Random Situations When You Get Caught With Pot In Foreign Countries (15 items)

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  (#1) Georgia

  • Tbilisi

  On July 30, 2018, the country of Georgia reviewed its constitution and ruled that "consumption of marijuana is an action protected by the right to free personality" and citizens cannot be given citations for possessing the drug. 

  Citizens are still unable to cultivate or sell the product, but simply possessing cannabis is completely legal. This makes Georgia one of the countries with the most liberal cannabis policies on Earth – only Canada and Uruguay are more lax with the substance.
• 

  (#2) Canada

  • Ottawa

  On June 19, 2018, Canada's Senate passed their federal government's legal cannabis bill. The law lets adults purchase and use cannabis, although edibles are still off limits; they are scheduled to be legalized in 2019.

  There are different laws for each of the 13 provinces. For example, in Newfoundland and Labrador, adults 19 and older are allowed to buy cannabis from private retailers. You can smoke it in private, but it is still illegal to smoke or consume in public. In these provinces, residents are also allowed to grow up to four personal plants. 

  In Quebec, on the other hand, you only need to be 18 to purchase cannabis, but growing personal plants is illegal. If you are traveling in Canada, be sure to check in with whatever province you are staying in's local laws regarding cannabis before toking up. 
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  (#3) Uruguay

  • Montevideo

  In 2017, Uruguay became the first country in the world to fully legalize pot. The consumption, sale, and cultivation of marijuana is permitted at both the local and federal levels. But when you purchase weed in Uruguay, you actually buy it right from the government; in other words, cannabis is not a flourishing free enterprise. At least not yet. It is highly regulated, and the government keeps close tabs on every facet of marijuana consumption, from the genetics and initial cultivation of pot plants to where it can be smoked and who can smoke it (sorry, foreign visitors). As the Washington Post says, Uruguay's "apparent goal is to make marijuana use as boring as possible."
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  (#4) Netherlands

  • Amsterdam

  The popular image of the Netherlands (specifically, Amsterdam) as the freewheeling drug capital of the world is something of a myth. Drugs, including weed, are not at all legal anywhere in the Netherlands. In the case of marijuana, it is simply tolerated by the law and law enforcement. Since 1976, the Dutch have been allowed to smoke weed in "coffee shops," and you can possess up to five grams without being arrested, but this is not the same as full legalization. It's more accurate to describe it as the government simply turning a blind eye. You can legally buy sex, though!
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  (#5) Jamaica

  • Kingston

  In both Jamaica and Iran, you can grow pot legally. You just can't smoke it or sell it. Wait… huh? The seeming contradiction of being able to manufacture weed but not enjoy it or profit from it is indicative of the world's confusing and off-kilter attitude toward the substance. Fortunately, there is one Jamaican demographic who can legally consume weed. Because pot is so closely linked to Rastafarian culture and spirituality, the country permits Rastafarians to use it for sacramental purposes.
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  (#6) Nepal

  • Kathmandu

  Pot is illegal everywhere in Nepal. Except during the annual festival of Maha Shivaratri, in which Hindus pay tribute to the god Shiva. Given the close relationship between weed and the spiritual traditions of the country, the Nepalese tend to take a laxer view of pot in general. In Kathmandu, it's reported that "It's illegal, but they are not too bothered about [pot] use, just smuggling, which is serious." As in Myanmar, those unfortunate enough to be arrested for a minor weed-related infraction in Nepal can typically buy their freedom with a minimal bribe.
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  (#7) North Korea

  • Pyongyang

  It's hardly surprising that a country as isolated, insular, and highly secretive as North Korea has kept mum about their feelings surrounding weed. Rumors abound that the country is something of a "weed smoker's paradise," with pot widely available at public markets and smoked openly pretty much wherever and whenever a smoker decides to light up. But a lax attitude toward weed consumption doesn't mean it's legal. "There should be no doubt that drugs, including marijuana, are illegal here," a Swedish diplomat living in North Korea told Business Insider. "One can't buy it legally and it would be a criminal offense to smoke it." The consequences of such an offense, however, are unknown.
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  (#8) Malaysia

  • Kuala Lumpur

  Malaysia has zero tolerance for any drug, and they have extremely harsh punishments for those caught with them. Depending on the type of substance and the amount one has in their possession, Malaysian authorities can institute anything from fines and imprisonment to a caning and even the death penalty. 200 grams or more of cannabis is grounds for a death sentence in Malaysia. There has been a tentative discussion among some of the country's doctors about the merits of Mary Jane for medicinal use. But in a nation with such uncompromising drug laws, don't hold your breath that Kuala Lumpur will become the next Amsterdam anytime soon.
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  (#9) Japan

  • Tokyo

  If you think Malaysia's pot laws are tough, just wait till you hear about Japan. Japan frowns mightily on drugs of any kind, and weed is no exception. If you're nabbed with even a small amount of cannabis (less than a gram), you can be sentenced to five years of hard physical labor. The nation's drug laws are largely an influence of the American occupation of the 1940s and 1950s. Cannabis itself, specifically hemp, actually have a long history in Japan, but puritanical, World War II-era American attitudes about the substance have mostly buried its historical significance.
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  (#10) China

  • Beijing

  China has long been a country invested in image. And the image of a drug user, even if that drug is weed, is almost universally unwelcome in China, and the country's cannabis laws reflect that. If you're caught with pot, you stand the chance of being sent to a government-run rehab facility. But these are not cushy, Betty Ford-style digs. According to the New York Times, "the minimum stay is two years, and life is an unremitting gauntlet of physical abuse and forced labor without any drug treatment."
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  (#11) Malta

  • Valletta

  As of 2018, marijuana is still technically illegal in Malta. The Mediterranean island nation has decriminalized small amounts of weed, however, and you can possess up to 3.5 grams without fear of arrest. But more liberal pot laws may be in store. In November of 2017, the Maltese government took their first steps toward legalizing medical marijuana. The law proposes that any medical doctor would have the capability to prescribe weed to patients who need it.
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  (#12) India

  • New Delhi

  In some ways, India is like the US when it comes to laws and attitudes toward weed. Though it remains illegal at the federal levels of Indian government, several states have legalized — or at least tolerate — marijuana usage. And there's been a push for full, federal legalization of cannabis. Even Maneka Gandhi, India's women and child development minister, has voiced support for legalizing marijuana. "[In] some of the developed countries like the US, marijuana has been legalized, which ultimately results in less drug abuse," Gandhi said. "The possibility of the same may be explored in India."
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  (#13) Myanmar

  • Naypyidaw

  The Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar legally prohibits the manufacture, sale, or consumption of marijuana. Chances are, however, that you won't go to jail for it; you probably wouldn't even be cited if you were caught with weed on you. In either of these situations, paying officials a small bribe is often enough to get you off. The anti-pot laws on the books in Myanmar are mostly regarded as a throwback to the era when the country was under British rule. But make no mistake: Myanmar's relative leniency surrounding pot is an anomaly in Asia; most countries take a much firmer approach to regulation and punishment.
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  (#14) Spain

  • Madrid

  It's highly unusual that a country as steeped in Catholicism as Spain would do something as progressive as legalize weed. But that's exactly what they've done, at least to a small extent. You can legally smoke weed on private property, but that's about it. The sale of weed is prohibited by law, and you cannot buy, possess, or ingest cannabis in any public space whatsoever. With that said, private cannabis clubs (the Spanish equivalent of Dutch "coffee shops") are popular. These spots operate in a sort of legal gray area since they are technically private spaces. When the law has decided to crack down on various clubs, there has been no universal punishment; one club owner may get off a scot-free while another may go to jail. So, if you're a toker in Spain, smoke your stash at home.
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  (#15) United Arab Emirates

  • Abu Dhabi

  The United Arab Emirates has no time for drugs. In fact, if you are even suspected of possessing weed, you are treated as guilty until proven otherwise. Simple possession of cannabis comes with a mandatory four-year stretch in prison, and growing or selling it will get you a life sentence; growing or selling, depending on the circumstances, can also be punishable by death. UAE is abundant with cops, which is natural in a police state, but many work undercover to nab drug users. Also, it's fairly common for everyday citizens to narc on those they suspect of being under the influence. In short, don't take any chances in UAE.

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