The Portuguese Parliament will meet to debate two draft-laws aimed at legalizing cannabis for non-medical personal use.
Both draft-laws share the intention that the consumption, cultivation, acquisition or possession of cannabis plants, substances or preparations for personal use should no longer constitute a misdemeanor nor criminal offence, and that the reference to cannabis and its derivatives should be removed from the tables annexed to the legal framework applicable to the trafficking and consumption of narcotics and psychotropic substances.
Simultaneously, the aim is to regulate the circuit of cultivation, production and distribution of cannabis and derivatives, establishing the limits and requirements applicable to:
- Authorizations to cultivate, manufacture, trade (wholesale and retail), import and export the plant, substance, preparations and cannabis products;
- Reporting duties to the Directorate General of Health on the ingredients that make up the products and the THC concentration in each of them;
- Information duties applicable to the labeling and packaging of products;
- Advertising and sponsorship; and
- Pricing and taxation.
If approved, the draft-laws will require regulation by the Government, particularly in what concerns the authorizations to carry out the activities provided for therein, and are proposed to come into force with the publication of the State Budget that will follow its approval.
