Belarus
Europe
#189 of 196 worldwide
#45 of 45 in Europe
Notoriously harsh drug law (Article 328) with multi-year sentences for small amounts.
Score breakdown ▏world average
Select a segment to show or hide the exact rules and sources.
Possession · 25%0/10adds 0.0 of 25 points
Under Article 328 of the Criminal Code, acquiring or possessing drugs without intent to distribute is punished with restriction of liberty for up to five years or imprisonment for two to five years. There is no small-amount exception: one documented case brought five years in a maximum-security colony for 0.164 g of marijuana.
Personal cultivation · 25%0/10adds 0.0 of 25 points
Cultivation falls under the same article, with the same or heavier terms.
Punishment & enforcement · 20%0/10adds 0.0 of 20 points
Several thousand people a year are imprisoned under Article 328, with average sentences of around eight years according to the 'Mothers 328' movement of prisoners' families. Bills to ease penalties have been introduced following their campaign.
Sharing & gifting · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
Passing a joint to a friend counts as distribution. Young people caught with a gram or two while smoking together have received five to eight years.
Consumption · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
Use in public or appearing in public under the influence is an administrative offence; in practice users are charged with possession.
Legal access · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
More context not part of the score
None.
No medical cannabis.
Convicts serve sentences in separate colonies with marked uniforms, and a record follows them afterwards.
All sources
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