Welcome to the not-so-friendly side of the global cannabis scene. While much of the world is opening its eyes to marijuana’s therapeutic potential, there are still many countries that continue to fight the already failed war on drugs. In these nations, having anything to do with cannabis can put you in serious trouble.

Today, we’re shining a light on six such countries that have taken an unyielding stance on marijuana, earning them a spot on our list of places with notoriously strict marijuana laws. We’ll delve into each one, overviewing the landscape, detailing the laws and penalties. We’ll also paint a picture with real-life examples of what happens when you’re discovered with cannabis. 

Before we jump in, let’s establish what we mean by notoriously strict marijuana laws. Think of countries that are famous for their zero-tolerance legal systems. They come down hard on the accused with heavy penalties for even the tiniest amounts. These include sentences stretching to a lifetime behind bars, public floggings, and even capital punishment. 

Note that some may find the content of the article disturbing.

Six countries with notoriously strict marijuana laws

1. Singapore

One of the scariest countries to get caught with cannabis is Singapore. The city-state has many weird laws and rules, like the ban on chewing gum. It’s notorious, however, for its draconian drug laws.

The 1973 Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) bans all forms of cannabis possession, consumption, cultivation and distribution. Any involvement with marijuana, regardless of the quantity, will cost you your freedom, along with heavy fines and a chance of public flogging.

The laws are enforced by Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), which states:

“Cannabis is clearly addictive and harmful. There is no scientific evidence of the safety and efficacy of raw cannabis use. This supports our position that cannabis should remain an illicit drug. Decriminalisation and legalisation of cannabis is not the way to go, especially when our drug situation is well under control. Examples of other countries have clearly shown that a permissive attitude towards the use of cannabis exacts a high cost to society. Therefore, we have strict laws against the trafficking, possession, consumption, and import or export of illicit drugs, including cannabis and cannabis products.”

Possession and consumption

Under the MDA, if you get caught having 300 g or less of cannabis, you’ll receive up to 10 years in prison and a 20,000 USD fine. It doesn’t matter if you have 0.3 g or 300 g. Anything more than that will land you a 30-year prison sentence and 15 strokes of the cane, with the added 20,000 USD fine.

The same goes if the police prove that you’ve used cannabis. For that, you’ll face a maximum of 10 years imprisonment. Any apparatus or utensils, like papers or grinders, carry an additional 3-year sentence.  

OK, this seems harsh, but maybe you can hop on a plane to Thailand for a few days, smoke some joints there, and then go to Singapore. Well, that won’t work either. 

Under section 8A of the MDA, the government deals with anyone coming to the country who consumed marijuana abroad as if it were in Singapore and punishes them accordingly. On top of that, random drug checks are conducted at the country’s entry points, such as airports. Authorities test if travellers have consumed drugs before entering.

Now for the “fun” part – drug dealing

This is by far the dumbest thing you can do in Singapore. Depending on the quantity, you risk your life if you are involved in selling, transporting, delivering, distributing or even offering to do any of these acts.

The law considers anything more than 15 g of marijuana as trafficking. So, if you get caught with this amount, you might get life in prison and up to 24 strokes of the cane. However, if the amount is 500 g or more, then you get a mandatory death penalty. You’ll have the rare chance of being hanged by the neck on a Friday at dawn, as is the State’s usual practice.

The same goes if cannabis is found on your property. It’s up to you to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it’s not yours. So, if you’re in Singapore, be very careful about who you choose as your roommate.     

Cases and facts

One of the more famous cases involving cannabis is that of Joseph Schooling. He’s the first and only Olympic gold medalist (at the time of writing) in Singapore’s history.

In August 2022, Schooling admitted to smoking cannabis while on a break from his military service to train and participate in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. As a result, he was banned from competition and given six months of probation with random urine tests. If Schooling failed any of the tests, he could have faced a nine-month confinement in military detention barracks.

A more severe case is from April of last year when the Singaporean government hanged a 46-year-old man over the intent to smuggle 1 kg of cannabis into the country. Tangaraju Suppiah was arrested in 2014 and sentenced to death in 2018. He was incarcerated on death row until his execution in 2023.

The unlucky guy never came into contact with marijuana and never actually smuggled anything. The government hung him anyway over the intent to do so.

2. Philippines

The Philippines’ stance on cannabis and drugs in general is maybe the most famous in the world because of its former president Rodrigo Duterte’s regime.

It’s estimated that his fearsome campaign, known as Duterte’s War on Drugs, killed over 25,000 people between 2016 and 2022. This is true even though the death penalty has been abolished.

While a change in leadership might indicate a new direction for the country, the current marijuana laws remain among the stiffest in the world. 

Cannabis has a long history of medicinal and religious use in the Philippines. However, in 1972, then-President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and instituted a strict anti-drug policy. Currently, marijuana is regulated by the 2002 Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act (CDDA), enforced by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Laws and penalties

The CDDA defines cannabis as a dangerous drug and imposes a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of 9,000 USD to 180,000 USD for those caught in possession of 10 grams or more of resin (hashish) and 500 grams or more of cannabis.

If the amount is less than 10 grams of hashish or between 300 and 500 grams of cannabis, then the sentence is reduced to 20 years to life imprisonment. If the amount of hashish is less than 5 grams or the amount of cannabis is less than 300 grams, the offender can receive a 12-year to 20-year sentence.

The law against cannabis consumption, however, is much more lenient. If you’re caught with a positive drug test for cannabis, you’re given a minimum of six months of rehabilitation in a government centre. 

So, we guess it would be better, when you spot police approaching, to put any marijuana you have in your mouth. At least this way, you might be able to claim that you’re using it instead of possessing it…

Drug trafficking

As you probably guessed, penalties for drug trafficking are the most severe. Before the abolishment, the death penalty was the predominant sentence. Now, marijuana dealers are liable for life imprisonment and a fine of up to 180,000 USD. In some circumstances, this is reduced from 12 to 20 years. The maximum penalty is imposed if the dealer is caught selling or distributing within 100 metres of a school. The same applies if the seller is caught employing minors to distribute the cannabis. 

Philippine law also gives the same sentence to protectors and coddlers. Those are people who knowingly hide or harbour drug traffickers and are caught cultivating marijuana.

Interestingly, Duterte has openly expressed support for medical cannabis. In 2016, he stated that he had no problem with it, adding: 

“Medical marijuana, yes, because it is really an ingredient in modern medicine now. There are medicines right now being developed or already in the market that (contain) marijuana as a component but used for medical purposes.”

Cases and stats

Death squads and unofficial militias carried out many of the undocumented killings in the Philippines. They were little more than gang members, directly serving Duterte. There were no arrests, no trials, and no sentences. People were gunned down on the street because of tips against them or because of suspicions of drug trafficking.   

In the initial half-year of President Duterte’s term, the Philippine National Police searched around 5.6 million homes. A staggering 53,025 drug personalities found themselves in handcuffs, and an additional 1,189,462 folks surrendered to the authorities. Among them, 79,349 “admitted” to dealing drugs, and a jaw-dropping 1,110,113 admitted to having used methamphetamine or cannabis.

A case that sparked national outrage was that of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos. Three cops were sentenced to 40 years in prison each for the tragic death of the teenager because of suspicions of him being a drug runner. The young student was discovered in a fetal position with gunshot wounds to the head. On this person, they “found” a .45-calibre pistol, four cartridges, and two sachets of what they suspected to be methamphetamine. Where the case gets murky is the report given by the involved policemen. It tells a story light years away from what multiple witnesses have said. 

According to the police report, Delos Santos tried to flee the police officers while directly shooting at them. The witness testimonies, however, accused the two plainclothes officers of grabbing him and dragging him into the back alley, with a third policeman later approaching their location. This was also confirmed by CCTV footage near the street. Two separate witness accounts claimed that Delos Santos was forced to hold a gun, fire it, and run before being shot.

3. Japan

Japan is a weird case when it comes to cannabis. Although the country is known for its world-leading innovations, technology, and design, the island nation remains firmly against cannabis. One of the biggest hurdles is the pervasive stigma over enthusiasts, patients, and legalisation advocates. The prevailing narrative mirrors the Reefer Madness era in the United States. It portrays cannabis as a destructive force akin to cocaine or heroin. This outdated perception links marijuana to lethargy and societal failure in a culture that values industriousness. 

At the same time, Japan boasts a rich history of cannabis farming. The island nation uses hemp primarily for clothing, seasoning, and religious rituals. This tradition, however, faced a turning point post-World War II. The U.S. occupying forces pressed for a cannabis ban, leading to the 1948 Cannabis Control Act (CCA). The act prohibited most of the hemp plant but spared its mature stems and seeds, which were presumed to lack psychoactive compounds. Today, the CCA criminalises marijuana’s import, export, production, sale, possession, and research. 

Yet, intriguingly, it mentions nothing about consumption. Authorities suggest this omission aims to spare accidental highs for farmers inhaling their hemp crops. 

This means that, technically, you’ll get away with being high as long as you don’t have any cannabis in your possession.  

Also, because of its history with hemp, the island nation has a thriving CBD market. Over the past decade it rose to over 124 million USD in 2021 and is estimated to surge to 574 million USD by 2025.

Laws and penalties

Under the CCA, cannabis possession is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, including work. Growing, importing, and exporting cannabis can be punishable by seven years in prison with work. If police discover these activities have been done for profit, the sentence can increase to 10 years in jail with a 14,000 USD fine.

What’s interesting about these laws is that CCA doesn’t specify differences in amounts or how authorities can determine if you are carrying cannabis for personal consumption or trafficking. This means that you can face jail time for anything between 0.1 g, 100 g, or 1 kg of cannabis. And it’s up to the police to decide whether you’re a dealer.

At the same time, random drug checks are routine. Police have the authority to stop tourists for urine tests outside bars. Individuals can be arrested for up to 30 days without bail, legal representation, or a phone call. Shockingly, detainees may face torture tactics like sleep deprivation and verbal abuse until they sign a confession, contributing to a 99.99% drug conviction rate.

Cases and stats

According to authorities, the Cannabis Control Act’s loophole regarding consumption leads to abuse. In 2018, there was a sharp increase in cannabis-related arrests, and 80% of them were possession charges. In 2021, Japan observed a record number of arrests due to cannabis use. Of 5,783 cases, 70% were for individuals in their 20s or younger.

A case that became quite famous in the country was that of the 33-year-old former boy band idol Junnosuke Taguchi. Taguchi and his partner, the actress Rena Komie, were arrested in 2019 after a tip-off about illicit drug use. A search discovered an “astonishing” 2.3 grams of marijuana in their Tokyo apartment. The couple was charged but released on bail for $28,000 after Taguchi pleaded guilty. He also confessed to taking up marijuana 10 years prior. 

What’s weird is that the couple had to break up because this case. The bail conditions stipulated that they had to terminate their relationship based on the risk of repeating the crime.

Japan’s conflicting marijuana laws have also led to the surge of unregulated synthetic cannabinoids in the local market. These alternatives are designed to mimic the psychoactive effects of THC without containing the banned substance.

All of this has put Japan in a difficult situation where the harsh anti-cannabis laws have quite the opposite effect. Eventually, the Parliament decided to revisit legislation for medical use and voted to legalise marijuana-based medicines.

Simultaneously, the country’s lawmakers also agreed to double down on their recreational ban by removing the existing loophole on consumption. The Parliament passed the new bill in December 2023 and it should become effective this year.

4. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, maintains a conservative social and cultural environment that strictly forbids the use of intoxicating substances. Because of this, cannabis possession can lead to severe legal consequences, including the death penalty.

Ironically, Islam’s stringent anti-drug stance has not curtailed drug trafficking or substance abuse in the Kingdom. In fact, it seems to have done the opposite. According to Abdelelah Mohammed Al-Sharif, secretary-general of the National Committee for Narcotics Control, 40% of drug users fall within the 12-22 age group, seeking to get high to fill an existing void.

Hashish is the most used substance in the country. The harsh rules of Sharia Law, including a ban on alcohol, smoking, music, and dancing, contribute to a perceived lack of excitement in the lives of the youth. As a result, some turn to “deviant” behaviours like smoking a hashish hookah as a means to fight boredom and seek pleasure.

Laws and penalties

We found little information regarding the specific laws and penalties in the Kingdom. Punishments for drug use, in general, are not fixed. Furthermore, a form of Islamic law called Tazir allows judges to determine sentences on a case-by-case basis. This enables them to tailor penalties based on their interpretation of the circumstances, which may lead to disproportionate convictions.

In general, personal use can lead to several months in prison, up to 10 years. This may include public whippings. The punishment for drug trafficking is almost always death, most commonly by beheading.

Cases and facts

Saudi Arabia’s strict enforcement of anti-drug laws is evident in its alarming execution statistics. At least 2,208 people lost their lives from 1985 to 2015. 47% of them were related to drug offences, and 40% of those were for hashish. Foreigners were no exception. They made 48% of those sentenced to death. 

However, a stark contrast emerges when it comes to the Saudi aristocracy. A notable case involves Prince Abdel Mohsen bin Walid bin Abdulaziz. In 2015 Lebanese authorities caught him with 2 tons (!!!) of cocaine and amphetamines. He was sentenced to 5 years in a hotel-like prison cell.

While ordinary Saudis and travellers face draconian consequences, the Saudi royalty parties like there’s no tomorrow.

A grim illustration of this was the execution of two sets of brothers in 2014 and two Egyptian nationals on the 1^st of January 2019. The Saudi authorities beheaded them because they were smuggling a “large quantity of hashish” into the country. However, the legitimacy of their convictions was disputed, given concerns about corruption within the system and the documented use of torture.

5. Brunei

Brunei is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Because of its oil reserves, the country is one of the richest in the world. It’s governed by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of Earth’s few remaining absolute monarchs. In 2019, Brunei implemented strict Islamic Sharia law, which allows punishments such as stoning and amputations for certain acts considered a crime. 

So, you already know where this is going.

Brunei has a zero-tolerance stance towards cannabis. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), all forms of consumption, possession, cultivation and distribution are strictly forbidden. This includes CBD. The Narcotics Control Bureau enforces the MDA under the direct guidance of the Sultan.

Laws and penalties

The MDA is pretty straightforward. Possession and consumption of any amount of cannabis up to 15 g carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a 20,000 USD fine. Anything more than that, up to 50 g, can lead to 30 years in prison, a fine and some lashes.

The police presume possession and consumption if you have any utensils connected to controlled substances – papers, grinders, etc. The same goes if you’re caught at a place believed to be linked to cannabis use or has the mentioned utensils.

You die if you have anything to do with more than 500 g of cannabis or 200 g of resin.

The law also applies to any residents of Brunei who are caught using or dealing cannabis abroad upon their return.

Cases and stories

One of the most severe cases is that of Muhammad Mustaqim Mustofa bin Abdullah from 2014, who was caught with more than 6 kg of cannabis. After one month of court proceedings, Abdullah received two separate charges for possession of cannabis with the intent of trafficking. After receiving 15 cane strokes and spending 20 years in prison, he was sentenced to death.

Curiously, Brunei doesn’t consider people with an addiction as criminals. Drug abusers may be sent to rehabilitation centres. Their treatment prioritises peer, family and religious support to aid recovery. The centres contain programs focusing on spiritualism, faith, communication skills and how to reintegrate into society once treatment is completed.

6. Indonesia

Indonesia is home to one of the most popular tropical tourist destinations in the world – Bali. Its stunning beaches, wild nature and volcanoes make it a piece of paradise.

Get caught with cannabis, however, and you’ll quickly end up on the road to hell.

Under the Narcotics Law from 2009, enforced by the National Narcotics Board, cannabis is included in the most restrictive Schedule I list, along with substances such as heroin and crystal meth.

The Dutch colonial government initiated restrictions on the production, use and distribution of cannabis in the 1920s. At the same time, the plant is the most widely used illicit substance in Indonesia, with approximately two million users in 2014.

Laws and penalties

According to the Narcotics Law, consuming marijuana in Indonesia can lead to up to four years in prison. If the judge deems you worthy, this can be replaced with a rehabilitation centre.

Possession brings a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison and a maximum fine of around 560,000 USD. Cultivating and trafficking come with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of around 650,000 USD. Those who consider making money from these activities can receive a life sentence. 

However, if you’re involved with more than 1 kg of cannabis or five plants, then the punishment is execution by a firing squad.

As you can see, the penalties for marijuana consumption and possession are somewhat more lenient compared to the other countries we described. However, they’re also murkier regarding specific amounts, which creates opportunities for widespread institutional corruption. 

Cases and stories

The strict enforcement of Indonesia’s Narcotics Act has led to a significant impact on its prison population, with over 60% of inmates held for drug-related offences. In 2020, approximately 29% of all drug cases were related to possession offences. This approach has resulted in severe overcrowding, with the national prison system being over occupied twice over. 

At the same time, there’s an overlap between convictions of cannabis use, possession and trafficking.

The Narcotics Act addresses drug offences under Articles 111 to 126, covering trafficking. Article 111 outlines a minimum imprisonment of four to twelve years for those involved in supply.

Specifically, drug abuse is addressed in Article 127(1)(a) and (2). If someone is caught using Category I drugs like cannabis, they could face up to four years in prison. This could be replaced with a drug rehabilitation program.

However, a judge can only order rehabilitation instead of imprisonment if the defendant can prove they use drugs but don’t own, possess, or store them. Since it’s easier for police to prove possession or storage rather than use, there’s a tendency to charge drug users under the stricter Article 111 instead of the more lenient Article 127.

The result is that 44.6% of those charged with trafficking are just people who smoked marijuana. 24% are merely involved as couriers.

Since 2016, there’s been a notable increase in foreigners being searched at customs in Bali and Jakarta airports, leading to arrests for international drug trafficking. Even tiny quantities, such as a single marijuana cookie, a joint found in a wallet, or topical hemp products, have resulted in arrests. Anything containing CBD, THC, hemp, or a marijuana leaf is confiscated, and the owner faces prosecution.

In 2015, an Australian and an Indonesian received a one-year prison sentence in Bali for smoking a used joint weighing 0.1 grams and having 0.86 grams of marijuana in a brown paper bag.

Starting in 2018, every month, foreigners have been consistently arrested at the airport, reaching a peak in 2019. As of January 2020, the data indicates that the minimum penalty for traffickers or offenders is one month in prison and a 50,000 USD fine.

Conclusion

As you can see, the countries with the most notoriously strict marijuana laws are in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Although almost all of them have a long history with cannabis, after World War II, pressured by foreign forces, one by one, they outlawed it as one of the most dangerous substances on Earth.

In these countries, the most severe crime is drug trafficking, which, in many cases, leads to life in prison or even the death penalty. When caught, people have limited options to defend themselves, and often, their fate is at the authorities’ discretion.

Vigilance is the name of the game whenever you decide to travel to these parts of the world. Always check the local laws and avoid run-ins with the police at any cost. You might think that one joint won’t hurt, and you’ll get away with a slap on the wrist or a sly bribe. But are you feeling lucky enough to roll the dice on that one?