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CANNABIS SITUATION AROUND THE WORLD

In France it is called Chanvre; in Spain Canamo in Russia Konoplya;

in China Tal Ma; in Hungary Kender.

It has many other names.

Cannabis is illegal almost everywhere. In many countries there is what appears to be decriminalisation for personal possession of small amounts, but this is largely due to the ineffectiveness of the law and the inability of the police to cope. Nevertheless you can be arrested for small amounts, even on suspicion, and will be fined or imprisoned for selling, almost everywhere.   Some countries even KILL people for it.

(SCROLL DOWN OR CLICK HERE   for more details on each country.)

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THERE IS THE RISK OF DEATH FOR SMUGGLING OR POSSESSING MORE THAN SPECIFIED AMOUNTS IN THESE COUNTRIES

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MORE DETAILS COUNTRY BY COUNTRY WITH LINKS

England

African and Asian Countries

Afghanistan

Algeria

Brazil

Bulgaria

Cambodia

Cameroon

Finland

France

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Greenland

Gyana

Holland

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Kenya

Lebanon

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Malaysia

Malta

Mexico

Morocco

Nepal

New Zealand

Norway

North Korea

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Scotland

Singapore

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Thailand

United Kingdom

Ukraine

Uruguay

USA

Vietnam

Zambia

  

EUROPE

 

 

AFGHANISTAN

 

ALGERIA

 

ARGENTINA

 

AUSTRALIA

 

AUSTRIA

 

BELGIUM

1. Consumption and possession
Drug consumption is considered an offence only if it takes place in a group. Since a ministerial decree of January 2005, possession of cannabis for personal use is depenalised. This means: if you are above 18, and have less than 3 grammes on you, and if you are not causing public nuisance according to the police officer or the judge, you will not be persecuted. If you are under 18, if you have more than 3 grammes, if you are into public nuisance, if there are aggravating circumstances or if you are stopped by police outside the district where you live, you may have a problem. Punishment is with fines or prison in case of aggravating circumstances.

2. Cultivation
Cultivation of one female plant per person is allowed. In practice, judges have acquitted growers with up to 100 plants on the argument of personal consumption. Others were less lucky.

3. Distribution
Illegal. More heavily punished then before the depenalisation of cannabis (now it is always jail, before it was jail or treatment)

4. Provision of seeds, tools to produce and consume cannabis etc.
The last Belgian growshop, FLOW in Antwerpen, was closed in March 2006. Some small efforts to open new ones are on-going.

5. Production and distribution of hemp products
It is legal, but difficult to find. One hemp shop opened in Leuven early 2006. http://www.hempmade.be/

Amounts
Small amount is not defined by the law - except Cannabis. From the 2003 reform the possession of not more than 3 gramms of Cannabis is a minor offence which is punished by fine.

Thanks to ENCOD for the above

 

BRAZIL

 

BULGARIA

LEGAL STATUS OF CANNABIS

1. Consumption and possession The possession and use of marijuana is punished by law with imprisonment (max. 15 years for any amount) plus fine

2. Cultivation The cultivation is not regulated by the law. Marijuana is planted illegally and according the penal code the punishment for cultivation is 15 to 25 years imprisonment.

3. Distribution Absolutely illegal.

4. Provision of seeds, tools to produce and consume cannabis etc. Absolutely illegal again. Tools to produce and consume cannabis are sold legally nowhere.

5. Production and distribution of hemp products Hemp products are produced and sold in Bulgaria, but there is no legal regulation for it. It is not forbidden but it is not admitted either.

Thanks to ENCOD for the above

 

CAMBODIA

 

CAMAROON

 

CANADA

 

CHILE

 

COLUMBIA

 

CROATIA

 

CUBA

The Cuban Parliament has approved a law that introduces the death penalty for possessing, producing and trafficking drugs: LE MONDE, 18 February 1999

 

CZECH REPUBLIC

 

DENMARK

Denmark has allowed cannabis to be grown, sold and consumed, in an area which is part of Copenhagen. Unfortunately the people who live there are mostly poor and the area is quite run-down, giving cannabis a bad press.

 

DUBAI

 

ESTONIA

 

EGYPT

In 1868, possession was made a capital offence. 1874, importation was allowed but not possession. 1879 importation again made illegal. 1884 growing became a criminal offence. These laws were reissued in 1891 and 1894.
(From Hemp-Lifeline to the future, Chris Conrad) and thanks to Shug
It is still illegal today, although many locals smoke. Crops in the Sinai are being destroyed and Westerners are being given long sentences by the courts

 

FIJI

 

FINLAND

1. Consumption and possession Drug laws were changed in Finland a couple of years ago. A new separate category of "drug use crime" was created. Previously there was only "drug crime", which applied to use, possession, and trafficing. Under the new rules cases of personal use usually yield a small fine, which can be paid without even going to court.

2. Cultivation This is one of the real drawbacks with the new law. Even small-scale cultivation of cannabis qualifies as "production", which is automatically considered more serious than personal use. We have tried to point out that this actually favours the illegal drugs trade by providing a disincentive for users to grow their own.

3. Distribution Criminalised - those convicted of small-scale dealing might get off with a fine, but prison sentences are frequent when large amounts are involved.

4. Provision of seeds, tools to produce and consume cannabis etc. Possession and/or sale of seeds is not criminalised, and head shops seem to operate without any problems. Sale of pipes and rolling papers (intended for use with tobacco) are restricted to those 18 and over.

5. Production and distribution of hemp products No problem: hemp clothing, soaps, shampoos, oils, and even chocolate and other food products are sold at a few stores in Finland. Amounts Limits of small amount: 10 g Hashish, 15 g Marijuana, 10 Ecstasy pills, 3 g Amphetaimine, 1 g Heroin, 1,5 g Cocaine - the offender is fined or jailed for 5-15 days.

Thanks to ENCOD for this

FRANCE

LEGAL STATUS OF CANNABIS

Law on pot-based medicine takes effect : 10 June 2013

1. Consumption and possession In addition to penalising the debate on cannabis (presenting it in a "favorable" way is an offence), the French law prohibits the use of cannabis with more or less severe sanctions according to the act ; as example, the simple use can lead to up to one year of imprisonment which can be accompanied or substituted by a fine going up to 3.750 euros; Possession or use of drugs in a private or public place (in the street, in a bus, in your own car if it is in the street, in a bar, etc.) is totally forbidden. No distinction is made for use for therapeutic or religious purpose in continental France, but there are some special laws in overseas territories like Polynesia. This approximate application of the law, which is dependent on the interpretation of individuals (judge and police) as much as geographical localizations (larger tolerance downtown and big cities), has regularly put the problem of the revision of this law on table.

2. Cultivation Cultivation for your own use (for recreational or medicinal or another purpose) is totally forbidden. As a producer, you should face the hight criminal court, but then it is generally not the case, because it will overloaded this court which is already overloaded. (punishable from fine up to 7 500 000 euros to 30 years).

3. Distribution Smuggling (traffic), can lead to the criminal reclusion to perpetuity (30 years) and 7.500.000 euros of fine. Selling drugs is a crime. The French law thus distinguishes clearly the user, considered more as one patient than like a delinquent, who raise of the Code of the Public health, and the "dealer" who sells drug in addition to his possible consumption, which is considered as smuggler and raises of the Penal code.In practice, the marked judgments are seldom also severe and the continuations seldom as systematic as the law prescribes.

4. Provision of seeds, tools to produce and consume cannabis etc. It is illegal to sell or to buy seeds. Hemp products (it depends on THC levels) are legal, but some hemp shops face prosecution because they did present cannabis in a favorable way.

5. Production and distribution of hemp products See above This is the law. Then the police have their own laws and judges make their own laws

Thanks to ENCOD for the above

 

GERMANY

 

GHANA

 

GREECE

Recently GREECE has stopped prosecuting possession of small amounts of cannabis.
Last year stiff prison sentences for possessing recreational drugs such as marijuana were revoked, although smokers caught red-handed are still required to have long periods of counselling. The state has also funded the opening of 36 therapeutic and drug prevention centres in less than a year.
Six of Greece's 15 self-styled Kannabishops have been shut down in a move that could soon bring the country before the European Court.
Each of the 500 items sold by the chain carried the very visible warning: "Don't try to smoke this product. If you do, you will get nothing but an awful headache. It does not contain THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana)."

GREENLAND

Here is an article John Yates translated from the Finnish newspaper, Hufvudstadsbladet.
Cannabis trade out of control.
It is impossible to fight the massive cannabis trade in Greenland as it involves the whole of society according to Hans Haahr, chief of Greenland's Drug Squad, in a statement to Radio Greenland.
The Drug Squad estimates that the trade in cannabis is worth 75 million US dollars, which is equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of the annual gross national product, including the economic assistance from Denmark. This makes the cannabis trade Greenland's third largest industry measured in annual turnover.
Businessmen are involved, according to the police, as they accept drug money and launder it in trading with snow-scooters, boats and stereo equipment.
Large segments of the population smoke cannabis regularly, while businesses earn millions through money laundering, says Hans Haahr. He adds that all social groups smoke cannabis and that there are school teachers who sell cannabis to pupils.
According to Hans Haahr politicians are responsible for the out of control cannabis trade.
Source: Hufvudstadsbladet 21.August.1998

GUYANA

 

HOLLAND / THE NETHERLANDS (click here)

 

 

HUNGARY

LEGAL STATUS OF CANNABIS

1. Consumption and possession There is no distinction in Hungarian law between illicit drugs according to dangers. Heroin use has the same consequences as cannabis use. Use or possession of small amount of drugs cause you up to two years of prison, but after the penal code modification (March 1 2003) there is a possibility for choosing "diversion into therapy," which means if you participate in a 6 months therapy you can avoid jail. The amount of the drug is counted as the amount of the pure psychoactive substance, in case of cannabis the limit of small amount is 1 gram pure THC. No medical use is permitted. If you possess more, you can go to jail for 5-10 years.

2. Cultivation The limit of small amount for cultivation is 5 cannabis plants, in this case you face the same punishment as described above. If you grow a significant amount of cannabis, you can go to jail from 5 to 10 years.

3. Distribution Small amount - up to 2 years. Significant amount - 5-15 years or lifelong imprisonment.

4. Provision of seeds, tools to produce and consume cannabis etc. Seeds cannot be distributed, because police will accuse you of "preparation of crime," but for this they should prove the intention of crime. Distributing seeds is risky. Cannabis parapharnelia can be distributed.

5. Production and distribution of hemp products Hemp products: if there is no significant THC in the products they can be distributed and purchased legally. 6. Shops that sell cannabis-related products

Thanks to ENCOD for the above

 

INDIA

 

INDONESIA

 

IRAN

 

ISRAEL

 

ITALY

 

JAMAICA

JAPAN

Although criminalised in Japan by the post World War II occupying US administration in 1948, marijuana never completely went away. Successive US-friendly Japanese governments have demonised marijuana, describing all use of marijuana as "drug abuse" and claiming that cannabis use can cause mental illness, mood swings, hallucinations and threats of violence to others. Most people in Japan believe that marijuana is a narcotic and are unaware that this same "dangerous" substance is the familiar crop that has been growing all over Japan for over 2,000 years. Every year in Japan, over a million wild cannabis plants are destroyed by narcotics agents. Cannabis was for centuries part of Japan's culture and was used for everyday fibres and fabrics as well as for sacred rituals. To this day, the Emperor wears hemp clothes on some religious occasions. Possession of cannabis can bring prison sentences of up to 5 years and cultivating or trading in cannabis can bring prison sentences of up to 7 years. (Most arrests for possession for personal use result in suspended sentences which are strictly imposed in the event of re-arrest.) In 1995, 1,555 people were arrested under the Cannabis Control Act, a drop from the previous year's figure of 2,103. The falling number of arrests is likely a reflection of the police focussing on the widespread use (by injection) of amphetamines.
There has been a growing re-legalisation movement since the early 1970s. Hemp stores around Japan are doing a good trade in hemp products and smoking paraphernalia, spreading more balanced information on the value of the marijuana plant and the harm caused by prohibition. The medical marijuana movement is beginning to bloom there, too.
Japan Medical Marijuana Association: e-mail iryotaima@ha.bekkoame.ne.jp

KENYA

LEBANON

LUXEMBOURG

The new law has still a repressive spirit. There will be no depenalisation of consumption of drugs
Consumption of cannabis is punished with 10001 to 100000 Belgian Francs (Luxembourg has Belgian and Luxembourgish Francs)
Cannabis consumption in presence of minors should be punished additionally with 8 days to 6-month imprisonment.
Consumption of hard drugs the same fine and directly the same imprisonment.
Before under the old Labor/Christ Democratic-Government there was a move to depenalise the consumption of cannabis from persecution, but after the elections 1999 the situation changed. We now have a democratic /christdemocratic-government. Before the election the law could not pass the state-council. The major opposition was that it is not possible that consumption will be allowed and selling, buying and detention is not allowed. [Johnny]

MACEDONIA

LEGAL STATUS OF CANNABIS

1. Consumption and possession The current drug policy in Macedonia makes no difference between recreational and medical use of cannabis. The existing laws make no difference between different types of drugs or quantity. It’s up to the lawyer (what kind of case he is going to build) and the judge on what kind of verdict he/she is going to bring. So, if you are caught with a smaller quantity of any drugs (including cannabis) that you can prove it is for a personal use, you should be prosecuted according to the “Law for Misdemeanours Against Public Peace and Order”, for which you can be punished with a fine or with 30 ­ 60 days of prison. According to the latest experiences from the people that have been caught with a small quantity of cannabis ( a joint or so) for a personal use, it seems that it’s up to the police officers from the Department for Drugs and Crime to decide weather they are going to be processed to the court or not. If you are caught with a bigger quantity of cannabis, you will be prosecuted according to the Criminal Code, Article 216, for Enabling the taking of narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursors”, which can lead to imprisonment of three months to five years, and in case the act is committed towards a minor or it caused severe consequences, of one to ten years.

2. Cultivation and

3. Distribution According to the law mentioned above, the narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursors shall be confiscated. This covers all the questions regarding cultivation, distribution or provision of seeds. According to the information we have from the regions in Macedonia (South-Eastern part of Macedonia) where there is a tradition of growing cannabis, the police is usually more liberal, they just confiscate the plants and do not raise any case. Very often people grow cannabis on the land which is a state property.

4. Provision of seeds, tools to produce and consume cannabis etc. With regards to tools for production or consumption of cannabis, there is no problem. The same goes for the distribution of hemp products.

5. Production and distribution of hemp products With regards to the production of hemp products, there may be no problem. On the contrary, there is a long tradition of producing hemp products in Macedonia, but this tradition is slowly disappearing or you can find it only in rural parts of Macedonia.

Thanks to ENCOD for the above

MALAYSIA

Not a good place to smoke cannabis!

 

MALTA

 

MOROCCO

In Morocco many of the older men smoke kif, a mixture of leaf cannabis and black (and illegal) tobacco. This is probably very damaging to their health, they mostly smoke small amounts in long pipes. In the Katama area, in the North in the mountains, huge crops of cannabis are grown, providing valuable income through sales to the rest of the world. Possession is not prosecuted in Katama. Elsewhere in Morocco one is more than likely to be able to bribe one's way out of a court appearance, which is why many police arrest foreigners. Moroccan hash used to be a light brown substance which fluffed up when heated and smelled gorgeous, and pressed pollen. When travellers who had been to Asia went to Morocco they encouraged the farmers to make black hash. Nowadays hash and cannabis is mixed with a variety of other substances to produce unpleasant bars called 'soaps' and an even worse concoction called 'squeegee black'. This is due to lack of quality control.

MEXICO

 

NEPAL

 

NEW ZEALAND

NORTH KOREA

NORWAY

 

PHILIPPINES

 

POLAND

 

PORTUGAL

 

PUERTO RICA

 

RUSSIA

 

RWANDA

 

SAUDI ARABIA
Not a good place to smoke cannabis!

 

SINGAPORE
Not a good place to smoke cannabis!

 

SCOTLAND

 

SOUTH AFRICA

 

SPAIN

LEGAL STATUS OF CANNABIS

1. Consumption and possession Use of drugs in a private place is allowed. Possession or use of drugs in a public place (in the street, in a bus, in your own car if it is in the street, in a bar, etc.) is not a crime, but it is a violation of the law: fines are 300 euros minimum.

2. Cultivation Cultivation for your own use (for recreational or medicinal or another purpose) is allowed. If the judge thinks that this cultivation is not for own use, it will be a crime (punishable from 1 to 3 years).

3. Distribution Selling drugs is a crime. For cannabis, the conviction goes from 1 year till 3 years of jail and a fine.

4. Provision of seeds, tools to produce and consume cannabis, hemp products etc. It is legal to sell or to buy seeds and other hemp products (it depends on THC levels).

5. Production and distribution of hemp products It is legal to sell or to buy seeds and other hemp products (it depends on THC levels). This is the law. Then the police have their own laws

Thanks to ENCOD for the above

 

 

SWAZILAND

 

SWEDEN

The Swedish prohibitionists are much nuttier than you have thought or can think. They train their police to watch people for 'signs' of drug influence (lip licking, inappropriate exuberance, finger twiddling are amongst some of the 'signs') someone who projects the 'wrong' signals can then find themselves hurled against a wall while a flashlight is shone in their eyes to check pupil reaction. If the cop thinks they might be under the influence of a drug, they can be frog marched to the station for compulsory blood and urine tests. Young people are afraid of giving the 'wrong' signals and so try to hold an expression of neutral contentment. Rather like the body language the citizens of Oceania learned to use in George Orwell's 1984. It is election time in Sweden and politicians are beating the drug war drum to win votes. They say the laws are too 'soft on drugs' and want the police to be given power to forcibly inject emetics into suspects. God help us if 'The Swedish Model' becomes accepted in the EU. The Swedes are putting a lot of money and effort into it.
As far as allies go, Barry Macaffrey, the US drug czar, has praised Swedish drug policy. In Europe, the French have been big allies of the Swedes, but are beginning to make heretical noises (as you pointed out, the draconian restrictions on alcohol the Swedes want will terrify the French). Finland will support Sweden in whatever drug war nuttiness they come up with. And, of course, Sweden is the driving force and paymaster behind ECAD (European Cities Against Drugs) which has a membership of 180 European cities, including the City of London.
John Yates: September 1998

 

SWITZERLAND

 

THAILAND

 

TURKEY

 

UKRAINE

Source: "reconsider" Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001
Personal Use of Drugs to be De-Criminalized in Ukraine
Dateline: Odessa, Ukraine, exclusive to ReconsiDer by Mary Barr
In an exclusive interview with ReconsiDer member Mary Barr, the Chairman of Prisons in the Ukraine confirmed that in a committee meeting on June 5th, 2001 it was approved that 35-45,000 prisoners will be released by September 2001 to relieve overcrowding. He also announced that in September small amounts of drugs, or amounts deemed for personal use, will no longer be an arrestable offence. Viktor Vasilina, a retired KGB Colonel, accompanied Ms. Barr on her tour of a women's' prison in Odessa.

 

URUGUAY

 

USA

 

VIETNAM

 

ZAMBIA

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