Cannabis in Lithuania

The use of cannabis for medical purposes is criminalized in Lithuania.

In 2013 the Government of the Lithuania has decided to lift the ban on industrial hemp. Until 2013 Lithuania was the only country in the European Union which prohibited the cultivation of industrial hemp and until 2021 hemp products containing any amount of THC were considered illegal. Since November 2021 the production and sale of hemp products was allowed if the amount of THC in the products did not exceed 0.2 percent.{{cite web|author=BNS |url=https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1429345/more-hemp-produce-to-become-legal-in-lithuania|title=More hemp produce to become legal in Lithuania |publisher=lrt.lt |date=10 June 2021 |access-date=7 October 2021}} THC limit was increased to 0.3 percent in 2022.{{Cite web |last=Balčiūnaitė |first=Sniegė |date=22 December 2022 |title=Seimas leido auginti daugiau pluoštinių kanapių |url=https://www.15min.lt/verslas/naujiena/finansai/seimas-leido-auginti-daugiau-pluostiniu-kanapiu-662-1984512 |access-date=22 December 2022}}

A law allowing prescription drugs containing synthetic cannabinoids for medical use was approved by the Seimas on 11 October 2018, with an effective date of 1 May 2019.{{cite web |last=Andrius |first=Kulikauskas |date=11 January 2019 |title=Kas yra medicininės kanapės ir kodėl Lietuvoje jos nėra įteisintos |url=https://kanapiukultura.org/kas-yra-medicinines-kanapes-ir-kodel-lietuvoje-jos-nera-iteisintos/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103052755/https://kanapiukultura.org/kas-yra-medicinines-kanapes-ir-kodel-lietuvoje-jos-nera-iteisintos/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 3, 2023 |access-date=11 January 2019 |language=lt}} As of the effective date no such drugs were available in pharmacies, however.{{cite news |last1=Jackūnaitė |first1=Kristina |title=Vaistų iš kanapių kol kas nebus: ministerija kaltinama abejingumu |url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/1051215/vaistu-is-kanapiu-kol-kas-nebus-ministerija-kaltinama-abejingumu |access-date=18 May 2019 |work=lrt.lt |date=20 April 2019}}

In 2016 protestors planning an April 20th event at Parliament were targeted by the Prosecutor General's Office, which believed that permitting the event might "violate the public interest".{{cite web|url=http://www.baltictimes.com/cannabis_activists_to_gather_in_vilnius/ |title=Cannabis activists to gather in Vilnius |website=baltictimes.com |date=31 March 2016 |access-date=11 December 2016}}

Lithuania's Freedom Party supports "the reduction of penalties for the possession of marijuana for personal use, and [has] a commitment to remove restrictions in general."{{cite web |last1=Kluonis |first1=Mindaugas |title=Lithuania turns right: urban-rural cleavage, generational change, and left-wing perspectives |url=https://feps-europe.eu/lithuania-turns-right-urban-rural-cleavage-generational-change-and-left-wing-perspectives/ |website=Foundation for Progressive European Studies |language=lt |date=30 October 2020 |quote=Lithuania’s young people turned against the ruling party and voted massively for the surprise start-up of these elections, the libertarian Freedom Party (LP), which has openly declared its support for same-sex unions, the reduction of penalties for the possession of marijuana for personal use, and a commitment to remove restrictions in general.}}

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Lithuania

Category:Society of Lithuania

Category:Politics of Lithuania

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