# Drugs in other cultures



## sideburns

*Please do not discuss where to find drugs specifically and leave all price discussion out of this thread.*

I went to Europe last summer and it seemed that people in France and Germany were very reluctant to tell a tourist where to find some hash. However, in Spain it was hard *not* to find. I had never really thought about drugs and drug usage in other cultures before this. So this thread is sharing your country's views on various drugs and stigma's attached to them. I'll get the ball rolling with my own description.

The United States are so spread out that it is hard to generalize from area to area. I'm sure this is true for areas that you know.

I live in the midwest and am in the state with some of the most relaxed laws regarding marijuana. If you are caught with anything up to 1 oz, you only receive a $100 fine. It's not even a misdemeanor! However, some people here are very anti-marijuana. They believe that smoking it turns you evil, and other uninformed things. I find that most people I've met are ok with underage drinking, but when it comes to smoking or anything else, it is terrible. Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone, this is just the general attitude that I've encountered.

I have heard that India has very lax laws on marijuana. If someone can confirm this I would be very happy 

It is simply for the general attitude you have noticed with people in your area.


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## Kajjo

Marijuana is illegal in Germany and it is no wonder that no one tells people they do not know about illegal activities! 

Personally, I am a vocal opponent of drugs and I think that prohibition and its enforcement are the right thing to do.

Kajjo


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## ernest_

I can only speak for the area where I live in -the north-east of Spain- since my experience elsewhere is purely anecdotal. By law, you're allowed to smoke in private places (i.e., at home) and possession is alright as long as you can allege that it is for "personal use" (this is left to interpretation). In general, the law is selectively enforced. For instance, some time ago a friend of mine was growing some marihuana plants at his Ma. He had 6 or 7 big plants, which were visible from the street.  Somebody went in and choried one of his plants. His Ma, who didn't know what this plant business was all about, went to the police to report the break-in. So, they sent two officers to the "crime scene", and of course they saw all the plants there but they didn't seem to be bothered. That being said, I've read reports on newspapers about people being on trial for growing plants at home, so it's not like you're completely safe either.

Generally speaking, people are pretty tolerant, for instance if you go to the football you can easily see people smoking joints amongst the crowd, and it's full of old gadges and decent people with bairns and all. No one seems to be bothered. Back in my university days, I recall seeing wee laddies and lassies smoking dope all over the place. You could tell you were approaching the Sociology department just by the sweet, grassy smell coming from the place. Now they've banned smoking in public buildings, so it's no longer what it used to be.

Of course, with other types of drugs is different. Particularly, people are scared to death of heroine and junkies, but there seems to be less and less of these every day, anyroad.


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## Etcetera

Drugs are absolutely illegal in Russia. 
They say it's very easy to buy drugs here and there's a lot of dealers around, but... I've been living in this country for all my life, and I've never seen any dealers. 
Maybe that's because I live a relatively quiet life, I don't go to discos and don't go to the cinema, for example, late at night.


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## badgrammar

Well, in France I certainly know lots of people who smoke hash/marijuana (none of them fit the profile of pothead/loafer/drug addict, just normal folks).  It's not that big a deal here, although still people don't flaunt it because it is illegal.  And it's not necessarily that easy to find, so I'm not surprised people didn't have a lot of info for you on where to get it (if they did, they might want to keep the source to themselves  ).

There's also a huge difference between marijuana and other drugs (coke, herion, amphetamines, etc.).  I don't know a single person who uses any of the latter (well, maybe one who likes to do coke when he's on vacation).  Haven't seen any hard drugs at any parties or being used by anyone here.  

Alcohol?  Well, that's another story (and we all know it's a major drug).

As per your question about India...  Last time I went (in Rajastahn) we tried to find some grass, asked lots of people, including our driver.  He explained that it was very illegal and could get us in big trouble (especially so close to Pakistan).  However he offered to get us some opium, said that was no problem at all  !?

But other friends who have been to other parts of India have had no trouble finding it, but I suspect that it is very much illegal there all over.


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## sideburns

People, please create a new thread if you wish to discuss the legality of marijuana.

As for the people saying the people we asked probably didn't want to give up their source, I understand that completely. However, I was taken a little off guard because in the states, when you are in big cities, you can go to nearly any ghetto and buy whatever you're looking for (easier for heroin on the east coast, coke in the southeast, etc.). I was surprised that when I approached a shady looking guy just idling around a building that the guy was not selling. That is usually how you can tell here in America. Other than that, very interesting responses so far, please keep them coming


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## sideburns

chics said:


> Is it common in your countries than an unknonw person ask you for a sheet of paper in the street?
> 
> Are there people against smoking tobacco but not as much marihuana?
> 
> What about smoking -whatever- when there are children there? And if they are your children? What about alcohol? Where I live a typical desert or snack for children was bread with wine and sugar, but today they (children) prefer chocolat bars.




If a sheet of paper means a rolling paper for a joint, no it is not very common because I live in a small town. However, when I go to the city it is not uncommon at all.

There are definitely people that don't like tobacco as much as marijuana. In my state, you aren't even allowed to smoke tobacco in a lot of bars 

Smoking anything around children is looked down upon. However, I have seen parents that don't mind smoking around their children and I feel bad for the kids. Alcohol around young kids is ok. Very few people give alcohol to children. I remember my mother letting me taste certain wines, but she is pretty open-minded with alcohol. Many of my friends had not had their first taste of alcohol until they were 16 and began doing it illegally at parties and such. Once you are in college, even though you aren't 21 yet, nobody really cares if you drink. I am only 18 and my parents have let me drink with them on many occasions. I think that generally, when you turn 18, the law doesn't become any different, but your parents are more accepting of it (I have found this true with the majority of my friends as well).


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## badgrammar

If you approached people and asked, they may have thought it was some sort of set-up...  Or indeed, the "shady" look is different over here...  Or you didn't know how to ask for it "properly", ie, as with anything else, there are certain cultural "codes" you gotta' learn before people interact with you as if you were a local.  

Actually, there are certain places you can go (usually in the suburbs, in the HLM neigborhoods, kind of like the equivalent of US "projects").  As far as I know that's pretty much the only place you could just walk up to someone and perhaps find a dealer (I have never done that, I'd be terrified).  Unless you know someone, I don't think there are very many "street corner dealer" types in Paris.  

Why?  Paris is really expensive.  Most of that action goes on in the burbs, where the young people (thes one Sarkozy calls "la racaille", something like "scumbags" - not my personal opinion) hang out in and around their buildings.  Even the old, funky neighborhoods in Paris like Barbès are more and more gentrified.  Which is not to say there is less drug use, but people aren't buying from street dealers.  They're far more likely to call their regular supplier, who may also be a close friend, and have him stop by for coffee, a chat, and a transaction.


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## sideburns

badgrammar said:


> If you approached people and asked, they may have thought it was some sort of set-up...  Or indeed, the "shady" look is different over here...  Or you didn't know how to ask for it "properly", ie, as with anything else, there are certain cultural "codes" you gotta' learn before people interact with you as if you were a local.
> 
> Actually, there are certain places you can go (usually in the suburbs, in the HLM neigborhoods, kind of like the equivalent of US "projects").  As far as I know that's pretty much the only place you could just walk up to someone and perhaps find a dealer (I have never done that, I'd be terrified).  Unless you know someone, I don't think there are very many "street corner dealer" types in Paris.
> 
> Why?  Paris is really expensive.  Most of that action goes on in the burbs, where the young people (thes one Sarkozy calls "la racaille", something like "scumbags" - not my personal opinion) hang out in and around their buildings.  Even the old, funky neighborhoods in Paris like Barbès are more and more gentrified.  Which is not to say there is less drug use, but people aren't buying from street dealers.  They're far more likely to call their regular supplier, who may also be a close friend, and have him stop by for coffee, a chat, and a transaction.



Ah yeah, people in the states have their regular dealers as well. However, there are what we call "street dealers" that pretty much only sell to people they have not met before. A lot of these are in bigger cities with lots of tourism because they are selling small amount for higher profit. I'd assume anyone starting this in Paris would make a ridiculous amount of money, not off of locals, but off of tourists that were in my position.

What are the laws like in your country?


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## badgrammar

I don't know the specifics of the laws, but for sure, if you get caught dealing, you're in deep doggy-doo.  Anywho, Paris is, geographically speaking, really, really a very small, highly populated and policed city (vigi-pirate plan and all that).  We don't just have blocks and blocks of seedy neighborhoods, dark streets, abandoned alleyways....  like you might find in urban America (I'm thinkin' Baltimore, where I used to live).  A drug dealer on the streets of Paris just isn't going to last very long, he'll be rapidly spotted and picked up.  I don't think it's an excellent job opportunity  anymore.  

So the street dealers, or probably 95% of them are not in Paris.  You have to go outside the city, as I said before, to housing project areas.  Oh, and also - how could I forget?  The dealers probably also hang out where the prostitutes do!  In big parks just outside the city like Boulogne and Vincennes.  Take a walk in the woods, pay for sex and top up your stash at the same time!  Aah, Paris, the city of love, city of lights.....


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## dtcarney

Although I don't use them I know that here in Mexico it is pretty easy to find drugs.  Where Im at there aren't people just standing on the corner selling but in certain areas it is fairly easy to find someone who knows where to get drugs.  Drug use is more widespread than I thought, except when talking with foreigners, most people don't talk about drugs at all.  A friend works in the antidoping department at the university and said about 50% of the students tests came back positive.  I don't want to spend my time abroad in jail so I don't use them!


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## Lugubert

I'm a 63 year old Swede. In the 1960's, I was a university student. I have no idea of how people find addictive drugs or how widespread the use is. I personally know no person who has used anything worse than tobacco, alcohol and/or coffee.


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## roxane

In Switzerland, a lot of people smoke joints on public places (at parties, in bars, in the streets at night...), even though smoking marijuana is illegal. I personally never got caught, but I think you have to pay a fine if the police sees you. You can go to prison if you grow marijuana and it's obvious that it's not for your own use... and if you're caught while dealing.
I've never bought marijuana, but I think weed is pretty easy to find here. And it's even easier to find someone who's making a joint and wants to share it with you


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## Pedro y La Torre

roxane said:


> In Switzerland, a lot of people smoke joints on public places (at parties, in bars, in the streets at night...), even though smoking marijuana is illegal. I personally never got caught, but I think you have to pay a fine if the police sees you. You can go to prison if you grow marijuana and it's obvious that it's not for your own use... and if you're caught while dealing.
> I've never bought marijuana, but I think weed is pretty easy to find here. And it's even easier to find someone who's making a joint and wants to share it with you



I would say that the same is true of Ireland (or at least Dublin).


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## Sorcha

I know that last year in Italy they really cracked down on drug use and I heard of 4 guys (yes I know, its a friend of a friend story) who had their driving licences revoked and and a 2000€ fine for smoking ajoint on a public bench!! Did any one else come across anything similar?


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## maxiogee

Taht's a bit 'unrelated' to the offence isn't it?
Losing a driving licence for a non-motoring-related offence would be unheard of in Ireland.


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## jonquiliser

new to this forum and just bumped into this unexpected thread 
in comparison to many 'continental' European contries, I'd advice anyone going to Finland not to ask for drugs or seem accepting of non-legal substances unless they know the company they're in. there's massive drug hostility  - although, on the other hand, you'd better get really drunk in order not to seem the odd person out if you go out or to a party. 

it seems this tendency is slightly geographical, the more to the south (I'm still talking Europe as I don't really know much about this issue in other parts of the world), the more tolerant people are (this is mainly about cannabis, though). and the reverse. which is probably related to attitudes to alcohol and ways of drinking, if you go south beyond Spain, in Marocco (at least) and other arabic countries (I believe) cannabis is used, but alcohol strictly forbidden. up here, we've got it the other way around. and drinking is in many countries more of a frequent but moderate practice (though perhaps not among youngsters), whereas the common way here is binge drinking, for all ages.


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## Kajjo

Sorcha said:
			
		

> I know that last year in Italy they really cracked down on drug use and I heard of 4 guys (yes I know, its a friend of a friend story) who had their driving licences revoked and and a 2000€ fine for smoking ajoint on a public bench!! Did any one else come across anything similar?





maxiogee said:


> Taht's a bit 'unrelated' to the offence isn't it?
> Losing a driving licence for a non-motoring-related offence would be unheard of in Ireland.


Well, such punishments are dicussed in Germany, too, and I somewhat see the rationale behind it. Maxiogee, what makes _money_ or _personal liberty _being closer related to drug abuse than the driving license? All punishments are not actually related to the offence, are they? 

It is all about punishing, isn't it? And many people consider it a tougher punishment to take away the driving license for some months than paying a $1000 penalty. Further, the driving license is fairly equally important for all people while monetary punishment is quite affordable for some and very tough on others.

More concise, we need to have punishments people are afraid of, so they will not break the law. That's all. 

Kajjo


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## ernest_

Sorcha said:


> I know that last year in Italy they really cracked down on drug use and I heard of 4 guys (yes I know, its a friend of a friend story) who had their driving licences revoked and and a 2000€ fine for smoking ajoint on a public bench!! Did any one else come across anything similar?



Excuse me if I don't believe it, but I always take this friend-of-a-friend stories with a grain of salt. We had a similar story here, though it wasn't with drugs but with copied CDs. Rumours were going round about the police being engaged in a special anti-piracy operation, and it was said that they'd take your licence away if they found any non-original CD in your car. I never found anyone who had their licence revoked, but everybody had a friend of a friend who had.


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## badgrammar

Kajjo, respectfully, I would hate to live in a world where punishment is the order of the day.  I find that frightening.  Education is also nice.  Incentives are good.  Punishment is sometimes necessary, but societal order based entirely on punishment is like parenting based on punishment.  It can go too far.  Too much power can be put in the hands of the "punishers" and otherwise good and productive people can be over-penalized, or unjustly punished (courts and judges are not infallible, and not always just).

I guess it's fine if you consider yourself righteously inside the law at all moments.  Good for you.  But all people, even good citizens, may not be.  

I don't want world order based on punishment, nor would I want a punishment based government, community or family structure.  Is control through fear what you think would create an ideal society? 



Kajjo said:


> Well, such punishments are dicussed in Germany, too, and I somewhat see the rationale behind it. Maxiogee, what makes _money_ or _personal liberty _being closer related to drug abuse than the driving license? All punishments are not actually related to the offence, are they?
> 
> It is all about punishing, isn't it? And many people consider it a tougher punishment to take away the driving license for some months than paying a $1000 penalty. Further, the driving license is fairly equally important for all people while monetary punishment is quite affordable for some and very tough on others.
> 
> More concise, we need to have punishments people are afraid of, so they will not break the law. That's all.
> 
> Kajjo


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## Mei

ernest_ said:


> Of course, with other types of drugs is different. Particularly, people are scared to death of heroine and junkies, but there seems to be less and less of these every day, anyroad.



Hi,

I agree with all you said. I just want to add that the consume of other hardest drugs has increased in the last years. People smoke less hash than 3 or 5 years ago and some of them don't smoke nowdays. 

Cheers

Mei


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## maxiogee

Kajjo said:


> Well, such punishments are dicussed in Germany, too, and I somewhat see the rationale behind it. Maxiogee, what makes _money_ or _personal liberty _being closer related to drug abuse than the driving license? All punishments are not actually related to the offence, are they?


 
Not exactly, but we tend to have two basic punishments here - imprisonment and/or a fine.

A driving licence can only be lost for a motoring offence (or a series of motoring offences).

Other licences - for things such as selling alcohol, running an employment agency, or a travel agency, can only be lost for offences related to those activities which are covered by the licence.

I'm not saying that it should always be only this way, just that it would be a brave Minister for Justice who proposed expanding the penalty system to impact one's driving or other 'freedoms'.


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## Krümelmonster

I live in Germany and we even had someone smoking marijuana within the classroom during class and quite a few of my classmates smoke it regularly, so I think under the youth marijuana is quite common. But of course they wouldn't tell a stranger where to get some, for as Kajjo stated, laws are quite strict...
In Spain I got the impression that there were quite a lot of dealers around the road to Santiago de Compostela, and I was told that some pilgrims rather "fly" all the way to Santiago than to walk .


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## francophone

Absolutely illegal here, though hash is consumed just like normal cigarettes, it's all over and though illega, it's handy. It's something like the illegal cables we have, the government seem to ignore it, just to give some space for people. Already the lack of money and law salaries are making it tight. There's no need to complicate everything. Smoking hash seems like having a beer.

Bango( some sort of marijuana) is what the youth get addicted too, it's a major trouble, in sinai police keep searching and burning bango fields, it's a problem here. A major percentage of youth crimes is related to cravings and they'd do anything to get some money. People have long forgot about heroine and coke, bango is cheaper and they say it's better.

Never smoked hash or any other kind of drugs, as though.

Hallucination pills are also very common, a friend of mine once gave me lessons on how to recognize different addicts. Knowing that half of the country on drugs and the other half is on alcohol  (well i'm exagerating, but the number is huge, nonetheless). 

Most people moto on hash smoking is that it's no harm, only make sthem happier and life is hard, you know...


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## tvdxer

I just looked up the law.  In Minnesota, you get a "slap on the wrist" ($200 fine, no jail time) if you are in possession of 42.5 g or less of marijuana.  That raises to a $1,000,000 fine / 30 years jail time if you have 100 kg or more.

I would say that an adult smoking weed really isn't a huge deal here, though it's probably looked down upon.  There is the stereotype of the lazy stoner always complaining about why "the man" made marijuana illegal.  Children smoking weed, on the other hand, is a major issues for parents.  

For hard drugs, it's much different.  There are stiff penalties and using them / selling them is viewed very poorly by society.

A major issue right now in small towns in this area is meth production.  It is easy to set up (such as in a motel room, or an unknowing somebody in the woods' cabin) and very expensive to clean up, and has caused a lot of problems in rural communities.


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