Legalising Marijuana in Poland. Therapy available?

That whole post doesn't actually make any sense whatsoever or add to the discussion about whether or not marijuana should be legalised in a country where more dangerous intoxicants are widespread.

Of course you can prefer the status quo, but in those countries with a more liberal and better thought out and debated policy there are sound reasons for removing the prohibition.

But hey, you can always support an existing system where an 18 year old can legally buy and consume 90% Spirytus but an adult can't legally smoke a joint.


Please please never try to become a lawyer. By the way, I also know where to buy an antique candelabra but am not in any way knowledgeable about the tat market.

Jon, Polish law is Polish law the sooner you accept it the better, Poland does not need your left-wing socialist ideas the country is doing very well and the speed of change has been fast enough.

Obviously, you're entitled to your opinion, however illogical it may be, however the fact remains that improving the old laws on marijuana to bring them in line with reality is an issue which keeps cropping up.

You even started a thread on here about it yourself, though clearly you have one quite extreme point of view, at one point even equating smoking a joint somewhere to getting in a car and driving on a public road while drunk!,

Interesting that you, a foreigner, seem clear on what ''Poland does not need'' and are expressing that strongly while suggesting in the same post that another foreigner should not similarly express their point of view.....

Both are illegal by Polish law.


I am a good house guest I abide by house rules, why would I insult my host by telling them they need to change the furniture or update the exterior of the house, to make it look more modern and fashionable like houses in the Netherlands or Switzerland.

Stop being a no it all Jon, enjoy Poland for what it is, stop trying to change it for what you think the country should be.

Fortunately only one of them, the topic of this thread, has a campaign to relax the legal restrictions on it.

Interesting you see yourself as a guest somewhere. A rather long stay given the length of time you've been hanging around in PLand unless you're sponging off the state for some reason, you're presumably a Paying Guest, whose opinion is no more or less valid as anyone else. Not really a case for "put up or shut up" if it's where you live permanently, pay taxes and vote in some or all elections. Engaging in current affairs in the place you live legally and officially is generally considered commendable, rather than as you amusingly call it "an insult".

Though personally I don't have time to get involved in campaigns in PL. I do however reserve the right to express my opinion, just as you are doing rather stridently on this issue. It seems you think your own personal opinion as expressed in this thread is acceptable but others should remain silent if they don't share it.

The wider debate, much broader than just our small region of Europe, continues and so far most changes in the law relating to marijuana have been exactly as or close to the title of this thread. Well worth looking at the circumstances under which some countries (including I think PL) originally criminalised this benign herb.

^^^^

Well said Jon, thoughtful post.

Both are illegal Jon.

Currently cannabis is illegal in Poland and anyone caught in possession of it could be subject to 3 months detention in prison and/or a fine. If marijuana is smoked in the presence of another person or in public, the penalty could be up to a year of imprisonment and/or a fine. Heavier penalties are imposed to those who are caught for cultivation, importation and exportation of cannabis. If one is in possession of large quantities of the drug, they could receive a prison sentence of up to 12 years.

Source to be provided if required.

Did anyone suggest otherwise. To repeat, one of the two things you mention has a campaign to reform the current legal status. The other does not. What part of that don't you understand?

A small number of Polish politicians are coming round to the idea of either scrapping or relaxing Poland's cannabis laws. The two main Political groups remain inherently opposed to the idea, and it seems the possibility of marijuana being legalised is a long way off. So please don't put the bubbly on ice for the time being.

Great that you've finally grasped what the thread's about, however things can and do change much faster than people sometimes expect, c.f. equal marriage in the UK, so you may well some day be surprised.

Personally I favour a Europe-wide policy since most borders are now open and more or less free of any sort of customs checks for private travellers.

Poland has borders with one country where marijuana is legal and another where it's already decriminalised and soon to be legally on sale) rendering (as mentioned earlier) the current laws to be so hard to enforce as to be laughable. There are even some divided towns (Cieszyn, Gubin/Frankfurt) where you can smoke in one part of town and not the other.

Change hasn't happened in Poland yet, though shops are still selling hard liquor to 18 year old kids.

Europe-wide policy would be even more troublesome than the shared currency. I don't want Poland being [further] pressured socially & culturally by the money of Liberal Western Europe. We would see an extreme rise in Fascism to counter it

At the moment the movement for marijuana law reform is supported by people who can hardly be described as "the money". Liberal Poland would certainly want to base any reform on common sense and rather than be "pressured" by Western Europe or anywhere else, has an equal voice (and a favourably large voting bloc) in what goes on. Worth mentioning though that among that voting bloc (and Polish society in general) there is a great deal of diversity of opinion. Poland's centuries-old liberal tradition has traditionally cherished freedom which is a positive thing.

There is enough research on the use of Cannabis/Marijuana and the effects on mental health.

Previous research has shown that cannabis users have a higher risk of mental illnesses that involve repeated episodes of psychosis, such as schizophrenia. "It has been assumed that cannabis increases the risk of schizophrenia by inducing the same effects on the dopamine system that we see in schizophrenia, but this hasn't been studied in active cannabis users until now," said Dr Michael Bloomfield, from the Institute of Clinical Sciences at Imperial, who led the study.

imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_1-7-2013-11-49-21

No, that research has been shown to be incorrect.

What the proper more recent research showed was......if a person is susceptible to schizophrenia (i.e. there is a history of it in the family) then regular use of cannabis will bring it on faster.

If schizophrenia is in your genes it will probably effect you at some stage of your life, using cannabis will bring it on faster. The same was found with dementia.

So, unlike what you are saying, cannabis does not cause schizophrenia, if it's already dormant in your body then you shouldn't be taking drugs anyway.

Re: mental issues, there has been some great research lately showing that treating people with post-traumatic stress with MDMA and LSD has been incredibly helpful.

well then...

vox.com/2014/7/14/5889293/war-on-drugs-case-against-decriminalization-cocaine-heroin

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With respect Smurf please take a look at the bio of DR Michael A P Bloomfield MA BM BCH a expert on the effects of marijuana on mental health.

To my right I have a accredited professional in the good Doctor and on my left I have an Irish immigrant in Poland with no medical training in the field of the effects of marijuana on mental health , forgive me for taking the easy choice. :-)

Bogdan Chazan is also an accredited doctor, it doesn't mean anything.

Flagless' article is very good, a balanced view, maybe you should have a read of that and not always side with what those in authority want you to think....ha, what am I saying, when have you ever done that.

You do realise smoking the green stuff makes you paranoid...

It is a proven fact that alcohol changes brain chemistry and leads to mental health problems. So let's ban it. Or do you yourself rather like alcohol and so oppose any banning of it?

I would not oppose banning alcohol or tobacco products, I can live my life without a beer or glass of wine and I am a non smoker.

Obviously you've some experience of this?


Aye, you're a saint.

Fine. Let's not forget that Caffeine is both addictive and harmful for mental health, so that's tea, coffee and chocolate all banned too. And sugar also has harmful effects on mental health (there is a strong link between high sugar consumption and the risk of both depression and schizophrenia), so say goodbye to all sweets and any foods and drinks which are high in sugar. What a lovely world we're now living in.

Many of the products you mention are legally purchased otc in Poland daily, marijuana is illegal in Poland.


Maybe not to the same level as you, yes I have visited Amsterdam in the past.


If respecting the laws of the country I now call home qualifies me for the beatification process?

Yes, the point is that your argument is that marijuana should be illegal because it is harmful for mental health, which means that by the same logic alcohol, coffee, tea, chocolate, sweets, ice cream and all foods high in sugar should also be illegal. Interestingly nicotine actually has a number of benefits in terms of mental health (some doctors think that smoking rates in people with certain mental health problems being triple the average rate can be explained by those people self-medicating with cigarettes because they have found that the nicotine helps their minds function better) and so should not be banned. Personally I only like smoking (tobacco, I have no interest in smoking grass) when I'm drinking and so wouldn't be smoking in your brave new world where everything harmful is banned.

As I understand refined sugar is classified as a poison because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals, there are healthy sweetners which could be used by the food and drinks industry which are Molasses,Cane sugar,Xylitol and Stevia.The food and drinks industry will only adopt a healthier policy if the law changes or consumers boycott their products in favor of healthier alternatives. What is the alternative for the Marijuana sector a strain with low THC ?

You do realise that the thread's about legalisation? Perhaps not.


All sugars are a killer, as is red meat.

Whether you like it or not, the laws banning marijuana in so many countries (introduced in the 1920s under puritanical US pressure) are being relaxed. Not least because, as established earlier in this thread, the current prohibition is not only ineffective but also dangerous. It isn't a coincidence that those jurisdictions that have already relaxed their policies tend to be the more enlightened and stable ones.


There are hundreds of strains, many/most of them easily available within driving distance of Poland however unless it's legal and quality controlled, how would anyone truly know what they're getting? That's the danger in artificially restricting the market.

North Korea, Cambodia, Jamaica and Ecuador.

Interesting law in Portugal they have decriminalized marijuana although if you are caught by the Police using, then automatically you are treated as being sick and must seek treatment at a center for addicts.

As for the Czech republic Prague is the new Amsterdam.

Total cop-out. I say legalise it (rather than decriminalise it) and then tax the fcuk out of it.

It would be impossible to ban Marijuana outright on the Iberian Peninsula because of the close proximity to Morocco. As for taxing marijuana this seems to be the policy of the state of California who need to raise revenues to stave off banruptcy

I doubt there's much on sale in North Korea - perhaps you know more about the market there since you seem to like very conservative societies and as far as I know it's always been legal in Cambodia but is falling in popularity as alcohol becomes less socially unacceptable.

None of those are relevant to Poland's situation; at best, Warszawski, a meretricious example and a sure sign that as usual your argument is less effective than the one you're disagreeing with.

Holland and Berlin however are very similar.


Spot on. After all we've semi-legalised alcohol, a far more dangerous substance, and tax it for as much as society can get.