Legality of cannabis in different countries

2009.04.08

As we all know, cannabis is mostly illegal all over the world. However, the stage of its legality is really variable in different countries. This article's purpose is to find the countries where possession and consumption are either legal or decriminalized, so that our readers could make targets for their future trips.

In Argentina possession and use for personal needs in small amounts in private places is not a crime. And the police do not care to much about youngsters smoking marijuana in big groups in parks either. But the amounts shouldn't be to huge. In some Australian states you can possess up to 50 gram of cannabis if none can prove your intention to sell it. In Belgium you may have either up to 3 gram or one female plant (and get your harvests!) without punishment. In Chile you cannot grow cannabis without official permission, but you can use it alone at home in small amounts. However, if you wish to share joy with your girlfriend, you are breaking the law. In Colombia you may own up to 20 grams of weed, but who actually cares about cannabis in there?

The Netherlands are considered to be the country of marijuana even though their cannabis legislation is pretty severe. But you don't have to save or cultivate cannabis in this country – you can go to an official licensed place and have some spice-cakes or smoke a bong. Coffe shops are actually bars. The funny thing is that you cannot smoke tobacco in there or somehow mix it with marijuana. That will result in a huge fine for smoking in public places. Recent trends show that Dutch government wishes to get rid of coffee shops – more and more of them are closed, their actions are stayed by many kinds of licenses and taxes. We seem to be losing one of the greatest cannabis culture phenomenon.

The countries like Pakistan or Afghanistan are the birthplace of cannabis plant. It grows there widely, there is a special culture of its consumption in there. Neither the government, nor American army forces in Afghanistan do too much to stop hash and marijuana smoking. Nice place to go... If you don't care about the terrorists.

In Spain you cannot sell cannabis, but you can freely grow and use it privately. In India cannabis traffic is regulated by the government and it's not that easy for a foreigner to buy it. In Iran using cannabis for purposes other that psychoactive drug is legal, however a common habit of smoking various herbs make it merely impossible to tell what exactly a person is smoking.

I hope this short overview was of a help for you. I wish the legislation in other countries would change in the way it should, but unfortunately only more and more restrictions appear. Perhaps, some countries will soon disappear from the list because their government do not care about need, habits and traditions of thousands of people. Let's hope for the best.