What we score
What is the legal consequence for the seller?
Default assumptions: Unless a vignette says otherwise, the person is a 30-year-old citizen of sound mind with no criminal record, acting alone, on their own behalf and not for profit, in an ordinary residential area. Where subnational units (states, provinces, cantons, Länder) make their own law, each unit is scored and the result is weighted by population. 'The state' includes police, prosecutors, courts, regulators, tax authorities and anyone acting on their orders, including platforms obeying takedown orders.
Score anchors
Both the law score and the practice score use these anchors. Half points are used when a country sits between two of them.
| Score | What it means for this vignette |
|---|---|
| 10 | Legal, like any product. |
| 8 | Legal for licensed retailers; licences issued on objective criteria. |
| 6 | Tolerated through limited outlets or clubs; unlicensed sale lightly penalised. |
| 3 | Administrative penalty. |
| 2 | Crime: fine or under 1 year. |
| 1 | Crime: 1 to 5 years. |
| 0 | Over 5 years, or death penalty. |
Evidence used: Supply offences; retail-licensing regimes; sentencing data.
How each country scores
| Country | Law | Practice | Process | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3.8 | Selling 30 g or less of cannabis is a minor offence (overtreding) under art. 11(1) and (6) Opiumwet, punishable by up to 1 month's detention or a second-category fine. Licensed-in-effect sale exists only through tolerated coffeeshops limited to 5 g per transaction (AHOJ-G criteria). A private seller outside that system is typically fined or given a short community service. |
| United States | 2 | 3 | −0.5 | 2.1 | Under federal law any sale of under 50 kg of cannabis carries up to 5 years (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(D)). In the 24 legal states retail is licensed, but an unlicensed 30 g sale is a state misdemeanour or citation and still a federal felony (scored about 3). In non-legal states it is a felony: in Texas, delivery of more than 1/4 oz is a state jail felony, scored about 1. Police made about 16,000 cannabis sales and manufacturing arrests in 2024. |
| Czechia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | Since 2026, selling cannabis falls under the separate Criminal Code § 283a: up to 1 year for the basic offence and up to 2 years for a 'larger extent'. There is no licensed retail channel. Selling other drugs (§ 283) carries 1 to 5 years. |
| Switzerland | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.6 | Unauthorised sale of narcotics, including cannabis over 1% THC, is punishable by up to 3 years or a monetary penalty (Narcotics Act Art. 19(1)(c)). The cantonal-municipal cannabis pilot trials sell only to enrolled participants through licensed outlets, so they do not cover this seller. A one-off 30 g sale typically ends in a penal order with a (usually suspended) monetary penalty. |
| Denmark | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.6 | Selling 30 g of cannabis falls under § 3 of the Euphoriant Substances Act (fine or up to 2 years); § 191 straffeloven applies only to large quantities. Repeat sales, sales via social media and sales at venues are aggravating factors (§ 3(2), amended 2025). A first sale of this size typically brings a fine or a short sentence. Christiania's Pusher Street was closed in 2024; there is no legal retail. |
| New Zealand | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.2 | Selling cannabis to an adult is dealing under Misuse of Drugs Act s6(1)(e), punishable by up to 8 years for a Class C drug (s6(2)(c)). There is no legal retail market; the 2020 cannabis referendum failed. A one-off 30 g sale typically brings a conviction with a community-based sentence or short home detention rather than prison. |
| Germany | 1 | 2 | −0.5 | 1.1 | Dealing in cannabis remains a crime under § 34(1) Nr. 4 KCanG: up to 3 years or a fine, and 3 months to 5 years in serious cases such as commercial dealing (§ 34(3)). There are no licensed shops. Non-profit cultivation clubs may only distribute to members. A first-time seller of 30 g typically gets a fine or a suspended sentence. |
| Mexico | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0.9 | Selling cannabis below 1,000 times the 5 g table amount is narcomenudeo under LGS art. 475: 4 to 8 years in prison and 200-400 day-fines, even for small amounts given away. There is no licensed retail. Narcomenudeo is among the most common state prosecutions, and convictions at the 4-year minimum are typical. |
| United Kingdom | 0 | 1.5 | −0.5 | 0.4 | Supplying a Class B drug carries up to 14 years. Under the Sentencing Council guideline, selling directly to users is Category 3 'street dealing' regardless of quantity: a significant (profit-motivated) role starts at 1 year's custody (range 26 weeks to 3 years), and a lesser role starts at a high-level community order. A sale of 30 g usually ends in a short custodial or suspended sentence. There is no licensed or tolerated retail anywhere in the UK. |
| Ireland | 0 | 1.5 | −0.5 | 0.4 | Selling cannabis is possession for sale or supply under Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 s15, punishable by up to life imprisonment on indictment (s27(3)); the 10-year presumptive minimum under s15A applies only at €13,000 or more. There is no licensed or tolerated retail. A 30 g street sale is usually dealt with in the District Court (up to 12 months) or the Circuit Court, typically ending in a suspended or short custodial sentence; no national sentencing data were found. |
| Singapore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Selling 30 g of cannabis is trafficking a Class A drug under MDA s5: at least 5 years and 5 strokes, up to 20 years and 15 strokes. Trafficking more than 500 g of cannabis carries the death penalty. |