MarijuanaNews.com : Top travel destinations for Michael Phelps and other marijuana smokers

From the Examiner

American swimmer and 14-time gold medal winner Michael Phelps got busted for allegedly smoking marijuana when the British tabloid News of the World published a picture of him using a bong this week.

What does Michael Phelps probably smoking pot have to do with travel? Well, there are plenty of places in the world where smoking marijuana is not such a big deal.

Here are some cities where marijuana use is either legal or generally tolerated.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

For marijuana enthusiasts, there’s something triumphant about just being able to walk up to a counter and order a few joints. Not as triumphant as, say, winning eight gold medals in one Olympics, but joyous nevertheless.

Coffee shops, head shops, heaven: whatever you want to call them, stores legally selling marijuana abound just east of the Damrak in Amsterdam.

Vancouver, Canada

British Columbia has been known for a while as a source for quality bud, so it’s no surprise that the province’s largest city is pretty lenient about enforcing its marijuana laws. (Hypocrisy runs a little less rampant north of the border.)

And as Vancouver is the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics, Phelps probably would be able to find other world-class athletes whose performances haven’t been hurt by a little doobie. Hint: Hang out with the snowboarders.

Kingston, Jamaica

Good news: It’s pretty easy to find marijuana (ask a taxi driver) and not get busted for smoking it in Kingston.

Bad news: It’s pretty easy to get murdered in Kingston too.

Barcelona, Spain

At the waterfront end of La Rambla in the early morning hours on a day in January 2005, four backpackers sat on a bench, passing a joint back and forth.

Police officers walked down the street in the direction of the guys. Did they pay the pot smokers any attention?

No, they were too busy issuing parking tickets instead (and thereby also ignoring hordes of African prostitutes working the streets, looking for johns or pickpocket victims).

But it’s not just the lax enforcement of marijuana laws that makes Barcelona a great destination for Phelps and his ilk. Barcelona’s Montjuic area has the Bernat Picornell swimming pools, remnants of the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Singapore

Kidding.

Tehran, Iran

Not kidding.

From WeBeHigh.com’s article on Tehran:

“Iran has a very interesting policy towards buds - planting marijuana is legal if planted for food purposes because in Iran ranians still eat the seeds just like sunflower seeds, and there are also companies in tehran that draw the oil from the seed and sell it legally.

The punishment for possesion of marijuana is a fine of Iranian Rials 10000 (US $1.25) for every gram in your possesion and as long as you have less than 10-15 grams they will not even hassle you. Please always use common sense and caution and remember a smile is better than a frown.”