China
Asia
#151 of 196 worldwide
#22 of 48 in Asia
Use brings administrative detention and possible compulsory rehabilitation; trafficking can carry the death penalty. China is nonetheless a leading industrial hemp producer.
Score breakdown ▏world average
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Possession · 25%1/10adds 2.5 of 25 points
Possessing a small amount is an administrative offence under the Public Security Administration Punishments Law: 10 to 15 days' detention and a fine of up to 2,000 yuan. Larger amounts are a crime under the Criminal Law, with prison. Foreigners are detained, deported and often banned from returning.
Personal cultivation · 25%0/10adds 0.0 of 25 points
Growing cannabis for drug use is prohibited, with administrative detention for small plots and criminal penalties for larger ones.
Punishment & enforcement · 20%1/10adds 2.0 of 20 points
Short detention for users, extreme penalties for supply. Citizens have been warned that using cannabis abroad can be punished on return.
Sharing & gifting · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
Supplying any amount is trafficking under Article 347 of the Criminal Law, which has no minimum quantity; large amounts can bring life imprisonment or death.
Consumption · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
Use itself is punished with 10 to 15 days' detention, proved by urine or hair test — police conduct testing sweeps in bars. Users are registered in a national database and can be sent to compulsory rehabilitation for up to two years.
Legal access · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
More context not part of the score
China is one of the world's largest industrial hemp producers, licensed mainly in Yunnan and Heilongjiang, for fibre, seed and extraction for export.
No THC products. CBD is not permitted in food or medicines, was banned from cosmetics, and in 2024 was placed under precursor-chemical controls.
No medical cannabis of any kind.
Registration as a drug user brings years of monitoring and random testing, and affects employment and travel.
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