Countries Where Pot is Legal

Countries which get a lot of press surrounding legal, or at least not illegal, cannabis use often include the Uruguay, the Netherlands, and the United States. But in this article we’re going to ignore them and focus on often forgotten countries which have surprisingly liberal cannabis laws. The following is a brief list of countries where toking is, incidentally, legal.

Columbia
Despite being illegal to sell and transport, it’s perfectly fine to possess and smoke weed in Los Cafeteros, so long as it remains stationary. With possession having been decriminalized since nineteen-ninety four an individual can have on their person twenty-two grams of ganja at a time and can grow up to twenty plants for personal use. However, selling the plant still remains illegal as is transportation and sale.

Russia
While it’s still very much illegal to possess, sell and transport cannabis, one can still get away with growing, possessing, and consuming cannabis in Russia if you do it right. To be specific twenty plants can be grown for personal consumption is not truly legal, but has been decriminalized for about five years, although if you are caught you may face a fine. Interestingly, while the trafficking of six grams of dry cannabis, or two grams of hashish is punished by a fine (transporting more than those amounts may garner a prison sentence), the sale of seeds are not regulated.

North Korea
Yes, that’s correct you can smoke cannabis in North Korea. While it is the epitome of a totalitarian police state which has a strong stance against “hard” drugs, cannabis one of the very few things which is, evidently, perfectly legal in North Korea. According to an article published in Vice marijuana cigarettes are apparently cheaper than tobacco cigarettes and are openly traded throughout the country.

Apparently the North Korean government doesn’t consider ganja to be a drug, and thus doesn’t prosecute citizens who consume it. In a strange twist of irony the plant is still highly illegal in South Korea. In fact, a Korean pop star was recently arrested in South Korea for consuming cannabis in the United States and faces prosecution in his home country.