Reykjavik, Iceland

Smoking tolerance level [1= very illegal 5=virtually legal]: 3

Legislation: First of all good job on the report you really do tell it as it is. I just wanted to add a little info that you might add to your report on Reykjavik.

Icelanders consume between 1,5-2 metric tons of hashish and marijuana every year that’s about 6-7 grams a person per year.

almost 30% of the country has at one time or another tested cannabis. Although it’s hard to confirm this number since even the most hardened smokers deny smoking marijuana in polls and wont sign the demand for legislation form, afraid of the list falling into police hands and being used to persecute smokers.

Basically: Rather low fine for first offense and personal sized amount. However drug related crimes (including one joint) and murder are the only offenses to stay on national criminal record permanently.

Law enforcement: Mostly focusing on marijuana growers/cannabis smugglers and not so much users at the moment (2009).

People can not be searched against their will by the police unless under arrest; suspicious people can be arrested; refusing to be searched by police is acting suspiciously.

The fine for being captured by police officers with one gram of cannabis is around 550 usd or 35000 iskr.

To get a prison sentence you need to have at least about 0,5-1kg for which you will get 3 months in prison. (btw we have nice prisons, most have no fences because we know you aint getting of D island ;P even if you escape) the last prison escape was in 1983 he walked out the gate (which wasn’t there) and was captured 2-3 hours later and got 3-6 months added to his sentence so no one does it.

Where to buy marijuana: Marijuana is not very public. You will not see a guy light up a joint on the corner. But if you start a conversation with someone of the younger generation in a bar (20-25) and later in the conversation ask him how he feels about marijuana or if we have many smokers in iceland or a large drug problem, since you started the conversation the person is more comfortable continuing the conversation and you’ve hit paydirt. If the person dismisses the conversation drop it and move on to the next person and our latest info says that all transaction is via mobile phone, try hooking up with an Icelandic stoner on Facebook before visiting!

Marijuana prices: The prices for a normal person are for hash 1500-2000 iskr per gram (about 23-31usd) it’s about as effective as dried pond scum. For high quality hash the prices rise to about 2500-3000 iskr and its rare to get good stuff… for marijuana the price has remaind rather stable for the last 7 years or so always about 3000 iskr (at to days rate 47usd a gram!!!).

Marijuana brands: Icelanders have their own system of nameing hash and grass regardless of brand these are the most commonly used slang

Lower quality hash … marri

medium quailty hash … polli (or french paper)

High quality hash … ríger (derivative of the danish word for smoke) or svartur afghi (black afghani)

It’s funny that 80% of grass is called white widow, but the truth is only about 5% of growers actually know the brand they are growing. They’re just happy cus it is growing

Our local reporter says: “Hash, any type 3000 kr,/$26 Marijuana, any type 3500 kr./$30”

More information: The reason we have such strange national dishes is because before the second world war we were a very poor nation and had to eat everything :S nothing was ever wasted not even the faces of sheep and their testicles, most of us still lived in mud huts in the ground. After the war we moved into the bunkers (brags) the Americans left behind and have worked our way up to being one of the richest (per capita) country in the world and the most journalism freedom (along with Finland). Today we eat these strange dishes to remind our selves of our heritage. Btw our food was served on fear factor and no one was able to eat it (we laugh our asses off ).

Five big grow busts (500 plants plus) in one month (march 2009), local criminologist says on news it’s the recession tempting more to grow because of difficulty getting currency for buying hash to smuggle from abroad.

WeBeHigh City Tale:

While Amsterdam is for smokers, Reykjavik is for drinkers. That’s not to say there is no pot or hash to be found in Iceland’s capital, it is simply more scarce due to the country’s isolated location, the government’s stiff stance against drugs and the Icelanders love of booze. “As I saw it, there was no dope smoking in my school. None,” said Mark, an American who spent time in Iceland as an exchange student. “All of their energies were spent on alcohol, which they didn’t really treat as a drug. Everybody drank and they did it in the extreme.”

The Republic of Iceland is an island in the Atlantic near the Arctic Circle. The rocky countryside is dotted with hot springs and geysers fuelled by the geothermal heat from the area’s active volcanoes. Reykjavik is the country’s heart, home to 164,000 of the nation’s 277,000 inhabitants. Icelandic food includes bizarre menu items that could turn off even a pot smoker suffering a bad case of the munchies. Traditional dishes include whale blubber, ram’s testicles, decomposed shark meat and sheep heads served with the eyes intact. But if you want to party, Iceland is a great place and summer is the best time.

The country turns into a carnival on the third Thursday in April, considered the first day of summer. Icelanders celebrate their Independence Day on June 17 with parades and dancing in the streets. Midsummer arrives June 24 and Icelandic tradition holds that rolling in the dew on that night can cure illnesses. (For obvious reasons, the Midsummer rolling would be a great event to observe after a joint.) August brings Pjódhátío Vestmannaeyjar and Verslunarmannahelgi, which are both celebrated with outdoor events and loads of drinking.

Vodka is the preferred libation of Icelanders and at a number of “country dances” he attended, Mark observed that “everyone had their own bottle, sometimes two.” “No light buzz here, just drink ’til you drop,” he said. An Iceland native calling himself The Stone agreed. “Alcohol and [cigarette] smoking, that’s what really strikes me as the favourite pastime of Icelanders,” he said.

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Even the country’s most famous cultural export, pop singer Björk, is unequivocal about Iceland’s love affair with drinking. “Vodka by the bottle. That’s the kind of culture I come from,” she said. “We don’t sip drink, we fucking drink it. You go all the way, otherwise you’re a wimp.”

Icelanders have their own form of schnapps made from potatoes called Brennivín. The Stone said a potent alcohol called “Landi,” which is brewed illegally, is also popular. The name translates to something between “patriot” and “fellow countryman.” “Ironic that when you walk around with it, you are considered to be a good one,” he said.

Mark noted that intoxication seems to bring out the country’s multiculturalism. “Every Icelander can speak English, but most only do when drunk,” he said. “I remember convincing a drunk kid of about 12 one night that the sidewalk was a bad place to sleep, being so wasted and it being below freezing. The only reason he listened to me was because I was American and he got to try out his English on me.”

Prices for goods in Iceland are some of Europe’s highest. A pub beer can cost between 350 and 600 Icelandic kronur ($4 and $8 American). This is reflected in drug prices, as well. Hash in Reykjavik, normally Purple Haze and random Moroccan varieties, reportedly sells for around 1,500 IKR ($20) per gram. Sources said the quality is passable but not spectacular.

Perhaps the best way to find soft drugs in Reykjavik is to make friends at a bar or club and hope you get asked back to somebody’s house for a private session. Rather than a large street market, cannabis is often grown at home.

Eirik, who visits Reykjavik regularly, said residents are “very friendly to foreigners” and often invite new friends to late night house parties. The city offers numerous places to make these special acquaintances. “There are a lot of clubs around the centre of town,” said Villhelm, who lives in Reykjavik. “Around midnight on weekends the city starts crawling with people, and it keeps going until 8 a.m.” He suggested visitors check out Astro, located at Austurstraeti 22. Bjorgvin, another Reykjavik resident, said the city’s best night spots include The Dubliner located at Hafnarstræti 4, Gaukur á Stöng at Tryggvagata 22, Vínbarinn on Kirkjustraeti street behind the Parliament building and Thomsen nightclub at Hafnarstræti 17, a “trendy spot where the young people meet.”

But visitors looking to score need to be careful. Many of the locals are intolerant of drugs. Especially those wearing police uniforms. “The Icelandic police have been intensifying their

domestic counter-narcotics efforts,” noted a report by the U.S. State Department, which said Iceland’s government has a stated aim of being “drug free” by 2002. Possession of drugs is a criminal offence and, while pot is still present on the island, the authorities continue to squeeze home growers by confiscating well over 100 plants each year.