Medan (North Sumatra), Indonesia

Smoking tolerance level [1= very illegal 5=virtually legal]: 4

Legislation:

Law enforcement: Negligible. Smoke in your room and you will have no problems. If you are caught, be prepared to pay a bribe. Bribe for one ounce = 100,000 – 200,000 rupiah ($11 – $22 US). Be prepared to pay up to 1,000,000 rupiah ($120 US) to bribe a cop if he nabs you with your entire kilo. But you’d have to be pretty stupid and careless to let that happen.

Whatever you do, don’t go ‘downtown’ with the police. You can come up with an amount of money that will work for both of you.

Where to buy marijuana: Mesjid Raya. It is the biggest mosque in Medan and the city’s only real landmark. In the area behind the mosque, enter any of the cafes and order something to drink. Guys will appear out of the woodwork and try to sell you anything and everything. Mention ‘ganja’ and they’ll take you around the corner, down a dark, scary alley. This is just to get out of sight of the mosque and other cafe patrons. They’ll show you the buds (which are mostly sticks and seeds) which come from Aceh or other government-owned plantations.

Marijuana prices: Conspicuously, the doubling of fuel prices also doubled the price of reefer. Previously, it was 1 million rupiah per kilo ($110 US). Now it’s 2 million rupiah (closer to $225 US). An ounce shouldn’t cost you more than 100,000 rupiah (11 dollars).

Marijuana brands:

More information: