Legal status of cannabis possession for recreational use

Finland is wrong.
"Often unenforced"
Who the fuck made this inforgraphic?
Finnish cops are obsessive over fighting cannabis, and in practice even having a single joint on you will lead to a criminal record, and not for just "personal use" or "possession" but the same crime you'd be charged with if you grow 27 plants at home.
And yes, I've personal experience on both, as well as several dozens of other examples, documented and otherwise.
Finnish drug laws are just as archaic as others, and the cops attitude and understanding is way worse than in most European countries.
It's ridiculous.
So yeah, Finland is definitely wrong, fucking hell.
- Who the fuck made this inforgraphic?
  It's from Wikipedia. Admittedly, I didn't do much fact-checking and just trusted it. But of course you can always contribute by improving the map.
  
  It's like the "happiest country on Earth" bullshit.
  Yes, Wikipedia is right that technically there is a way for police to not enforce the law when it comes to personal amounts of cannabis, but in practice that never happens, and the cops make even the smallest bit of weed be a "proper" drug crime. Medical use is technically legal, yeah, but there's like at most a dozen people in the country, and most doctors would never ever even consider cannabis to be medicine, and even tiny use admitted to a doctor might lead to a loooot of discriminatory bullshit.
  Basically the education material for the police and the doctors seems to have been "reefer madness".
  Just google "police prevented filming" in Finnish, "poliisi esti kuvaaamisen", and see how many articles come up where you're not allowed to even film protests or even when the police conduct a search at your home, you're not allowed to film that, according to the police.
  I had to set them straight about that.
  https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000009654524.html
  That's an article from when the police illegally searched my apartment and prevented me from filming them by grabbing my phone away from me. The supreme court decided they were wrong. But for 90% of the things they did wrong that day, the grabbing of my phone was the only thing I got them on, because I still had the clip of them actually grabbing the phone.
  Finnish cops are undereducated authoritarians. Good in comparison to other countries police in a lot of things, but still not something to be desired when it comes to cannabis and matters of personal rights.
  So even though I know the map is wrong, Wikipedia wouldn't allow me to change it because on paper there's a reference to a possibility of not being charged for personal use, even though that never gets utilised in practice.
  
  Wow. The map doesn't even match their own table underneath it (check out the UK, which is yellow in the table and dark red in the map).

Is Antarctica really "unknown"? The closest there is to antarctic law would be international treaties and they are mostly about nuclear weapons and oil drilling.
I feel like if you are willing to live in a frozen hellscape you should be able to smoke whatever you want
- Since there isn't a legal structure it falls in the default 'unlnown' category because legality doesn't apply.
- From what I've heard in the past the laws scientists follow are enforced administratively by their country. So while scientists for X country could smoke, an American scientist would be sent home for it. (But not charged with a crime)
  
  Facilities operate under the flag of whatever country built them. Of course it's complicated because there's also no police there, so everything's legal unless somebody wants to report it. Even then they would have problems because they wouldn't be any actual evidence. At least not without sending an investigation team that to the Antarctic which they're unlikely to do.
  Realistically I think it probably exists in a sort of gray zone which operates mostly on a don't commit any crime too bad rule. Don't be murdering people and you'll probably be okay doing whatever. After all, a certain amount of leniency is required because the world does not have an overabundance of people willing to live in Antarctica.
- I mean it would probably be such a pain in the ass to ship weed down there I doubt anyone who works there would bother.
  
  [x] Doubt

The Ununited States of America
- Legal, but often enforced.
  
  Lol wut??
  
  I love it!
- The USA map needs lines at state borders to remind us that the state border itself is a federal thing and one can definitely be pinched by the wrong cop at the wrong time.
  ..or so I read. Check it out for yourself. It's a fun game!
  
  I don't know why you got downvoted, but I know someone who recently got a pretty big ticket for a few grams of weed at a border checkpoint between two completely legal states, so you are correct.

Welcome to Germany in blue since yesterday! Interestingly buying and selling it is still not allowed. You can grow up to three plants for own use
I would expect or at least hope Denmark will follow suit.
- buying and selling it is still not allowed.
  That's somewhat misleading. It is allowed in the form of non-profit clubs ~~selling~~ giving to members who pay a membership fee for personal use. It's just commercial sale that's banned.
  Edit to correct the above statement and to add that the clubs are only gonna be legal in July.
  
  Not quite accurate. Selling is still illegal, even for the clubs. You pay a monthly fee to the club and the club is giving you a monthly allowance of up to 50g.
  Yes, this is selling with extra steps but it circumvents EU stuff about not being allowed to commercialise cannabis.
  
  Ok. The news did mention clubs but not in details
  So people can sell their cannabis to other members of the club? Whould this allow people to grow their 3 permitted plants for selling to others even though its only allowed to grow them for personal use?
  
  Clubs are only permitted to distribute in juli.

Based Germany
- The law has been changed literally today. I am surprised this infographic got it right.
  
  I would think it is reason they posted it.
- It is very limited though. I would consider Germany more on the decriminalized side.
  You are allowed to own a small amount. You are allowed to grow up to three plants at home. It is illegal to buy, sell, or import.
  There is rules for having cannabis social clubs similiar to Spain, but the rules around them are quite complex and a lot of it remains unclear, until the law will have been interpreted in court decisions.
  Some German states have already announced that they will make life hell for anyone smoking weed in legal public spaces or operating a legal cannabis social club. Also the level of permittable THC for driving is still undecided.
  Currently any level of blood THC is considered a DUI and can not only get you a fine, but also a suspension of your drivers licencse with an extensive "medical psychological check up" if you want to regain your licencse. That "check up" is run by private businesses who also sell courses on which answers are right and which are wrong. Basically anything beyond "this was the only time i swear, i was in a bad place and i should have never done it and i am so sorry, and i will never do it again" is a wrong answer.
  Now we had an expert proposal for a higher level of permittable blood THC. The proposed level has yet to pass but it would effectively be fine for occasional users, but still a problem for regular users, as it is close to the baseline THC level that they have.
  So all in all it is a great step forward, especially considering how the "debate" from the political right and fascists was run around 1970s war on drug prohibition and cultural deprevation talking points. However it still creates many aspects to watch out for and it should be noted, that the political right wants to do everything to reverse the laws, when they likely win the elections next year. The problem with that is also that the center right social democrats are still internally devided, with many of them still thinking of weed as the devils lettuce.
  
  Of the 9 countries who legalized it, 1 reverted that already, 6 don’t allow selling and one of those six doesn’t even have proper laws for it, only the supreme court ruling that private growing and possession can’t be banned. For a blue country Germany is mid-table.
  In contrast to Canada and Uruguay Germany is hesitant to openly violate international treaties for this.
- It's a long time like that in Germany...
  Oh wait... It's since..... today actually.
- I can't decide if I think the stereotypically-uptight Germans being the first to legalize in Europe was unexpected or very expected.
  
  Don't look into any details if you want to keep that opinion

Mexico is wrong. Supreme Court approved to make it legal in 2021 but no laws have been written (and it doesn't work like in the US were the SCOTUS makes it legal automatically)

The UK should probably be pink not red.
The police actually wanted to legalize it but the government refused to. They even fired their advisor when he said that cannabis isn't really that bad and probably shouldn't be an illegal substance. The UK government is awful and corrupt as hell.
So it's still illegal but the police very rarely actually do anything about possession. They may take it off you but it's not going to result in any legal action.
- Yeah, were the biggest producer of medical weed in the world but its illegal to have any here, without knowing the right people.
  Like you said, pure corruption.
  
  Teresa May's husband owns the largest supplier in the country. I suppose the family deserves some success but it doesn't exactly sit very well.

Virginia is wrong. It is not illegal to have on you, but there is no way set up to sell recreationally legally. The medical market got its claws in and is holding on tight.
- No occifer I didn't buy this in Maryland. I left it with my friend Chuck at the border and picked it up on the way back. The MD flag on the packaging is like, ironic.

tfw México has more freedom than tejas

Fucking Canberra has it but not the rest of us
- Cannabiserra
- Give the capital some love ya dogs
  
  Love? It's full of politicians and roundabouts.

It’s illegal in Jamaica?!
- Yup. But, the thing about laws in the third world is that they only kind-of exist.
  
  They exist for sure if you're a tourist. You're either a payday for a local cop or an example to be trotted out as proof they enforce those laws. The latter is so a higher up can divert DEA funding into their bank account.
  Obviously that's not every developing country, maybe not even most. But unless you're very familiar with the country and area, it's not a risk you should take.
- They recently decimalized it and legalized medical use. Getting a medical card involves filling out a form self proclaiming a need and paying a $15 filing fee. You can do this in the dispensary while they are bagging up your weed and psychedelic mushrooms.

brazil can probably be pink instead of red if you are not poor or not black

Given that weed is now legal for medicinal use, there's been a lot less enforcement here in NZ.
Mostly, at the outset cops have no way of knowing if you have a prescription or not, and asking if it's a suitable prescription is a pretty big no-no.

Thailand can be taken off this list. New conservative govt made it illegal again.
- or rather, will, by the end of the year.

Why does the KKKeast hate a plant so much?
- China's experience with opium has a lot to do with views on drugs in Asia.

Thailand has decided that they will be going backwards next year. What are the two micronations in the Pacific?
- maybe looks like two US territories? Guam and Mariana Islands? assuming the red dot between them and Philippines is Palau
  
  Thanks, interesting.

Dprk says unknown and while i couldnt tell you the legality on paper, its sold in stores and pretty easy to obtain. I think its usually leaf not flower though?
- You're going to confuse people by calling North Korea their chosen moniker. Honestly, it would be really weird for it to be banned in most of the east, because the major reason it was banned in the USA was because of anticompetitive laws and racism, but China is 91% Han and lacks any constitutional antidiscrimination laws so I can't imagine they would even need to resort to any sort of stealthy racism.
  
  check out the Opium Wars. East Asia has a very bad relationship with drug use

What's with the tiny blue dot in Australia
- That appears to be the Australian Capital Territory. Being from the US, I'm going to assume Canberra has a separate jurisdiction from surrounding states, like Washington DC
  
  Good call, I found this
  On 25 September 2019, the Australian Capital Territory passed a bill allowing for possession and growth of small amounts of cannabis for personal use as of 31 January 2020, although the laws conflict with federal laws that prohibit recreational use of cannabis and the supply of cannabis and cannabis seeds are not allowed under the changes.[5]
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_Australia
  
  Yep, and they're far more progressive than any of the neoliberal bastards that travel there to make laws for the rest of us.

There's no sane reason for this except to stand in awe of the reach of Western conservatism.
- sees the whole world doing something
  Look how the West has influenced the world!
  I think this more of an indication that conservatism is not a strictly Western thing.
  
  I'll recommend reading up on the history of cannabis bans. There were multiple countries which were coersed into criminalising marijuana to open trade with America. Don't remember if that was Raegan or Nixon.
- a bit narrow minded to think these issues only revolve around """the west""". there's a lot of shit involved

Out of date
- Since germany is blue on the map and its only legal here from today on, i dont think it is an old, out of date map. But maybe the information for some Other country is just wrong?
  
  US is wrong for a good amount of states I believe

Latam should be pink everywhere, where is enforced only on poor and black people.

Ssccchhhlllaaaand-Chöre werden singen. Wegen vers. Ursachen

It's inaccurate to say that it's legal in any part of the United States. "Illegal but unenforced" maybe.
- Illegal at a Federal level, but legal on a state level is a weird type of ambiguous, but the states it is legal in your won't be raided by local police, and probably Even Federal Police.
  
  That would be illegal but unenforced
  
  It's not ambiguous at all. Federal law trumps state law. It is still very much illegal in all of the United States, and the federal laws could be enforced again at any moment depending on the whims on the Justice Department.

Georgia in blue is very misguided, it’s smoking not possession. And everything around it is pretty strict and draconian. Smoking is legal because of a challenge in supreme court but it hasn’t impacted laws or prosecution

Seems the majority of the world is based.

the US is not legal in any sense in any state just ask Flip Flop Joe
here we prop up corporate cannabis and continue to erode consumer protections like everything else we do
we say one thing in public to other countries but behind closed doors the US has degraded to militarized police control where when one is arrested the cops control the narrative along with the judges not common law
cannabis is legal for the corporations to trade and profit off of and there are no protections for consumers just empty promises
- Flip Flop Joe?
  Fuck me you coulda dug deeper and used waffle or something better. Flip Flop Joe just sounds like a dude who’s bringing the party with him.
  
  They are trying to evoke John Kerry... I guess.
  
  I’d have gone with Sloppy Joe, if you’re going the food route.
- the US is not legal in any sense in any state…
  Can you elaborate? Because I have purchased legally sold cannabis up the East coast of the USA. Both recreational and medical cannabis. Do you mean on a federal level?
  I also own a medical cannabis card issued to me by the state I live in.
  I’m also unsure about your corporation comments. Most dispensaries are owned by mom and pops or startups. Do, do you live in the USA? Just curious.
  
  work in the industry and have for years and with legal experts on this matter in different states and am not the first generation in the family to do so and no this does not make me an expert but an observer throughout the years
  most mom and pop dispensaries are usually funded by corporate cannabis funds either by loans or investments and more times than not eventually bought out
  yes you may have bought products from a legal dispensary but if you get pulled by the wrong cop and there are more of them than good ones you could face five years or more for simple possession or just get a slap on the wrist even in legal states
  all depends on the cops and the judges and what they say the story is, there are no lab tests done for most court cases, and terry stops are on the rise were reasonable suspicion is not needed to pull over and toss the contents of the vehicles
  not just the federal illegality of it but the states not coming together on laws both with cannabis and other laws that touch the laws making cannabis illegal such as Roe v. Wade falling
  Biden promising then flip flopping on cannabis and then him and his party not properly defending women's rights have opened a huge rift allowing for more extortion of the US citizens and not much legal ground is left to defend one's self
- I am not from the US and understand how the US law works better than you do
- This is not the first time I've seen one of your comments at the dead bottom, downvoted into oblivion. Maybe it's time to reevaluate some of your opinions? It really doesn't help that you write with the clarity of a recent stroke victim.
  
  Let’s not make fun of people who struggle to communicate.
  Make fun of the bullshit they’re struggling to communicate.
  
  He's not wrong though. For example in VA it's legal but you can't buy it because of administrative stuff. In AZ they decided to rename it so it wasn't technically covered by the ballot measure to legalize it. That's just two that I'm aware of. So it's not what it looks like from the outside at all. And God help you if you try to get high in a national park or BLM land and get found by a federal police officer. (That's something like half the land west of the Mississippi River and it's not signposted.)