Where is Marijuana Legal, Tolerated or Decriminalized? (in Europe)

Think Amsterdam still is the ‘marijuana-capitol' in the world?

Think again.

In the past years, certain states in the US made such fast advancements in terms of their stance on:

Marijuana use;
Marijuana cultivation, and;
Marijuana trade/commerce.

That they surpassed the Netherlands in how legal and free marijuana is.

With marijuana laws and policies changing so quickly around the globe…

It's hard to keep up with the current facts.

Today you're getting an interactive map (which is updated regularly), where you can quickly see the current situation of marijuana in your country (in Europe).

Quick Explanation of the Map

On this page, you will always find up-to-date information about the legal status of personal marijuana use in different countries in Europe.’ This can be medical or recreational.

What you won’t find on this page is what will happen to you if you, if you get caught:

Selling marijuana;
Cultivating marijuana, or;
Carrying large quantities of marijuana with you.

In most European countries and U.S. states, you will go to jail for a number of years for any of the above-mentioned behaviors.

Quick note: the ‘maximum amount of grams acceptable' refers to recreational marijuana use.

Or keep reading if you want a…

Background on Marijuana Legalization Across the Globe

If you've been following marijuana-legalization efforts in general, these examples won't come as a surprise for you:

In 2012 Amendment 64 was passed successfully in Colorado, after 55% of voters voted for the use and regulation of marijuana for recreational purposes, making recreational use of marijuana completely legal;
In 2013 medical marijuana was legalized in Italy and can now be prescribed by any licensed physician;
In 2017 medical marijuana was legalized in Germany and now can now be prescribed by doctors for a variety of conditions like chronic pain;

This is but a short list of the countless legal changes which have been swooping through the U.S. and Europe.

One of the main reasons for this widespread increase in legalization and/or decriminalization is the following:

In the past decades, the medicinal benefits of marijuana have been so well researched, that it simply can’t be denied anymore:

Marijuana is a medicine, or at least can be used as one.

What’s more is that governments are starting to realize what the Dutch government realized very early:

It’s completely useless to make a relatively harmless plant illegal when there’s high demand in society. By pushing marijuana use and cultivation into illegality, governments only create a situation that leads to more crime…while its use doesn’t decrease (think of the Prohibition of alcohol in the U.S. in the early 1900s!).

Besides the medicinal use of marijuana, even the recreational use of marijuana has started to gain ground as a right for citizens of various states and countries.

You can borrow this infographic for your blog – make sure to attribute it to Herbonaut.

References:

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Quick Explanation of the Map

Background on Marijuana Legalization Across the Globe

About Winston Peki