Difference between revisions of "Cannabis in American Samoa"

Latest revision as of 06:09, 19 March 2015

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. 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.

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%.

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