Regions continent
Asia
48 countries and 3 territories in Asia. The average score is 7.0 of 100, 6.2 below the world average; Thailand is the freest and Singapore the harshest.
- average score · world 13.3
- 7.0
- countries, and 3 territories
- 48
- people
- 4.82 billion
- legal for adults · 2 with a medical route
- 0
Asia on the map
Each country coloured by its score: red means prison risk, green means free. Select a country for its profile.
Flower has been a controlled herb since November 2022 and since June 2025 requires a prescription, which narrowed the dispensary boom to medical supply. From 2026 licences are limited to qualifying medical, pharmacy, herbal and cultivation premises with trained staff. Recreational use is officially no longer permitted.
Possession and use for personal consumption are administrative offences carrying a fixed fine, not a criminal record, but police issued no such fines between 2022 and 2025. Above 15 g the law presumes dealing unless the accused rebuts it; all growing and supply are criminal. Medical cannabis is legal and large: 145,758 active licences and prescriptions in June 2026.
Small possession and use are administrative offences with heavy fines, raised sharply in May 2026; sale and larger-scale growing are criminal. Industrial hemp is licensed at 0.3% THC, while psychoactive cannabis has no medical route.
Small personal possession and small unauthorised cultivation are administrative offences. Larger amounts and supply remain criminal; the dried-marijuana table sets the small-quantity ceiling at 20 grams.
Private cannabis consumption is legal, while possession, growing and sale remain restricted. Parliament restored prison for possessing more than 5 g of dried cannabis in July 2025. In June 2026 the Constitutional Court barred imprisonment in a case about 0.1315 g of personal-use resin under the pre-May-2025 code; criminal liability remained.
Small amounts for personal use are administrative offences, but a court can order up to two months' arrest; possession above 5 g, sale and cultivation are crimes. There is no medical, hemp or legal supply route, and the authorities report thousands of drug cases a year.
Unauthorized possession of even a small amount, without intent to sell, is a criminal offence under Article 296, with a fine, corrective work, community service or up to 40 days' arrest. An especially large amount can bring three to seven years. A proposal to take simple possession out of the Criminal Code has not been enacted. Wild cannabis covers the Chu valley.
The NDPS Act bans flower and resin. Leaf-only bhang falls outside its cannabis definition, but state law differs: some states license shops, while Maharashtra restricts unauthorised possession and use. Some states license hemp and medical cultivation.
Small possession and growing are administrative; from about 100 g of dried cannabis, 20 g of hashish or five plants they become criminal, with up to twelve years for possession or cultivation and twenty for supply.
Cannabis possession can lead to treatment or prison; licensed low-THC hemp medicines are permitted.
Illegal since 1976 but widely tolerated, notably during Maha Shivaratri. Legalisation bills resurface regularly.
A 2020 law legalised licensed cultivation for medical and industrial use, but no licence had been issued by August 2026. Recreational use remains illegal: a small quantity for personal use brings three months to three years, while other possession or supply can bring life.
Possession carries two to five years, often converted to probation and treatment. Hemp is licensed in selected provinces; cannabinoid medicines have a tightly controlled individual import route.
Small personal cannabis holdings can bring a fine or up to fifteen days of administrative detention; above 1 g of dried cannabis they become criminal, with up to three years in prison for the basic offence. Growing and supplying cannabis are criminal, and since June 2026 public use is an administrative offence. Industrial hemp is licensed at 0.2% THC; medical cannabis has no patient route.
Cannabis is controlled under the 2012 drug law. Unlawful possession carries prison terms; the law retains limited discretion for customary consumption and cultivation and provides both voluntary and compulsory treatment procedures.
Illegal, yet charas is widely used and largely tolerated in parts of the country. The cannabis regulator publishes licence categories and application requirements for medicinal cultivation, extraction, manufacturing and industrial hemp.
Use brings administrative detention and possible compulsory rehabilitation; trafficking can carry the death penalty. China is nonetheless a leading industrial hemp producer.
Illegal, but licensed Ayurvedic practitioners may dispense cannabis preparations. A separate export-only cultivation scheme began licensing foreign investors in 2025.
Cannabis use, possession and growing solely for personal consumption carry up to one year or a fine; above 5 g of herb, 2.5 g of resin or 1.25 g of oil the ceiling is two years. Trafficking carries five to fifteen years. Courts may waive punishment for an occasional user.
Cannabis grows wild across the country but possession is a criminal offence: up to 50 g of herbal cannabis is a misdemeanour carrying one to under three years, and larger amounts or trafficking reach five to under nine years. A treatment route covers up to twice the threshold in limited cases.
Unauthorised acquisition or storage without a selling purpose can bring one to five years of travel restriction or imprisonment. Sale-related conduct carries two to eight years; organised criminal groups face twelve to twenty years or life.
The West Bank punishes personal use with six months to two years; trafficking reaches fifteen to twenty-five years. Gaza's 2013 law is harsher: three to fifteen years for use and death available for aggravated trafficking.
Possession is punished with fines and lashes, and trafficking more than 5 kg of cannabis can carry death; 795 people were executed for drug offences in 2025. A 2017 amendment narrowed the capital threshold but did not stop the rise. Since October 2026 industrial hemp may be grown under permit, while medical cannabis still has no patient route.
Cannabis remains criminal: personal plant possession can bring one to six months, a JOD200–500 fine, or both; resin carries one to three years plus a fine. First personal-use offences leave no criminal precedent or security record. Separate rules cover prescription CBD products and hemp seed foods.
Drug use itself carries no prison term. A user who does not enter the required treatment bond, or who breaks it, is sent to a rehabilitation centre for three months. Possession still carries multi-year minimum sentences, and more than 100 grams is deemed to be for sale.
Herbal cannabis carries six months to five years for up to 5 kg and up to ten years above 15 kg. A separate digital offence in the amendment dated 16 July 2026 can be punished with any term of imprisonment or death.
Legal status is opaque. Cannabis is listed as a narcotic and unauthorised storage or use is prohibited; hemp is widely grown. Scored with low confidence because no cannabis-specific penalty, prosecution or execution is published.
Up to five years for use, enforced even for use abroad by citizens. Sale carries at least a year, import or export life or at least five years, and profit-making or habitual import can bring death. A few cannabinoid medicines can be imported through a state agency.
Personal possession for use carries three to fifteen years and a fine, with a treatment route; smuggling, manufacture and cultivation carry death, and trafficking can bring death with aggravating facts. Captagon dominates enforcement.
A first detection of use brings administrative monitoring; repeat detection can lead to addiction assessment. Criminal use penalties depend on specified rehabilitation-related statuses. Illegal sale carries three to seven years, rising to life or death in the highest cannabis weight bands.
Personal use carries one to three years and a fine; trafficking can bring life imprisonment or death. The 2017 law has no quantity thresholds and divides use from dealing by intent. A first amendment was read in parliament in August 2026 but is not law.
Possession carries up to seven years, and since December 2024 use itself is a crime. The same reform allowed cannabis-derived medicines, though none has been approved yet; CBD is legal only within strict THC limits, and CBN was banned in June 2026.
Possession of 200 g or more is presumed trafficking, which can carry death (no longer mandatory since 2023). No cannabis medicine is registered for patients.
Personal possession, use and growing carry one to three years and a fine, with treatment alternatives for established dependence. Unpaid supply carries seven to fifteen years; specified import and production offences for trade can bring death or life imprisonment.
Possession for personal use carries six months to three years and a fine. Non-residents are deported.
Category 2 narcotic: up to three years for use; growing for personal use carries one to seven years since 2022, other cultivation at least five.
Cannabis remains illegal. Small-amount possession and use can bring a fine or administrative detention; criminal possession carries up to five years.
First-offence penalties were softened in 2022, but personal use remains one of the world's strictest regimes, with trace amounts enough and mandatory deportation for foreigners from 1 January 2026. A separate 2026 law allows licensed industrial hemp and authorised hemp-derived medical products.
Holding or growing cannabis for personal use carries five years in prison, with residential treatment possible instead. Unpaid supply can bring death or twenty-five years.
Cannabis is banned, and the Taliban's 2026 Penal Code for Courts sets fixed terms of six months to seven years for use, possession, cultivation and trafficking. There is no death penalty for cannabis in the code, but courts also impose flogging.
Possession carries prison at any amount. Life imprisonment can apply from 300 g of marijuana or 5 g of resin, and applies from 500 g or 10 g respectively. Unauthorised importation carries life regardless of quantity; possession at gatherings or with at least two others has enhanced penalties. Medical access requires an individual compassionate permit.
Personal possession and growing are crimes; trafficking can bring death or life imprisonment.
Severe penalties include prison and, for specified trafficking offences, caning or a mandatory death sentence. Death sentences are imposed but no execution is known since 1957. Simple possession and consumption carry up to ten years; cultivation three to twenty years.
Class I narcotic. Since 2 January 2026, possessing plant material is up to twelve years and possessing dried cannabis over 5 g can bring life or twenty years. Aggravated sale or production can still be death. Medical use is prohibited.
Personal consumption or possession can bring up to five years, or ten in listed places. Unpaid sharing carries five to ten years. Trafficking, import, production or cultivation for trade can carry death or life; death is mandatory for listed aggravations.
Someone who is not drug-dependent is presumed to be dealing even with 5 g or less, and dealing is fifteen years. Use by a dependent person is three years. Trafficking is life, and bringing in more than 350 g of cannabis can be death.
Prison for possession and use; long terms or death for trafficking. Discretionary flogging ended in 2020, but drug executions resumed in 2022 and continued in hashish cases through 2026.
Death for trafficking more than 500 g of cannabis, more than 200 g of cannabis resin, or more than 1,000 g of cannabis mixture, with narrow exceptions. Larger possession amounts bring mandatory prison and caning. Ordinary consumption brings at least one year; qualifying repeat use can bring 13 years and caning. Registered cannabinoid medicines may be prescribed, and HSA may approve an unregistered one for a named patient.
Cannabis use brings three days’ administrative arrest; possession and growing carry prison terms. The highest supply tiers allow life or death on paper, but the death penalty has been under a moratorium since 1993 and was barred in peacetime by the 2007 law; no cannabis execution or cannabis-specific death sentence was found.
Possession and use carry up to seven years in prison; very small first-offence personal-use cases may receive a fine, probation or community service. Growing cannabis carries up to fifteen years. CBD has also been controlled since February 2023.
Cannabis use, personal possession and home growing carry three months to a year in prison or a fine. Larger personal stocks can trigger production or trafficking penalties, including a lesser one-to-five-year tier. Medicines require official authorisation and controlled prescribing.
How the 48 countries divide
For adults
- Partly legal / tolerated 1Georgia
- Decriminalized 3Israel, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan
- Illegal 23Thailand, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Laos, Nepal…
- Death penalty 21India, China, Iran, Jordan, Myanmar, Bangladesh…
For patients
- Legal 2Thailand, Israel
- Limited 12India, Laos, Türkiye, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Jordan…
- None verified 34Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan…
Asia over time
The average score and the share of countries, or of people, in each band, rebuilt from the recorded history.
Cannabis freedom in Asia over time
Asia average score
7.0Prohibition−91.6 since 18607.0Prohibition+0.8 since 20118.9Prohibition−72.7 since 18608.9Prohibition+0.2 since 2011
Countries under prohibition or worse
Countries under prohibition or worse
People under prohibition or worse
People under prohibition or worse
90%43 of 48+90 points since 186090%43 of 48−4 points since 201198%of Asia's people+98 points since 186098%of Asia's people−2 points since 2011
Every country, ranked
The index score from 0 to 100 and its six parts from 0 to 10. Territories follow, unranked.
| # | Country | Score | Adults | Patients | Possession | cultivation | enforcement | Sharing | Consumption | Legal access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1#20 | ThailandTolerant | 27 | Illegal | Legal | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2#25 | IsraelTolerant | 25 | Decriminalized | Legal | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 3#37 | ArmeniaRestrictive | 21 | Decriminalized | None verified | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 4#38 | KyrgyzstanRestrictive | 21 | Decriminalized | None verified | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5#54 | GeorgiaRestrictive | 16 | Partly legal / tolerated | None verified | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 6#66 | AzerbaijanProhibition | 14 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7#67 | KazakhstanProhibition | 14 | Illegal | None verified | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8#70 | IndiaProhibition | 13 | Death penalty | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9#72 | TajikistanProhibition | 13 | Illegal | None verified | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10#74 | LaosProhibition | 12 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 11#75 | NepalProhibition | 12 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 12#87 | LebanonProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 13#99 | TürkiyeProhibition | 11 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 14#102 | UzbekistanProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15#103 | CambodiaProhibition | 10 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 16#106 | PakistanProhibition | 10 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 17#108 | ChinaProhibition | 10 | Death penalty | None verified | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18#135 | Sri LankaProhibition | 9 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 19#137 | Timor-LesteProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20#142 | BhutanProhibition | 8 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21#144 | MongoliaProhibition | 8 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22#145 | PalestineProhibition | 8 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23#148 | IranProhibition | 6 | Death penalty | None verified | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24#153 | JordanProhibition | 6 | Death penalty | Limited | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25#160 | MyanmarSevere prohibition | 4 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 26#161 | BangladeshSevere prohibition | 3 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27#167 | North KoreaSevere prohibition | 3 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28#169 | South KoreaSevere prohibition | 3 | Illegal | Limited | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 29#170 | SyriaSevere prohibition | 3 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30#173 | VietnamSevere prohibition | 3 | Death penalty | None verified | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31#174 | IraqSevere prohibition | 2 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32#175 | JapanSevere prohibition | 2 | Illegal | Limited | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33#177 | MalaysiaSevere prohibition | 2 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34#178 | OmanSevere prohibition | 2 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35#179 | QatarSevere prohibition | 2 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36#182 | TaiwanSevere prohibition | 2 | Illegal | Limited | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37#183 | TurkmenistanSevere prohibition | 2 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38#184 | United Arab EmiratesSevere prohibition | 2 | Death penalty | Limited | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39#185 | YemenSevere prohibition | 2 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40#186 | AfghanistanSevere prohibition | 1 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 41#187 | PhilippinesSevere prohibition | 1 | Illegal | Limited | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 42#188 | BahrainSevere prohibition | 0 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43#189 | BruneiSevere prohibition | 0 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44#191 | IndonesiaSevere prohibition | 0 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45#192 | KuwaitSevere prohibition | 0 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46#193 | MaldivesSevere prohibition | 0 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47#195 | Saudi ArabiaSevere prohibition | 0 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48#196 | SingaporeSevere prohibition | 0 | Death penalty | Limited | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| – | Abkhaziadisputed territory | 1 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| – | Hong KongSpecial administrative region | 7 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| – | MacauSpecial administrative region | 9 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The second number under the rank is the country's place worldwide, of 196.
Latest in Asia
The newest entries in the history. All history →
- 28 October 2026
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