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Interior ministry dismisses calls to legalize cannabis in Latvia

Xinhua, March 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Latvian Interior Ministry on Wednesday dismissed calls to legalize cannabis in Latvia as meaningless.

The ministry pointed out that the plant is on the list of internationally controlled drugs, drawn up in line with the UN's anti-drug conventions, which Latvia has ratified without reservations.

Representatives of the Interior Ministry made these comments after an online petition calling for the legalization of cannabis in Latvia collected more than 10,000 signatures this week, which is enough for its submission to parliament as a collective application warranting a review by lawmakers.

The petition to Latvia's legislators called for persons older than 18 years to grow, possess and smoke small amounts of cannabis.

Authors of the initiative called for legislative amendments that would abolish penalties for growing and possession cannabis for personal needs, but envisaged administrative sanctions for smoking the drug in public places. Enditem