the construction industry. Since Croatian society tends to be rather closed-minded on certain issues, the question is whether the country is ready for the full legalization of cannabis. To this, Mirela Holy responds:

«When I first started talking about this a few years ago, the reactions were terrible, but things have changed. People need to be educated and then change their attitudes. The addictive potential of the cannabis »is lower than the addictive potential of nicotine or alcohol, and no one has ever died from an overdose of natural cannabis. But there are significant prejudices driven by the interests of certain groups and industries."

Legal hemp and cannabis

Mirela Holy pointed out that current models for regulating recreational cannabis are either still under state control, as in Uruguay, or entrusted to the private sector, as is the case in the United States. For Croatia, Mirela Holy proposes a hybrid model in the form of a state agency that would grant licenses to the private sector to maintain a high level of quality in the market.

«With regard to the recreational use of cannabis, each adult will be allowed to have up to nine flowering female plants with a high content of THC for their needs. Hemp has great economic potential, and since it is highly effective at cleaning up soil—with up to four times the CO2 absorption capacity [of trees]—it also has a role to play in the fight against climate change. »The economic benefits are enormous, as are the opportunities for scientific advancement, use in cosmetics, and paper production...,” noted Mirela Holy.

Croatia decriminalized cannabis in 2013 and legalized its medical use in 2015.