Almaty, Kazakhstan

Smoking tolerance level [1= very illegal 5=virtually legal]: 2

Legislation: Marijuana is illegal in Kazakstan, and so is any related action.

Law enforcement: Police seemed quite tough in Kazakhstan. If you get in trouble, prepare to pay A LOT (in the best case) to get away. This impression was confirmed by local friends which recommended extra attention.

Where to buy marijuana: It is said that there is a lot of weed in Almaty, you just gotta know how to find it.

1) If you know Kazakh youngsters (mostly clubbing ones) they will probably know how to guide you to get some marijuana.

2) If using hitchhiking taxis (the personal cars stopped on the road for internal transport), you might spot the right driver and put the question. Even if you do not speak Russian, if they have they will understand. If not, you can at least pretend to be misunderstood.

3) The D’Afrique Club is frequented by some substance using youth. Again – be extremely careful who you approach.

4) During the summer in the fields around Almaty, you can find wild marijuana.

Conclusion: it seemed better not to risk anything and buying without being sure of the safety.

Marijuana prices: The only times I have payed was in the hitchhike taxi-s. Approximatively the price of one foreign beer for grass enough for 2 joints.

Marijuana brands: medium quality

More information: Police in the Zhabul region in southern Kazakhstan have seized more than two tons of marijuana from two drug dealers. A mobile police detail patrolling the Chuya valley on Wednesday arrested a 39-year-old resident of the neighboring Almaty region with 980 kg of marijuana, the local interior department told Interfax. On August 19, anti-drug police in the Merkeny region seized 1.1 tons of marijuana from a 36-year-old resident of Taraz near the village of Tatty. The Chuya valley is notorious for vast fields of wild cannabis, from which marijuana is produced.