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Medical cannabis
Illegal (including decriminalized)
From the valleys of the Hindu Kush mountain range to the mountains of northern India and far-flung areas of ancient China, the cradle of cannabis has for millennia been Asia. And while the plant’s history first began in Asia, in most of the continent legalization remains far beyond the horizon, and draconian punishments are routinely handed out for even routine offenses. But in countries like Thailand, Israel, and Lebanon, there are signs that some governments see the benefits of legalization, hopefully helping to usher in an era of reform in a continent that remains well behind the curve on cannabis reform.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: decriminalized
For decades, Afghanistan has been one of the world’s largest cultivators of illicit cannabis, though the possession, use, sale, and cultivation of the plant is illegal in the country.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Both medical and recreational cannabis are illegal in Armenia. That said, possession is widely tolerated and often results in a simple fine. The country’s Law of Armenia on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances does state, however, that if narcotic drugs are cultivated and it is “assumed to be used for medical purposes, then its clinical trial shall be undertaken in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.”
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Both medical and recreational cannabis are illegal under Azerbaijani law, even in Ganja, the country’s third-largest city. Researchers have noted that there is an extensive history of medicinal cannabis use in the country, heading back to medieval times.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Recreational and medical cannabis are both illegal in Bahrain, and the country has severe penalties for possession.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Bangladesh does not allow the possession, sale, or cultivation of medical or recreational cannabis. The state has stiff penalties for drug crimes, and in 2018, legislators passed a draft law that approved the use of the death penalty for smuggling and other drug crimes. Researchers have noted the long history of ethnomedicinal cannabis use in Bangladesh, and its use has largely been tolerated, historically.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Recreational and medical cannabis are both illegal in Bhutan, though the plant does grow wildly in the country. Under a new law passed in 2011, cannabis possession can result in a prison sentence.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Medical and recreational cannabis are both illegal in Brunei, and according to the country’s Misuse of Drugs Act, possession of more than 15 grams of cannabis or 10 grams of cannabis concentrate constitutes a “presumption concerning trafficking,” and defendants are assumed to be traffickers. Anyone found distributing or possessing more than 500 grams will be sentenced to a mandatory death penalty.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Recreational and medical cannabis are illegal in Cambodia. Cannabis is widely available and widely used in the country despite the laws.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal in China, despite a deep history of use in traditional Chinese medicine. Cannabis is legally classified as being equivalent to heroin, opium, morphine and cocaine.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Decriminalized
In 2018, Georgia became the first former Soviet republic to effectively decriminalize marijuana consumption after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that punishing a person over the age of 21 for personal use of cannabis is an infringement on their freedom. Cultivation and sale of cannabis remain illegal in the country. CBD is legal in Georgia.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal, with exception
Cannabis, both medicinally and recreationally, is illegal in India. However you can consume bhang, an edible preparation made from the leaves of the cannabis plant. Bhang is rooted in traditional Hindu practices and can be purchased from bhang shops. The cannabis plant also grows wild throughout India.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is widely used in Indonesia but both recreational and medical cannabis are illegal in the country. Cannabis is considered a type-1 narcotic in the country just like cocaine, opium, and methamphetamine, and offenders can face very severe penalties.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: illegal
Both recreational and medical cannabis are illegal in Iran, though use of cannabis is very prevalent in the country, leading the Daily Beast to ask in 2017 if Iran “is becoming a nation of stoners.” The plant nonetheless is illegal for possession, sale, and cultivation in the country, which in 2020 criticized the UN for removing cannabis from the most dangerous drugs category.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: illegal
Both recreational and medical cannabis are illegal in Iraq and the country has stiff penalties for cannabis offenses.
Medical: Legal
Recreational: Decriminalized
Israel has had a legal medical marijuana program since the 1990s and tens of thousands of people receive subsidized medical cannabis (including flower, pills, and oils) on a monthly basis.
In late 2020, the government announced a plan to legalize recreational marijuana within nine months and allow retail sales. Nine months later, legalization had not gone into effect, but a new government voted to advance a bill to decriminalize possession of up to 50 grams of cannabis and reduced fines for first time offenders.
Cannabis is very widely consumed in Israel, including in public at bars and cafes in Tel Aviv and other cities. Simple possession is punishable by a significant fine that does not result in a criminal record for the first two offenses.
For more detailed information about the cannabis laws, see here.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Marijuana is illegal for recreational or medical purposes in Japan and the country is known for having stiff penalties for cannabis offenses. The government has even advised citizens that they could face prosecution back home for consuming cannabis in countries where it is legal.
Japan has a long history of using hemp for medical and industrial purposes, heading back thousands of years into antiquity.
For more detailed information about the cannabis laws, see here.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Jordan has no medical cannabis program and recreational cannabis is illegal in the country, though first-time offenders are more likely to be offered treatment instead of a prison sentence. Jordan has long been a transit point for the smuggling of cannabis and other drugs and the use of marijuana is widespread in the country.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Both medical and recreational cannabis are illegal in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: Illegal
While there have been reports that the hermit kingdom is a cannabis lover’s paradise, an AP investigation in 2017 ruled that this is emphatically not true. And while it is notoriously difficult to know what goes on inside North Korea, anyone visiting the country should probably avoid cannabis and not go looking for it.
Medical: legal
Recreational: Illegal
South Korea legalized medical marijuana in 2018, becoming the first country in East Asia to do so. Recreational marijuana on the other hand remains illegal and there can be severe penalties for cannabis offenses. Citizens of South Korea can also face prosecution for consuming cannabis in countries where it is legal.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Both medical and recreational cannabis are illegal in Kuwait and cannabis offenses of all sorts can result in severe penalties in the country.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Kyrgyz law bans both medical and recreational cannabis.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: Illegal
Though Laos contains much of the drug production and trafficking region known as “the Golden Triangle,” cannabis is illegal both for medical and recreational purposes.
Medical: illegal (cultivation only)
Recreational: illegal
For many years a global center of illicit cannabis cultivation, in 2020 Lebanon became the first country in the Arab world to legalize the cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. The law allows cannabis farmers to be part of a legal industry and produce cannabis for industrial and medical purposes. Recreational cannabis remains illegal in the country, which also does not have a medical marjuana program.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Medical and recreational cannabis are illegal in Malaysia, though Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said, regarding medical cannabis, “if there is enough information to show that it is safe and effective for a certain condition, then we can still consider it based on the particular indication.”
The use of both medical and recreational cannabis remains illegal, however. Offenders can receive very strict penalties. In 2018, a man was sentenced to death for selling cannabis oil.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Both recreational and medical cannabis are illegal in the Maldives.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal in Mongolia for recreational or medical use and the country is known for having harsh penalties, including for simple use of the plant. Drug cases can result in life imprisonment.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal for recreational or medical use in Myanmar. Recent amendments to the law have focused on avoiding punishment for simple drug use, though the leniency does not apply to possession. Chinese companies are reportedly looking to grow non-intoxicating strains of cannabis in Myanmar for medicinal or industrial use, but this would require changes to the country’s drug laws.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Nepal has long been a center of cannabis cultivation, though the plant is illegal under the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act. Nepalese lawmakers from the country’s ruling Communist Party have started advocating for reform to cannabis laws, and for legalizing cultivation for export and medical and industrial uses.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal for any use in Oman and offenders can face very severe penalties, even the death penalty.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Pakistan does not allow the use of cannabis for recreational purposes and does not have a medical marijuana program. If caught, penalties can be quite severe. In 2020, in what was hailed as a “landmark decision,” Pakistan approved the cultivation and trade of cannabis for medicinal and industrial uses. Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry tweeted at the time that the decision “will place Pakistan in billions of USD CBD market.”
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is not legal for recreational or medicinal use in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Throughout the West Bank, however, as opposed to Palestinians, Israeli citizens — whether in Israeli settlements or Palestinian-controlled areas — are not subject to Palestinian but rather Israeli criminal laws, under which medical cannabis is legal and recreational use and possession has been decriminalized.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal in the Philippines for medical and recreational use.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
It is illegal to possess, sell, or cultivate cannabis for recreational or medical use in Qatar.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
The Russian Federation does not allow cannabis use for medical or recreational purposes. Possession of up to 6 grams of cannabis is considered an administrative infraction and subject to a fine of 1,000 rubles (roughly $15). An amendment to the country’s drug laws from 2019 allows the cultivation of plants with narcotic or psychotropic substances for medical or veterinary use.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal in Saudi Arabia for any recreational or medical use and offenders can face prison time even for a first time, small-scale possession charge. The country has very strict penalties for drug offenses, including the death penalty.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Singapore has a zero tolerance approach to drug offenses, including both recreational and medical cannabis. Any use of cannabis in the country is forbidden and may result in severe punishment. Since 2019, Singapore has allowed the sale and use of pharmaceutical cannabinoid products under strict guidelines, although as of June, 2021, only two people had been granted permission to use cannabinoid medicines.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal for recreational or medicinal use in Sri Lanka unless it is part of treatment by Ayurvedic physicians. The country began growing medical cannabis for export in 2018. Nonetheless, the plant has not been legalized for any unapproved recreational or medicinal use.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
The possession, sale, and cultivation of cannabis for medicinal or recreational use are illegal in Syria. Those caught can face very severe penalties.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Taiwan has strictly enforced cannabis laws, which ban both recreational and medical use. The country is still considered to have a very harsh approach towards cannabis.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal for recreational and medical purposes in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan.
Medical: Legal
Recreational: illegal
In 2018, Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize medical marijuana. The country’s first full-time medical cannabis clinic opened in Bangkok in January, 2020. Reuters reported at the time that the country plans to eventually open 77 such clinics across the country.
In March, 2021, the health minister stated that Thai households can cultivate up to six cannabis plants. Recreational cannabis remains illegal in the country.
Medical: Illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal for recreational or medical use in Timor-Leste.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Turkey has long been a center of cannabis cultivation and in recent years the country’s government has promoted further cultivation of cannabis and hemp for research and industrial use. Today, 19 of the country’s provinces are allowed to grow cannabis for medical and scientific purposes. Recreational cannabis remains illegal in the country and there is no functioning legal medical cannabis program.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal for recreational and medical use in Turkmenistan.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal for recreational or medical use in the UAE and the country has stiff penalties even for simple possession.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Uzbek law does not allow the recreational or medical use of cannabis.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Both recreational and medical cannabis are illegal in Vietnam and the penalties for cannabis offenses can be very strict.
Medical: illegal
Recreational: illegal
Cannabis is illegal for medical and recreational use in Yemen.
