The Doper's Guide to Europe
Lighting up, shooting up, and staying out of jail
While the U.S. hassles Canada for mulling a more permissive approach to pot, our allies across the Atlantic have become old hands at decriminalization. Only four current members of the European Union—Finland, France, Greece, and Sweden—still impose more than a fine for possessing marijuana. And some of them are tolerant of still harder drugs.
These changes have not progressed uniformly, however, and the American doper planning a European vacation should keep local law and custom in mind. Here's a handy guide:
Be careful in Great Britain: They're easing up on marijuana enforcement, but the substance itself is still illegal. Spain, meanwhile, has not only decriminalized pot but allows needle exchanges, a valuable service for junkies interested in avoiding HIV while on the road. On the other hand, the Drug Policy Alliance reports that Spain's "laws against trafficking are among the most severe in Europe"—a byproduct of its proximity to the cannabis fields of Morocco. In effect, the state is encouraging its potheads to grow their own weed, a policy in keeping with Europe's penchant for agricultural protectionism. The domestic growers aren't supposed to sell their crops, though, so the traveler is encouraged to make friends.
Alternately, you could arrive on the continent via Portugal, a travel plan with many pluses and one major minus—you might never leave. Not satisfied with decriminalizing pot, last year Portugal loosened its grip on all drugs, hard and soft. Alas: Far from simply letting its druggies be, the government there insists on herding them through "treatment," which at best can seriously delay your holiday and at worst might make you less interested in doing drugs in the first place. And in that case, you could've just stayed in Omaha.
Skip France: When it comes to the War on Drugs, it's still a member in good standing of the Coalition of the Willing. (French prosecutors usually shy from pot cases, actually, but formal decriminalization is still being debated.) Belgium, on the other hand, has voted—I quote The Guardian—to let anyone over 18 "smoke small quantities of [marijuana] in private, provided they do not disturb public order." (Sales remain illegal, so the Spanish find-a-friend policy is in effect.) Switzerland is considering a similar move, while also maintaining its interest in "harm reduction" policies. And Luxembourg has effectively decriminalized personal possession of pot, though if you sell the stuff or light up while a kid is watching you can end up in jail for as much as five years.
Germany has enacted some relatively minor measures to soften the Drug War. But why would you tarry there when you could be in The Netherlands? Drugs were tolerated in windmill country even when the rest of the Continent was locking everyone up, making the nation a Mecca for traveling junkies like yourself. (These days, the Dutch are more likely to complain that their country's a Mecca for, well, Muslims.) Pot and hash are effectively legal, while opiate fans in some cities can get fixes from the state. (In the rest of the country, a less permissive harm reduction model is in place. By "less permissive," I mean "more permissive than anything you'll ever see in America, Bub.") For all that, Dutch rates of drug use are lower than those in the United States. The only substantial threat to this legal order is, of all things, a measure aimed at curbing tobacco use: A new smoking ban could curb cannabis-friendly coffeeshops as well as less psychoactive smoke-filled bars.
With the partial exception of Denmark, the Scandinavian countries are still tough on drugs, as are the nations of Eastern Europe. Italy, on the other hand, permits the possession of drugs in strictly regulated quantities; you just aren't allowed to buy or sell the stuff. Vatican City has legalized—um, nothing. Vacationing drug czars might want to go there.
Better yet: Vacationing drug czars can go to Monaco. Drugs aren't permitted, but there's plenty of gambling.
