>Donald wrote:
>
>>I'm doubtful that it is illegal throughout the
>>Empire - there are too many cultures which
>>would regard it as acceptable or tolerable.
>
>It could still be illegal, but enforcement of that particular law lax,
>unless someone gave the law an excuse to drag that one out and punish
>trafficking or use. As long as the hazia vendor is a local, and
>discrete, it's ignored, but if an out-of-towner were to arrive with a
>wagon load, they'd be arrested. Likewise, as long as you smoke at
>home, and are a "quiet drunk", nobody cares.
I'm building on Mark Galeotti's PDF Crime & Punishment in the Empire which explains the legal structure as having separate systems for most of the various cultures. And an overarching Imperial legal system which allows Lunar Citizens to escape penalties from infringing local laws. I don't think the Imperial law is bothered about hazia.
So the Lunar Citizen gets arrested in Pavis for possession of Hazia and insists on trial by a Lunar Court. The Judex says it's not illegal and dismisses the case. His Pavic companion doesn't have that option and gets convicted by the Pavic court.
Another complication is Lunar military law which will apply to many Lunars in Pavis. I can see hazia being banned under that with charges being dealt with by court martial. This of course becomes a problem with units recruited in areas where hazia is legal.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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