Dunedin, New Zealand
Smoking tolerance level [1= very illegal 5=virtually legal]: 3
Legislation: Marijuana is illegal in New Zealand, but New Zealand has the highest per capita marijuana use rate of any western (OECD) country. Both smokers and the buds themselves are very plentiful.
Law enforcement: If you are a tourist the cops are unlikely to bust you. Most police are too busy with other things to go out looking for marijuana users. Just put on your thickest accent and ask ‘which way to the information center’. Feign ignorance as much as possible and most likely they will only confiscate your stash.
Where to buy marijuana: Dunedin (aka ‘Dunsterdam’)is full of good weed. Students at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand meet twice a week on the Otago University Union Lawn to smoke marijuana in a large group as a protest against prohibition. Every Wednesday and Friday at 4:20pm 50-100 people gather on the Union Lawn and light up and enjoy each other’s company. The weekly sessions have been running for almost five years now and have become a mecca for tourists and other cannabis enthusiasts who find themselves in Dunedin on a Wednesday or Friday.
Marijuana prices: NZ$25 for a ‘tinnie’ (approx 1 gram, range from 0.5g-2.5g)
NZ$50 for a ’50 bag’ (approx 3.5 grams [one eighth])
NZ$250-350 for one ounce, depending on quality
Marijuana brands: Largely delineated into ‘bush’ (outdoor) and ‘skunk’ (indoor). Because of the excellent climate and outdoor growing conditions, New Zealand outdoor can be very high quality and even indistinguishable from indoor.
More information: The most popular way of smoking bud in NZ is ‘spots’, which entails squeezing a small piece of bud between two hot knives and capturing the smoke produced in a plastic or glass bottle with the bottom cut off.