WHERE THERE’S SMOKE ...

Penalties for marijuana use and trafficking in selected Asian countries:

CHINA: Smokers can be detained for 10-15 days and fined up to 2,000 yuan. First-time offenders sometimes get off with a warning. Heavy users face compulsory addiction treatment. Some trafficking offences carry the death penalty.

INDONESIA: Possession, sale and consumption of marijuana punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Trafficking punishable by death.

JAPAN: Use and possession punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine. First offenders normally get 6 months. Cultivation, sale and transport punishable by 7-10 years’ imprisonment and a fine.

LAOS: Public use punishable by up 12 months in jail or a fine of up to the equivalent of US$35,000.

MALAYSIA: Possession of 50 grammes or less punishable by 5-10 years in jail. Trafficking, defined as possession of 200 grammes or more, carries the death penalty.

PHILIPPINES: First-time users can be sent to rehab for at least 6 months. Repeat offenders can be jailed for 6-12 years. Drug traffickers are sentenced to death.

SINGAPORE: Possession or consumption can result in up to 10 years in prison, with a fine up to S$20,000. Trafficking, import or export of more than 500 grammes can result in the death penalty.

SOUTH KOREA: Large-scale trafficking can result in the death penalty. The penalty for dealing is 5 years to life, and simple possession is punishable by up to 5 years.

THAILAND: Possession, cultivation and transport of up to 10kg of cannabis can result in a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and/ or a fine. Possession, cultivation and transport of more than 10kg punishable by 2-15 years in jail and/or a fine.

VIETNAM: Users can be sent to mandatory drug detoxification for 2-5 years. Dealing of large quantities is punishable by death.