Cannabis in Algeria is mostly illegal, although widely consumed. Under Law No. 04-18 13 Dhou El Kaada 1425 (25th December 2004),[1] and enforcement decree No. 07-228 15 Rajab 1428 (July 30th, 2007), cultivation, commerce, and possession are forbidden, except for medical purposes, subject to prior authorization by the Minister of Health.[2]
History
Cannabis is believed to have been introduced to Algeria by the Arab invasions of the 9th through 12th centuries.[3]
Cannabis use in Algeria also played a role in spreading the habit to France, following France's 1830 occupation of Algeria.[4] Dr. Jacques-Joseph Moreau observed the effects of cannabis in Algeria in the form of an edible called dawamesc, and it was this drug that he introduced to Paris' Club des Hashischins.[5]
In 1854, John Morell wrote of his travels in Algeria:
In Algeria they apply the names of kif, of hachich, and sometimes of tekrouri, to the extremity of the stem of the hemp, including the leaves, the flowers, and the seed, sometimes smoked by the natives in very diminutive pipes. These smokers are mostly inhabitants of the towns and villages, and are rarely met with among the Bedouins.[6]
Cannabis was first prohibited under French rule with the decrees of September 14th, 1916 and February 9th, 1917.[7]
References
- ↑ "Loi No. 04-18 du 13 Dhou El Kaada 1425, Correspondant au 25 Décembre 2004, Relative à la Prévention et à la Répression de l'Usage et du Trafic Illicites de Stupéfiants et de Substances Psychotropes" (PDF). UNODC. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
- ↑ "Amnésique, la presse algérienne s'attaque au Maroc au sujet du cannabis". Hespress Français (in French). 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
- ↑ Gabriel G. Nahas (31 December 1992). Cannabis Physiopathology Epidemiology Detection. CRC Press. pp. 208–. ISBN 978-0-8493-8310-6.
- ↑ John Rainford (14 May 2010). Consuming Pleasures: Australia and the International Drug Business. Fremantle Press. pp. 134–. ISBN 978-1-921696-73-2.
- ↑ Ciaran Regan (19 June 2012). Intoxicating Minds: How Drugs Work. Columbia University Press. pp. 134–. ISBN 978-0-231-53311-9.
- ↑ John Reynell Morell (1854). Algeria: The Topography and History, Political, Social, and Natural, of French Africa. N. Cooke. pp. 108–.
- ↑ Société des Nations, Commission consultative sur le traffic de l'Opium et autres Drogues Nuisibles (1934). "[Extrait] Note préliminaire sur les aspects principaux du problème du chanvre indien et sur la législation y relative en vigueur dans certains pays. (O.C.1542) du 23 Mai 1934". Club de Mediapart (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
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