Where to move/retire?

[duke_nemmerle]

I was wondering what folks' opinions are on the countries/states with the most liberal laws pertaining to opiate use. Just a hypothetical really as I probably won't be moving any time soon, but I'd love to retire somewhere where I can use opiates without being hounded.

I guess some factors to consider are:

Availability
Law
Price
Political Climate of country
etc...

[Wildman]

In the states, the drug laws are pretty homogeneous (thank
the Feds for that) - the only siginificant difference I am aware
of is the status of marijuana. Since you are probably more
interested in other items, its identical around the country....

So, if you decided to "grow your own", consider which USDA
growing zone would be best, along with cost of living,
population density, and general attitude of the population.

[duke_nemmerle]

In the states, the drug laws are pretty homogeneous (thank
the Feds for that) - the only siginificant difference I am aware
of is the status of marijuana. Since you are probably more
interested in other items, its identical around the country....

So, if you decided to "grow your own", consider which USDA
growing zone would be best, along with cost of living,
population density, and general attitude of the population.

I'm thinking the old niederlander, oregon, canada as possibles? At least if not for right now, for the reform mindedness of these places

[Wildman]

Oregon? The one time I visited, I fell in love with the place.
Portland is nice, but out by Mt Hood is spectacular (love all
the apple farms) and also out at the coast south of Tillamook
is also an amazing place. I definitely need to travel around
Oregon more.

[Paregoric Kid]

I've heard that pharmacists in Israel and Myanmar (Burma) allow all medicine to be sold OTC if they don't think you're a junky. Spain and Portugal won't throw you in prison for possession of any drug if it's for personal use. I know you can live like a king in parts of Burma without spending much money at all. in Mexico you can get a script for most opioids from a doctor for cheap, if not just over the counter. also in mexico you can get a strong fentanyl analogue in a vet. pharmacy really cheap and it's OTC too. a lot of countries have codeine and some have dihydrocodeine OTC. the UK has codeine, DHC, and there is one rare type of cough syrup that contains morphine in small doses OTC. there are small government shops/stands that sell opium and hash in India. there's more legal opiates to be found that's just all I can think of off the top of my head.
here's an article on OTC meds in Burma from Reason magazine, check it out: Self Medicating in Burma http://www.reason.com/0508/fe.kh.self.shtml

[duke_nemmerle]

I've heard that pharmacists in Israel and Myanmar (Burma) allow all medicine to be sold OTC if they don't think you're a junky. Spain and Portugal won't throw you in prison for possession of any drug if it's for personal use. I know you can live like a king in parts of Burma without spending much money at all. in Mexico you can get a script for most opioids from a doctor for cheap, if not just over the counter. also in mexico you can get a strong fentanyl analogue in a vet. pharmacy really cheap and it's OTC too. a lot of countries have codeine and some have dihydrocodeine OTC. the UK has codeine, DHC, and there is one rare type of cough syrup that contains morphine in small doses OTC. there are small government shops/stands that sell opium and hash in India. there's more legal opiates to be found that's just all I can think of off the top of my head.
here's an article on OTC meds in Burma from Reason magazine, check it out: Self Medicating in Burma http://www.reason.com/0508/fe.kh.self.shtml

woah thanks a lot man. Do you know anything about spain/portugal? I had heard that posession was essentially decriminalized there. I wonder then if it's easy to score. I would seriously consider moving to a place like this if I could line up a job before hand

[Paregoric Kid]

all I know is that they will not throw you in jail and that I am pretty sure there is a limit to the amount of drugs you can have, not sure on the technicalities right now, but if you have a LOT of something they catch you with they will call you a dealer and probably charge you with something. if you are a repeat offender or something like that I think they can send you to rehab. one of those countries I think has a heroin maintenance program, and they both have methadone. seems like a nice place but spain is controlled by communists now and I'm sure that there are grim little parts to their systems I don't know about. but put it this way, if you are caught with a couple bags of dope you aren't going to spend any time in a prison if you are there. this is what I have read, if I'm wrong, someone please correct me!

[Wildman]

I've also travelled in Argentina and Uruguay. Buenos Aires is a
beautiful city and Uruguay has wonderful beaches. Climate of
BsAs and Uruguay is like Atlanta, GA (mild winters, hot summers).
Also loads of excellent skiing down there and the wine is fantastic
(Arg. Malbec). Nearby is the Iguazu region (Brazil/Arg/Paraquay),
which has incredible waterfalls, but is now run by druglords, which
may mean there is a useful supply of party materials available.

SWIM sampled the cane and buds down there and was pleased.

Beautiful part of the world, way off the beaten path, beautiful
women, great food (especially if you are a beef lover).

Right now, the Argentine currency is cheap. Live-in household
help can be readily obtained for like US$400/mo. It's not
third-world at all... BsAs is the Paris of S. America.

Here's a link to more info:

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/southam1.htm

[paesan]

I've allways been intrigued by South America and I've allways wanted to go there. I found out that Columbia has a pretty big Italian/Sicilian population so much so that Italian is even one of the main languages spoken there. They also speak their own dialect that isn't spoken really anywhere else in the world. Me being Sicilian this really interested me especially considering that my family speaks a Sicilian Dialect that is not even really spoken in Sicily anymore, just in the US among the Sicilian population here.

[Wildman]

You would be very intrigued by the mix of folks in Buenos
Aires - they speak Spanish, many are Italian ancestry, but they
have heavy British customs (tea time is an institution, polo
is pretty popular).

Add to that the architecture of BsAs looks like Paris, and you
have one interesting melange. When Europeans were leaving to
come to the US in the late 19th century, probably about as
many wound up in BsAs as they did in NYC - they have very
similar ethnic/national mixes.

They certainly love the night life and have a balanced attitude
towards work and play. I really like it down there...

I've also heard that Chile is quite nice - Santiago is on my
list of places to check out.

[ontario_opiophile]

I'd definitely say Spain or Portugal. Netherlands is rather pricey I think, so I wouldn't want to live there. Portugal and Spain are just as free as the Netherlands. Both Portugal and Spain are beautiful countries, debatably the most beautiful places on earth. Both of these countries have an extensive (and cheap) rail system, so you could travel to France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, quite easily. I really want to live in these countries so I may be biased, but there is no doubt they are really nice places to live. I really like freedom and liberty, so I'm definitely not moving to the United States. I don't know how the president can come on T.V and give speeches about transforming Iraq and Afghanistan into democracies. Fuck, the guy doesn't even know what democracy is obviously, or the U.S wouldnt be what it is now. The U.S is more like a dictatorship than a democracy. America is unbelievably gorgeous and it pisses me off that pig fucker old republicans are making it such an ugly place. If it were more free it would be an ideal place to live and it would be richer. If America ever actually becomes free i'll be the first one to move there. These laws make many people leave the country and thats pretty shitty. I bet you would retire in America if it were free. I know I would. I always loved the good ol' U.S of A, and I had alot of good times there but now, things are too messed up for me. It's funny(sad) how these redneck republican christian fundamentalists make fun of Canada and other countries because the governments there are "Liberal". Since when is being liberal a bad thing. So freedom is bad? Interesting how Bush strives for a free world, yet him and his buddies move backwards into the dark ages and make beautiful America a living hell? Oh well thats a whole other story haha. I get so fired up about these impotent right-wing old coots who are in power in the U.S right now. Anyways, Mexico is nice but dangerous. Paregoric was right when he said you can get drugs in pharmacies and easily from doctors and vets, but they don't carry alot of things they have in the United States and it all depends on where you are in Mexico I guess. Central America and South America can be kind of dangerous but for the most part the people there are hospitable and kind. Out of all the places in South America, Argentina is the one that is the safest and most modern and it is probably the most beautiful country in S.America. The people there are not all Spanish or Native Argentinians, there are alot of people of European, and Israeli descent. Buenos Aries has a very European vibe to it and would be a nice place to live. The country, however, is where I would want to live. Argentina is perfect if you love nature. There are tall mountains with lush forests and crystal clear rivers and streams. The ocean is pretty damn beautiful too. It is rather expensive though. I think it's the most expensive destination in South America, but it's worth the extra money for the safety and beauty.

[duke_nemmerle]

Let's all move to Spain!! Thanks for the info, I'll have to look for jobs there, I doubt I'll actually move there but it's something I've been entertaining for a whle