Cannabis in Sweden

Cannabis in Sweden is illegal for all purposes. It is illegal for any kind of recreational purpose, and for most medical purposes, and possession of even small amounts of it is a criminal offence. Consequently, only very limited medical usage of cannabis-based drugs is allowed for specific conditions.

Advertisement for cannabis from the 1800s

Attitudes

Swedish singer Ängie has spoken about the attitudes towards cannabis in Sweden. In an interview in September 2016 she said, "In Sweden, it’s not ok to smoke weed [cannabis]. They’re like, ‘it’s a dangerous drug and you’re going to die.' It’s so weird. If I tell a regular boy or girl that I use it, they think I’m a real hard drug user because they don’t know the facts behind it. It’s just sad… I hate the law book here."[1]

Medical cannabis

In Sweden, cannabis has no officially recognized medical usage and medical use is not seen as an extenuating circumstance. Rather the opposite, in a case that drew some attention in the national press involving a multiple sclerosis patient, the disease, and the fact that she stated that cannabis helped her, were seen as an aggravated circumstance by the court. The court argued in the verdict that she lacked the motivation to stop using the drug and therefore gave her an unconditioned jail sentence, although she was a first-time offender, she would have otherwise regularly been given a suspended sentence or a fine.[2][3]

The Medical Products Agency reported in 2008 that no drugs containing cannabinoids are available, although they can have beneficial effects on symptoms like neuralgia.[4] Cannabinoid mouth spray Sativex that is derived from cannabis plants was approved in Sweden for the treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis on 22 December 2011.[5]

Reform

In 2013, Centre Party Youth (CUF) announced their advocacy for the legalization of cannabis. Among their justifications are the idea that the ban leads to greater harm than the drug itself, that prohibition favors organized crime, and possession and controlled sale of alcohol is already legal.[6]

Cannabis culture

Regional slang names for cannabis
See also: List of slang names for cannabis § Sweden

Flower/fruit

Hash

References
  1. Fletcher, Harry (30 September 2016). "Meet controversial Swedish starlet Ängie: "It's good to be a hard motherf***er"". Loaded. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  2. Hadley-Kamptz, Isobel (23 January 2008). "080123: Ett övergrepp". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-04-05. I domen nämns Susannes MS som en försvårande omständighet. Eftersom hon betraktar marijuana som effektiv medicin mot sin sjukdom anses hon inte vara motiverad till en drogfri tillvaro." / "In the verdict Susanne's MS is seen as an aggravating circumstance. Since she regards marijuana as an effective drug against her disease, she is not considered to be motivated to live a drug-free life.
  3. O'Mahony, Paul (25 January 2008). "MS patient jailed for cannabis use". The Local. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  4. "Läkemedelsbehandling av nervsmärta" (in Swedish). Medical Products Agency. 2008-01-17. Archived from the original on 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  5. "Sativex® approved in Sweden for the treatment of spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis (MS)". GW Pharmaceuticals. 22 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  6. Av: Tomas Medin WestmanFölj skribent (2013-05-10). "CUF vill legalisera cannabis - Sydsvenskan". Sydsvenskan.se. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  7. "Slangopedia: Slangordbok, slanglexikon, slangord, sköna ord, ordbok, uttryck och talesätt". www.slangopedia.se.
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