In Uruguay from April this year, cannabis possession, sale, transport and cultivation will become legal. Even India, where the entire chain from cultivation to sale and possession is government-regulated, hasn't taken such a step.
In Turin, Italy, this week, the city council moved towards legalisation of cannabis use and possession when it approved the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Its stated aim: to steal cultivation and sale away from organised crime. In Italy, possession for personal use has already been decriminalised, though not legalised.
Portugal has decriminalised not just cannabis but all "illicit" psychoactive substances. In 2001 the country's drug problem was so dire and the human cost so high that it took the radical step of diverting funds to harm-reduction, education and treatment. As for cannabis, the possession of no more than 10 days' supply (25 grams of herbal cannabis) incurs a small fine (of up to €150) and possibly a summons to a commission of three experts: a social worker, a psychiatrist and an attorney.
Besides Italy, countries that have decriminalised possession for personal use include Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia and Spain, although cultivation and sale remain illegal. In Switzerland, possession is decriminalised, and cultivation is decriminalised in certain cantons, while in Belgium not only is possession decriminalised but users are allowed to grow one female plant.
The Netherlands has coffee shops where cannabis may be sold; possession has been decriminalised for decades. Last year a proposed law to allow the sale of cannabis only to residents was ditched over fears that tourism would suffer.
