What we score
What is the legal consequence?
Default assumptions: Unless a vignette says otherwise, the person is a 30-year-old citizen of sound mind with no criminal record, acting alone, on their own behalf and not for profit, in an ordinary residential area. Where subnational units (states, provinces, cantons, Länder) make their own law, each unit is scored and the result is weighted by population. 'The state' includes police, prosecutors, courts, regulators, tax authorities and anyone acting on their orders, including platforms obeying takedown orders.
Score anchors
Both the law score and the practice score use these anchors. Half points are used when a country sits between two of them.
| Score | What it means for this vignette |
|---|---|
| 10 | Legal. |
| 8 | Legal within limits or with registration. |
| 6 | Decriminalised or tolerated; no penalty in practice. |
| 3 | Administrative fine or referral. |
| 2 | Crime: fine or under 1 year. |
| 1 | Crime: 1 to 5 years. |
| 0 | Over 5 years, or compulsory detention or corporal punishment. |
Evidence used: Drug law thresholds; prosecution guidelines; arrest data.
How each country scores
| Country | Law | Practice | Process | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czechia | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8.0 | From 1 January 2026, Addictive Substances Act § 5(12) lets adults over 21 possess up to 25 g of cannabis outside the home and 100 g at home without any permit. Possessing 25 to 50 g in public is an administrative offence (§ 39(2)(b), fine up to 50,000 CZK). Only more than 50 g in public or 200 g at home is a crime (Criminal Code § 285(2)). 5 g is therefore lawful for the 30-year-old. |
| Germany | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8.0 | Since 1 April 2024, adults may possess up to 25 g of cannabis in public and 50 g at home (§ 3 KCanG). 5 g is legal. The CDU/SPD coalition chose to evaluate the law rather than repeal it, and the possession limits were unchanged in 2026. |
| Switzerland | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6.0 | Under Narcotics Act Art. 19b, preparing a 'negligible quantity' for one's own use is not an offence, and 10 g of cannabis is defined as negligible. The Federal Supreme Court (BGE 145 IV 320 and earlier rulings) held that possessing up to 10 g for own use cannot be punished. Consumption itself remains a contravention punishable by a fine (Art. 19a), usually a CHF 100 fixed fine for adults. Police may still seize the cannabis. |
| Netherlands | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4.4 | Possessing up to 30 g of cannabis is a minor offence (overtreding) under arts. 3 and 11(1) Opiumwet, punishable by up to 1 month's detention (hechtenis) or a second-category fine. Under the Aanwijzing Opiumwet, possession of up to 5 g for personal use is tolerated: police seize the cannabis and do not prosecute. |
| United States | 3.5 | 5.5 | −0.5 | 4.2 | Federal simple possession is a crime carrying up to 1 year (21 U.S.C. 844), and adult-use cannabis stays in Schedule I; only state-licensed medical cannabis moved to Schedule III in April 2026. The 24 states plus DC with legal adult use hold about 52% of the population: legal under state law but federally criminal, scored about 5 de jure and 8 in practice. Most of the other states keep it a crime, e.g. Texas makes 2 oz or less a Class B misdemeanor with up to 180 days. Police made about 188,000 cannabis-possession arrests in 2024. |
| Mexico | 6 | 4.5 | −1 | 4.1 | 5 g equals the cannabis threshold in the LGS art. 479 table. Under art. 478 the prosecutor 'no ejercerá acción penal' against a consumer at or below the table amount (except near schools) and only refers them to treatment information. In DGI 1/2018 (28 June 2021) the Supreme Court struck down the absolute ban on recreational use and ordered COFEPRIS to issue personal-use permits, but Congress never passed the regulation law. Police still stop, search and detain users and bring them before prosecutors or civic judges, often extorting them: 63.5% of people who dealt with police in 2025 experienced corruption (INEGI ENCIG). |
| New Zealand | 2 | 5 | −0.5 | 3.3 | Cannabis is a Class C drug; possession carries up to 3 months or a $500 fine, and courts may not impose custody for Class C possession absent exceptional circumstances (Misuse of Drugs Act s7(2)). Since 2019, s7(5) says a possession prosecution should not be brought unless required in the public interest. Police data show 83% of first-time adult possession cases now end in a warning or other alternative action and 17% in prosecution; 58% of adults with prior offences are prosecuted. Cannabis makes up 63% of possession cases. |
| Ireland | 2 | 3 | −0.5 | 2.1 | Cannabis possession is a crime under Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 s3, but under s27(1)(a) a first or second offence for personal use is punishable by fine only; prison (up to 1 year summarily, 3 on indictment) applies only from a third offence. A first-time possessor now typically gets a Health Referral Scheme referral (from 1 September 2026; prosecution if refused) or an adult caution. Drug suspicion is the main basis for garda stop-and-search under s23. |
| Denmark | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.6 | Cannabis is banned under the Euphoriant Substances Act. Any breach, including possession for personal use, is punishable by a fine or up to 2 years (§ 3). The law says a warning can generally not be given unless the person is a long-term addict in a difficult social situation (§ 3(1), 3rd sentence), so 5 g brings a criminal fine and a record entry. |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 3 | −1 | 1.2 | Cannabis is Class B; possession carries up to 5 years under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In E&W in the year to March 2026, 53% of cannabis offences ended in a community resolution and 18% in charge or summons; Scotland uses Recorded Police Warnings. Drug-possession suspicion is the main driver of stop-and-search, accounting for 52% of s1 search arrests in the year to March 2025. |
| Singapore | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.6 | Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, possessing cannabis (under 330 g) is punished with up to 10 years and/or a S$20,000 fine. Possessing more than 15 g triggers a presumption of trafficking. CNB charges everyone found with drugs in court; only first-time users caught purely for consumption are diverted to community supervision or the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (12+ months). All are then placed on 5-year drug supervision. |