Cannabis in American Samoa

Cannabis in American Samoa is completely illegal, and the American Samoan government advises that there is a mandatory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment and/or $5000 fine for possession of any amount of illegal drugs, including marijuana, even if prescribed legally in another jurisdiction.[1] Legislation mandating the minimums passed in the Territory in 1999, with one man receiving a 5-year sentence without probation or parole for one count marijuana possession that October.[2]

The 2001 American Samoa Drug Threat Assessment produced by the National Drug Intelligence Center notes that marijuana is the most widely abused illegal drug on the island, though at 25% for youth lifetime use, its prevalence is just over half that of mainland America's 47%.[2]

Marijuana grows wild on the island,[3] and is produced locally for local consumption, as well as smuggled in by ship from the nation of Western Samoa,[2] though otherwise there is little evidence of cross-national trafficking of marijuana in Oceania as most regional countries are self-sufficient in its supply.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Drug Possession Law: Warning to All Travelers to American Samoa". Americansamoa.gov. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  2. 1 2 3 National Drug Intelligence Center, US Department of Justice (June 2001). "American Samoa Drug Threat Assessment" (PDF). Product No. 2001-S0388AS-001. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 Sandeep Chawla, Thibault Le Pichon, Research and Analysis Section, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (1 January 2006). 2006 World Drug Report: Analysis. United Nations Publications. pp. 2093–. ISBN 978-92-1-148214-0.
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