Like in most countries, cannabis spread to Poland naturally, several thousand years ago. It has been cultivated for most of the last millennium.[1] Similarly, until the early 20th century it was a legal substance, used in medicine and recreation.[2]
Partial decriminalization
Since 2011 prosecutors can elect to drop the charges if the amount of drugs seized is of a limited quantity (although no set limit is explicitly stated) and the drugs seized are believed to be for personal consumption only.[7]
On 26 May 2011, Poland introduced legislation that would give prosecutors the option to not prosecute for possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use, if it is a first offence, or if the person is drug dependent.[8] The legislation raised the maximum possible penalty for dealing a large quantity of drugs from 10 to 12 years in prison, and the penalty for possession of large quantities of drugs would result in up to 10 years in prison (previously up to 8 years).[9]
In the 2010s following a growing movement in support of legalizing cannabis for medical use, Poland has moved towards decriminalizing cannabis, with governments discussing several legislation variants, including one proposed by the Kukiz'15 party, and other forms of support from parties such as Twój Ruch.[10][11][12][13][14] Legalization of cannabis has been publicly supported by Polish politicians such as Janusz Palikot, Ryszard Kalisz and Janusz Korwin Mikke, and public figures (journalists, artists, scientists) such as Piotr Bikont, Andrzej Chyra, Magdalena Cielecka, Agnieszka Holland, Zbigniew Hołdys, Krzysztof Krauze, Mikołaj Lizut, Robert Makłowicz, Tomasz Sikora, Jerzy Pilch and Stanisław Soyka and Jerzy Vetulani.[15][16]