Map of Marijuana Use: Where Do People Smoke More—Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus?

Marijuana has not gained much popularity in post-Soviet countries. Its low popularity in the countries of the “Eastern Partnership” is evident from a global marijuana use ranking map created by journalists from indy100.com, a project of The Independent.

The United States ranks first among all countries, while in Europe, France and the Czech Republic lead, followed by Italy and Spain. The Netherlands shares third place with several other countries.

Ukraine uses marijuana less than Russia, Poland, and Slovakia, but more than Moldova, Hungary, and Belarus. The level of marijuana consumption in Ukraine is about the same as in Romania.

Nigeria Surprises in the Rankings

Journalists were surprised to find that Nigeria consumes as much marijuana as Canada. The data is based on statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

How to Read the Map

The map uses a blue-green color scale. The deeper the green and the closer it is to blue, the higher the marijuana use in that country. The color gradient represents the percentage of people who smoke marijuana: light green means 5% of citizens use it, turquoise starts at 10%, and blue indicates 15% or more.