Stone me!

A Nicosia lawyer is suing the Cyprus government over her “constitutional right” to grow and smoke cannabis, according to the Cyprus Daily (print edition, p. 21).

The 35-year-old claims she suffers from work-related stress [it’s tough being a lawyer in this country ... so much work] that can only be relieved by smoking weed.

She also argues that cannabis is a sacred plant in “many” religions and that she needs to smoke it in order to achieve “spiritual fulfillment”. 

Maybe she's a Rastafarian Cypriot.  

The lawyer took up her case after her home was raided in 2012 by drug squad officers, who found half a gram of cannabis in her possession. (That’s just about enough for one joint.)  

She may have been stoned when filing her lawsuit.  Or possibly work is a bit slow for her at the moment. 

Under Cyprus law cannabis is classed as an illegal Class B narcotic.  The penalty for cannabis use in Cyprus may be life imprisonment, while possession (without use) can fetch up to 8 years’ imprisonment, or up to 2 years for a first offence of an under 25-year-old, although in practice, first offenders receive only a caution.  Possession of 3 plants or more or 30 grams or more is deemed as intention to supply. 

This year, Uruguay became the first country in the world to fully legalise the sale, production and distribution of marijuana as of April 2014.  In Iran, its cultivation is legal if planted for food purposes – the Iranian people eat the seeds.  Despite this, cannabis cultivation and use in Iran remain low.

Across the EU, marijuana is illegal, although laws regarding personal use vary.  In the Netherlands, it is effectively decriminalised and sold openly in “coffee” shops. 

If the Nicosia woman wins her case, my uncle’s an aunt. 

I didn’t inhale.

- Bill Clinton