10 countries that have legalised cannabis
Germany on Wednesday joined the cannabis legalization revolution, declaring plans to authorize the recreational use of the drug, as well as its production.
Across the Atlantic, Canada, Uruguay, and dozens of US states including California have already changed their rules in the past decade to permit people to light up.
Far more countries, around 30, have legalized the drug for medicinal motives, including most European Union members.
Here is an overview:
Europe
1. MALTA: In December 2021, Malta became the first EU member to legalize recreational cannabis, enabling adults to carry up to seven grams and grow up to four plants at home. Users are banned from lighting up a joint in public however or in front of a minor.
2. LUXEMBOURG: Luxembourg´s government in June disclosed plans to allow cannabis users to grow up to four plants at home and decriminalize public pot smoking and possession, with users to face on-the-spot fines rather than charges.
3. NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands in general, and Amsterdam in particular, have tolerated the sale and use of cannabis in their iconic coffee shops since 1976, but cultivating the plant remains illegal.
4. SPAIN: Users in Spain are enabled to grow pot for private use at home but selling the drug or smoking it in public is banned.
5. PORTUGAL: Portugal took the radical step of decriminalizing the consumption and possession of all drugs in 2001 but users still face fines, unless they agree to be treated for addiction.
North America
6. UNITED STATES: Federal US law prohibits the cultivation, sale, and use of cannabis. But 18 nations, including California, and the national capital Washington DC have all legalized cannabis for recreational use in a big-bang legislative shift over the past decade.
In October 2022 President Joe Biden forgave thousands of Americans convicted of cannabis possession.
7. CANADA: In 2018 Canada became the second country in the world after Uruguay — and the first G7 major economy — to allow the recreational use of cannabis.
The law limits personal possession to 30 grams and four plants per household.
Latin America
8. URUGUAY: Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize the production, ratio, and consumption of cannabis in 2013. Residents can buy up to 40 grams of weed a month from pharmacies, grow it themselves or join cannabis clubs where members tend the plants together.
9.MEXICO: Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalized recreational cannabis use in June 2021.
Africa
10. SOUTH AFRICA: In 2018, South Africa’s top court ruled that private, personal cannabis use by adults was legal.
