toke up in china?

[mcgau]

I don't really enjoy getting high but some of my friends do. The problem is that they always carry some cannabis in their pocket and it makes me curious what would happen if they were caught on this, especially after a british national was killed in this week.

I know that the amount of heroin that british carried was really a lot, far more than any "personal or recreational use" and this was heroin, but I'm wondering if anyone has an experience on these stuff in china?

[rlibbey]

China has long executed people for various high crimes, this moron was carrying over 4 kilos of heroin. Go figure! If you can’t do the time do not do the crime. As for your friends, guess what if you’re with them and they get busted you will also be implicated, not necessarily to the point of execution, however who knows, China is infamous for long jail terms just look at political sentencing, 11 years for speaking out on human rights. Not worth the trouble, stay safe and dump the pot.

[gato]

Moving on to cannabis after Donner kabab? :-)

[md1101]

i knew a pub in xi'an where the owner often shared some around. Plus I was in a backpackers there once and a group of Europeans seemed to have a few joints on them each night. I don't know where they got them from or how much trouble they would have got into if caught but no one seemed to be worried including the staff.

[gerri]

In Dali, Yunnan, I couldn't walk around a single time without having some Naxi woman in local dress ask "grass, marijuana, ganja???" They got me to the point where I was so annoyed, I stopped, opened my bag - and got out my camera. Boy, was that one gone quickly... Obviously, it's easy enough getting grass there. Remnants of the Hippie Trail, perchance?

[abcdefg]

Tobacco is one of Yunnan's main commercial crops. Such good growing conditions also favor cultivation of cannabis.

And the Dali/Lijiang "Hippie Trail" is still very much alive and well with all which that entails.

When in Kunming I frequently read about drug busts in and around the main (south) railroad station. It seems the dopers of late often try to avoid the airport by taking the train.

A brush with the Chinese police over smoking pot could really screw up your friends' vacation plans.

Edited January 2, 2010 at 04:51 PM by abcdefg

[liuzhou]

The availability of grass in Yunnan is nothing to do with any hippie trail. It is used by the local minorities. I have seen it in obscure markets seldom visited by foreigners.

Given China's official attitude to drugs, consumption has to be a high risk venture. People have been bust, jailed and deported.

[anonymoose]

I saw a woman shooting up in the street in Dali, not trying to hide it at all.

Yunnan is an odd place. Has anyone else also noticed the drain pipes that they smoke?

[abcdefg]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sinophilia/4157243599/

Photo of one of these water pipes I found on line. One often sees them being smoked in Kunming.

And as to grass, it is definitely not confined to use by remote minority tribes in the hinterland.

[anonymoose]

Yes, that's it, although the metal ones look funnier. Why can't they just smoke a normal pipe? I wouldn't want to be carrying one of those round in my pocket all day.

[abcdefg]

Why can't they just smoke a normal pipe? I wouldn't want to be carrying one of those round in my pocket all day.

I think the idea is that as the smoke bubbles through water it is made mellower and less irritating, serving the same function as a hookah pipe in Egypt.

The main way I've seen them used is in small "locals" restaurants and tea houses, where they are available for customers to use on premises. Would indeed be clumsy to lug one around.

[anonymoose]

I think the idea is that as the smoke bubbles through water it is made mellower and less irritating

Are you sure they've got water in them? It didn't look like it when I saw them.

[Xiwang]

One of the nice things about living in China is knowing that one is extremely unlikely to run into illegal drug use by most expats. Given the history of the Opium Wars, I generally support China's use of the death penalty for drug smugglers.

Nonetheless, this thread got me curious about the subject so I asked a druggie American classmate of mine about his experiences in Shanghai. Here's a summary of what he told me:

An acquaintance of his, who is a long-term expat, goes to Uyghur restaurants for his supply of marijuana. The two of them once went to a restaurant near People's Square where they purchased a large plastic bag of the stuff for 500 RMB. My classmate described the bag as a "brick" and said that it might have been possible to negotiate the price down to 300 RMB. Apparently, hashish was also available but he did not know the price.

I did not ask for (nor do I want to know) any addresses.

[fsutalltree]

Common sense motherhood statement:

Doing illegal substances is extremely risky especially in China. If you do it, do so with the utmost caution. China has dangerous parts just like the West and the rest of the world. Know the risks by asking around.

And no, I myself do not part take in illegal drugs although alcohol in China can also get you into a lot of trouble. Take care everybody and be safe, life is worth a lot of rmb.

[mcgau]

Moving on to cannabis after Donner kabab? :-)

LOL! Do i look that vicious? B) ...well, but it's getting close. I'm earning my living out of electronic cigarettes and the profit margin is fairly good. Although I sell it as a tool for quitting smoking, almost all westerners ask if it's possible to fill it with liquidized marijuana. My products are Propylene glycol-based and doesn't even contain nicotine in response to legal restrictions on nicotine, cannabis is really something beyond my life.