If you have international travel plans coming up, you may be wondering where you can legally toke up. This map shows where every country in the world stands on cannabis policy. The blue parts indicate where weed is legal, orange where it’s decriminalized, pink where it’s illegal but unenforced, and red where it’s absolutely illegal.
Granted, some of the world’s most liberal cannabis laws exist right here in the States, in places like Colorado or California, but other countries have far surpassed America with regard to ending federal prohibition overall.
Uruguay is the only country where cannabis is entirely legal. In 2013, Uruguay passed a bill that allows residents to purchase up to 40 grams of weed every month and grow up to six plants. However, tourists aren’t allowed to legally buy cannabis there.
Cannabis is also decriminalized in a number of countries, including Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Jamaica, Malta, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the Virgin Islands.
You may also be wondering about the Netherlands, historically every stoner’s favorite destination. Buying small amounts of weed at the Dutch coffee shops has been tolerated for a while, but cultivating and selling cannabis to the coffee shops has been illegal up until recently.
India is another destination where tourists often smoke weed, hitting up raves in Goa or traveling around ashrams in the north. While it’s not particularly hard to get weed in India if you know where to look, be careful not to get caught because it’s not actually legal (aside from government authorized bhang shops).
The Holy Land is another spot where it’s relatively easy to get your hands on cannabis, most likely in the form of hash there. Before weed is so expensive in Israel, the locals often roll spliffs to conserve. Small amounts of weed have been newly decriminalized in Israel, but the smell is enough to raise a cop’s suspicion. Outside the Tel Aviv bubble, best to be discreet with your reefer.
You may also want to be extra careful in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, or the Philippines, where those convicted of drug offenses have faced execution. A dime bag of weed isn’t worth even a run in with the cops there.
Remember, too, that when you’re traveling it’s illegal to carry any cannabis with you across international lines, even if the place you’re going to has liberal cannabis policies. Despite that, people nonetheless do this all the time. If you’re one of those people, try not to carry your cannabis loose, and best have it rolled up or in a vape pen, lest it look instead like an e-cig or writing instrument.
