Asia is...the worst!

[qahouaji]

Well, I'm afraid this one still rankles in me, because I know that literally every Asian government not only outlawed cannabis, but the laws are very severe...

...with the possible exception of India, Nepal, Pakistan. India, of course, probably is the most "cannabis liberal," but these countries have a long, long way to go in terms of giving users rights. The only reason, ironically, India is comparatively "liberal" just has to do with the fact that it's a very populated country and comes out of the British tradition...

...but it gets worse anywhere else. China, Japan, Vietnam, Iran, Arab Emirates, so on, so on, all prescribe long jail sentences or the death penalty for pot. In Singapore, .5 grams is enough to put you in jail for life. In Pakistan, dealers are executed. Meanwhile in Thailand, the philosophy is of outright extermination...

...if you (or I) ever get caught in these countries, remember that they have no legal process or none that is accountable to anything. People are locked up, not taken to trial, or the trial is a total joke. Very frightening, don't get caught in a country where there's no legal protection.

...i remember watching a TV special a few years ago where two British girls got caught in Thailand. They had no right to communicate with anyone, had no chance of getting a lawyer, it was really bad. They were screwed for life!

...the essential problem is that in these places, no one even has the right to raise the issue, or are shouted down in a very absurd and detestable manner. Asia, in my opinion, stands for the rights of the government, not the people. Most of these countries are dictatorial countries where information is pure propaganda and those in power line their pockets and market themselves as "friends of the people"; smugly sitting by with their unelected power, they preach and profess gleefully that they could care less what happens to those who are unfortunate enough to encounter the weed...

...but, if you've got the stomach for all this, try India. If you've got up to maybe an ounce and a half, I believe you don't even go to court;it's taken from you, that's all. But beware of cops who plant shit on you to extort money; that happens a lot too...

...a disaster. Sorry, I wish I could tell you otherwise.

--qahouaji

[Sabadi]

Agree with a lot of what you say, although , personally I adore Singaporean society so much I can forgive them their draconian laws as at least alcohol is so expensive that they do not have a drink culture either(unlike the UK's nasty alcohol fueled thugs) but in defence of Asia and its weed ill say 2 things:

1. CAMBODIA

2. LAOS [/b]

[al mriko]

Countries of Indian Sub continent are not that bad, provided you're a foreigner. If you get caught, usually the cops extort you some money (of course if the amount is one or several kgs you can get little more trouble).

Kashmir is ok, I spend one week there smoking all time, going around with our driver in his nice ambassador; Me and my friend were somewhat freaking about the hundreds of indian soldiers everywhere, but our guide/driver assured us that was no problem. Never ever we've been checked for dope in Kashmir, only for explosive material when we left the valley.

Himachal is rather ok also, everybody smokes there, and cops for sure of course. bus travel is the more risky, as there are regular checking, on the way back to Delhi from Manali, and also after Manikaran in Parvati valley.
There, once I was coming back from Tosh our bus get stopped and the cops checked the bags of all foreigners, happening to be all israeli that time. Fortunately they didn't noticed me (maybe because of my rather local baba look), I had two tolas of nice jungli in my money belt, woof !

Pakistan is one true smoker's paradise. charas is extremely cheap, much more than in India, and also often of better quality than in India. Never I had any mixed stuff in Pakistan. I smoked many times with cops there. I even got seeds from one of them garden.

I don't know about Nepal, not yet been there.

Afghanistan too is probably quite safe place for smoking, from there comes stuff that beat any kind of ice/bubble/water hash, definitely.
Nol, if you ever hear about Shebarghan Purple charas jump at it !
Unfortunately It's been years since I have not seen really good Afghani in NL.

From my experience, South West Asia is very safe place for smoking (smugling is another story). One of my advice is for sure to make good local friends, as they will be able to protect you from police, telling you what you can do or what you cannot do. Abstain from travelling with stuff with you, wherever you go it is easy to score.

Here's a personnal little tale :

In 2002 I went for a three month journey in Kashmir, Himachal and Pakistan. When I crossed the border from India to Pakistan, I had a little leather pouch with around 2 grams of Kashmiri Twisted Gardah in my under pants. I walked through the India check ok, but as I felt that the thing was not in right place I went to the toilet (between the two borders, funny) to put it back where it has to stay and then walked towards Pakistan. I was directed straight to the luggage checking room. I sit and talk for a few minutes with the 2 customs men (no bagage checking at all) and then bye bye. AS I stood up, I felt something falling along my leg... Ho my good Lord ! I looked at the ground and of course, that was my little leather pouch ! Agh ! One of the custom man who was standing just front of me saw it, hebent, took it and without a word gave it back to me! I couldn't believe it, I said thank you and left straight. As I left, I heard the man telling something to his colleague in urdu (local language), with the word "gardah" (local name of polm) in sentence, then they both laughed out loud). Welcome ! oh wow ! that was crazy time for sure, and it get even more crazy as the following days passed. But I was extremely lucky on that one I have to admit.

I strongly recommend Pakistan, very beautifull country, very cheap and incredibly welcoming and helpfull people.

Irie !

Mriko

[qahouaji]

OK--

They just sentenced Schapelle Corby to 5 years' imprisonment for smuggling 9 pounds of pot into Indonesia (Bali). All the while, Corby professed her innocence, that the drugs were planted on her by Australian mafia.

Let me say this: this is simply a sick, sick system they have. As I understand it, in Indonesia convicted murderers do less time than convicted drug smugglers. This is simply an outrage and violates every UN directive towards human rights and, even, the judicial treatment of drug offenders as drawn up in the UN Narcotics Treaties. The fact that no government--not even the Dutch government, and Indonesia is a former colony--condemned the verdict is really sickening.

Some other things I would like to say:

If drug dealers turn in a buyer for purchasing drugs, in the hope that they will not be harmed, that is detestable. It is even more detestable when police oversee or are behind drug business so that they can improve their record. This kind of horrible episode, we should act and put our best efforts toward, should not continue to be repeated. When I read about the trial, I was simply horrified. An innocent civilian, condemned to prison in filthy environs among brutish criminals and guards. Not that this doesn't happen in the West, but this example was particularly bad.

Some effort must be made by interested parties to force Middle Eastern and East Asian governments to end their draconian stances towards drugs. As we progress into the 21st century, and population continues to grow, the temptation had by governments will be to eliminate lives in the hope that those remaining will survive. This is NOT the right approach, and if anything the UN ought to be more concerned with ensuring the dignity and humanity of every human subject that lives and breathes in our world today.

I simply do not understand Indonesia's stance. If convicted murderers get off light and a tourist caught with pot gets five years, potentially life imprisonment, what does that say about justice? Why aren't more people outraged about this cruelty? Meanwhile, in response to the other articles on this post, I will say that legalization is going nowhere in the Asian continent. Censorship is king, alternative political and social policies and activism are roundly repressed, and this, my friends, is just not acceptable. If we in the West are to bequeath anything from the depth of our wealth, power, and education, it must be to invest the non-Western world with a pragmatic and real vision of the rights of human beings. Especially, as Asia grows and becomes more prosperous and powerful. This brutal smashing of Schapelle Corby's life should not go unheard, nor should it lapse into the incredibly unjust status quo. Asian governments must end draconian sentencing!

--Qahouaji