The vocabulary around cannabis policy is used loosely, and the looseness costs travellers money and occasionally their liberty. Four terms come up constantly and they mean genuinely different things.
Legal means an adult may possess and, usually, purchase cannabis lawfully under a regulated framework. It arrives with age limits, quantity caps, licensed retail and rules about where consumption may happen. Legal markets are among the most tightly regulated consumer markets in existence.
Decriminalised means possession of a personal amount has been removed from the criminal courts but not made lawful. You can still be stopped, fined and relieved of what you are carrying. Supply remains fully criminal, which is why decriminalised countries almost never have a lawful place to buy.
Tolerated describes a policy choice rather than a change in the law. The statute still prohibits the conduct; the prosecuting authority has published conditions under which it will not act. The Netherlands is the best-known example. The protection is real but conditional, and it evaporates the moment you step outside the published conditions.
Medical only means a prescription framework exists for residents. It is almost never usable by a visitor, and a foreign prescription typically carries no legal weight at all.
The practical takeaway: check which of the four applies, then check the quantity threshold, then check whether public consumption is treated separately. Those three answers cover most of what a traveller needs.
Browse our full set of destination guides in the guides index, or check any country against the legality tracker.
What readers say
Clear, honest and it does not try to sell you anything. That is rare for this subject.
Been using these guides for every trip this year. Straight facts, no hype, and the price ranges have been accurate everywhere I have checked them.
Finally a site that explains the difference between decriminalised and legal properly. Saved me from a very expensive mistake at the airport.
Well researched and easy to read. The at-a-glance box is exactly what I wanted before landing.
Prices were slightly higher than listed in the tourist areas, which is exactly what the page said would happen.
Checked three of these guides against local lawyers I know. The legal summaries hold up.
