Politics
Slovenia Voters To Weigh In On Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measures This Weekend
Voters in the country of Slovenia are set to weigh in on medical and adult-use cannabis laws when they go to the polls this weekend. The two questions they will see on their ballots center on whether medical marijuana patients should be able to cultivate the plant for personal use and whether adults more broadly should be able to legally grow and possess marijuana.
The sale and use of medical cannabis is already legal in Slovenia, but cultivation remains prohibited.
The two marijuana questions are to appear alongside other referendum questions on medically assisted dying and a proposed change to the country’s general elections process.
“Should the Republic of Slovenia allow the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes on its territory?” asks the first question.
“Should the Republic of Slovenia allow the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use on its territory?” asks the other.
The outcome of the referenda are not binding on lawmakers but are merely consultative in nature. Nevertheless, they could influence future legislation and contribute to the growing push for reform in the country.
The questions were approved in April by the country’s National Assembly, and the vote will be held on Sunday, June 9.
The National Institute of Public Health of Slovenia, meanwhile, has come out against the cannabis proposals.
This is one of the latest examples of the push for marijuana reform expanding to Europe. And the referenda vote will be taking place about two months after another country in the region, Germany, began implementing a cannabis legalization law.
Neighboring Slovenia, meanwhile, is Italy, where voters were deprived of the opportunity to decide on marijuana and psychedelics policy reform in 2022 following a ruling from the country’s top court. However, support has been building for a narrower, cannabis-only measure that would allow the home cultivation of four plants, the eventual creation of social clubs and the elimination of penalties for consumers.
Malta became the first European country to enact marijuana legalization, with the president signing a reform bill in 2021.
A novel international survey that was released in 2022Â found majority support for legalization in several key European countries. Slovenia was not included in that poll, however.
Meanwhile, the United Nations’s (UN) drug control body recently reiterated that it considers legalizing marijuana for non-medical or scientific purposes a violation of international treaties, though it also said it appreciates that Germany’s government scaled back its cannabis plan ahead of the recent vote.
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.
