A saleswoman shows off a locally produced t-shirt and towel made out of hemp in Pyongyang. Hemp is, in fact, grown in North Korea with official sanction.
(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
North Korea has been getting some pretty high praise lately from the stoner world.
Marijuana news outlets including High Times, Merry Jane and Green Rush — along with British tabloids, which always love a good yarn — are hailing the North as a pothead paradise and maybe even the next Amsterdam of pot tourism. They’ve reported North Korean marijuana to be legal, abundant and mind-blowingly cheap, sold openly to Chinese and Russian tourists at a major market on the North’s border for about $3 a pound.
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But seriously, North Korea? Baked?
The claim that marijuana is legal in North Korea is not true: The North Korean penal code lists it as a controlled substance in the same category as cocaine and heroin. And the person who would likely help any American charged with a crime in North Korea emphatically rejects the idea that the ban is not enforced.
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“There should be no doubt that drugs, including marijuana, are illegal here,” said Torkel Stiernlof, the Swedish ambassador. The United States has no diplomatic relations with the North, so Sweden’s embassy acts as a middleman when U. S. citizens run afoul of North Korean laws.
“One can’t buy it legally and it would be a criminal offense to smoke it,” Stiernlof said. He said that if a foreigner caught violating drug laws in North Korea happened to be an American citizen, he or she could “expect no leniency whatsoever. ”
Americans have been sentenced to years in North Korean prisons for such seemingly minor offenses as stealing a political banner and leaving a Bible in a public place.
Even so, the claim that North Korea is a haven for marijuana smokers has cycled through the internet in various incarnations with great success over the past few years.
Radio Free Asia, a U. S.-government-funded news service, lit up the latest round of stoner glee late last month with a story that Chinese and Russian tourists are stocking up on North Korean pot by the kilo in Rason, a special economic zone on the country’s northernmost frontier that has a large, bazaar-style marketplace. The same market was the setting for one of the earliest blogs on the topic, a first-person account of getting high in the North from 2013.
Categorically confirming or denying such claims is difficult because foreigners’ access to the market is restricted. But where there’s smoke, there usually is at least a little fire.
Troy Collings, a frequent traveler to North Korea and managing director of Young Pioneer Tours, offered a more mundane explanation: It’s just hemp.
Ditchweed. Nebraska no-high.
“I’ve seen and even purchased hemp, but it doesn’t contain any THC and is just sold as a cheap substitute for tobacco,” he told the AP in an email. “It grows wild in the mountainous regions of the North and people pick it, dry it and sell it in the markets, but it doesn’t get you high no matter how much you smoke. ”
Hemp is grown in North Korea with official sanction. It’s used to make consumer goods including towels, cooking oil and noodles, as well as and military uniforms and belts. It’s also used as rabbit fodder. The rabbits are grown for food.
But industrial hemp is generally so low in THC, the active ingredient found in its cannabinoid cousins, sativa and indica, that it’s useless for medicinal or recreational purposes. It’s even cultivated in a different manner, focusing on male plants that do not produce buds. It’s the buds of female plants that recreational users are most after.
The Pyongyang Hemp Processing Factory actively markets hemp products as “environmentally friendly” and “perfect for the 21st century. ” An official at the plant told The Associated Press that while several varieties of hemp grow in North Korea, all are very low in THC.
“No one smokes this in our country,” she said, requesting she not be named because of the sensitive nature of talking to the American media. “It’s only used for making things. ”
North Korea grows something else that might be confused with marijuana: a mix of brown and greenish leafy tobacco that is used in pipes and sold openly in Pyongyang and elsewhere.
Smoking a lot of that could certainly give someone a buzz — and probably a bad headache. But from the nicotine.
Nevertheless, Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours, another agency that specializes in bringing foreign tourists to the North, said the idea marijuana is legal in North Korea has become so widespread that it’s not uncommon for prospective tourists to ask what to expect.
“We apologize, but have to inform those enquiring about this that weed is not legal. They are not going to be able to get any there,” he said.
“The idea that the country is full of stoners blissfully getting high in a legal-weed paradise is not an accurate one,” he added. “Not having seen or done something doesn’t mean it is never seen or done, of course. But I have never seen this. “

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White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes is headed to Cuba to finalize an agreement governing joint law enforcement efforts between the U. S. and Castro regime, the Obama administration announced Monday.
Rhodes will meet with Cuban officials on Monday to discuss “the arrangement of a framework for strengthening our partnership on counternarcotics, counterterrorism, legal cooperation, and money laundering, including technical exchanges that contribute to a strong U. S.-Cuba law enforcement relationship,” White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Cuba, though, has a long history of being on the wrong end of the law. The meeting comes less than two years after Cuba was removed from the State Department’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism. ” Around the same time, the Cuban government was caught trafficking illegal weapons on a North Korean vessel. The Obama administration sanctioned two North Korean companies in response while declining to take action against the Castro regime.
Rhodes’ trip to Cuba follows last week’s announcement by the Department of Homeland Security that the agency had repealed the so-called “wet foot dry foot” policy that for two decades has allowed Cuban migrants to remain in the U. S. and apply for permanent residency after fleeing their homeland. The Obama administration billed the policy change as a natural step in helping the Cuban people “achieve a better future for themselves and to advance the interests of the United States. ”
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“The aim here is to treat Cuban migrants in a manner consistent to migrants who come here from other countries … equalizing our immigration policies … as part of the overall normalization process with Cuba,” DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson told reporters on a call last week.
Rhodes’ trip to Cuba in the waning days of Obama’s presidency is likely the last he will make as deputy national security adviser. He is expected to deliver his final remarks on Obama’s foreign policy and public diplomacy record at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday.
On CBS Sunday morning, Manchin described Lewis’ rhetoric as “uncalled for. “

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SEOUL: South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group said on Monday it could not accept the special prosecutors’ accusations that its leader, Jay Y. Lee, paid bribes to further his succession or the merger of two affiliates in 2015.
“It is difficult to understand the special prosecution’s decision,” Samsung Group said in an email statement in response to the special prosecutors’ decision to request an arrest warrant for Lee, the third-generation leader of South Korea’s top conglomerate.
The prosecutors also said in their indictment of National Pension Service (NPS) chief Moon Hyung-pyo that he received an order from President Park Geun-hye to help the 2015 merger of Samsung C&T Corp and Cheil Industries Inc succeed.
Moon was indicted on charges of abuse of power and giving false testimony. He was arrested in December after acknowledging ordering the world’s third-largest pension fund to support the US$8 billion merger last year of two Samsung Group affiliates while he was head of the health ministry, which oversees the NPS.

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SEOUL –   More North Koreans are fleeing their country for political reasons, rather than economic reasons, and an increase in defections by Pyongyang’s elite will ultimately weaken Kim Jong Un’s regime, South Korea’s unification minister said in an interview.
Hong Yong-pyo, who heads the Ministry of Unification, expects to see more defectors like Thae Yong Ho, the North Korean deputy ambassador in London, whose defection to Seoul last year was the most high-profile in nearly two decades. The support of North Korea’s top government officials is crucial to ensuring Mr. Kim’s continued rule.
A crippling famine triggered the first major wave of defectors from North Korea about 20 years ago, but many now say that they are leaving the country “not just because they are starving, but for a better life, and for freedom and for their children’s education,” Mr. Hong said.
The cumulative number of defectors has swelled to more than 30,000, making them a sizable and growing community in the South. Last year, South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye urged North Koreans to defect to the south to seek a better life—an unprecedented call for any South Korean leader.
A looming change in government in Seoul could derail that approach. Ms. Park was recently impeached over an influence-peddling scandal and polls show a candidate supportive of warmer North-South ties is likely to take power soon. The progressive administrations that governed South Korea between 1998 and 2008 tended to take a more conciliatory view toward Pyongyang, and de-emphasized support for defectors.
But Mr. Hong said the political divide over support for defectors is long gone. “Whoever becomes the president, whichever party has the power, by and large we have a consensus that we should assist and support defectors as they enter South Korean society,” Mr. Hong said.
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SEOUL: An opinion poll released on Monday in South Korea showed former U. N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in second place and narrowing the gap on the frontrunner among likely candidates to succeed President Park Geun-hye, who has been impeached by parliament.
The Realmeter poll commissioned by the Maeil Business Newspaper showed former liberal opposition party leader Moon Jae-in maintaining his lead at 26.1 percent, compared with 22.2 percent for Ban.
Ban, who has made several campaign-style appearances since returning to South Korea earlier this month, has narrowed the gap, having polled 21.5 percent against Moon’s 26.8 percent a week earlier.
Ban said on Thursday that he will make a decision “soon” on his political future.
On Monday, Ban called President Park around 10 a.m. (0100 GMT) to inform her officially of his return, Ban’s spokesman Lee Do-woon said in a press release.
“I should have visited you in person. It is unfortunate that the situation is like this,” Ban was cited as saying. “I hope you will manage the situation well. “
Park was also cited in the release as congratulating Ban for his past decade working for the U. N., but did not mention her impeachment process nor the scandal at hand.
South Korea has been gripped by political crisis for months, with parliament voting overwhelmingly in December to impeach President Park over an influence-peddling scandal, a decision that must be upheld or overturned by the country’s Constitutional Court.
If the impeachment stands, an election would be held two months later. The election to a single five-year term is currently scheduled to take place on Dec. 20.
Ban, 72, planned to tour the south of the country on Monday, visiting shipbuilding docks in Geoje and a traditional market in Busan. His representatives have said Ban aims to have as much contact with the public as possible as he gears up to make a decision on his future.
On Tuesday, Ban is scheduled to visit the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun in Bongha village, also in southeastern South Korea, before heading to Pangmok Port, near the site where a ferry sank in 2014, killing more than 300 people.
The Realmeter poll was conducted from Jan. 9 to 13 and responses were taken from more than 2,500 adults. Trailing Moon and Ban in third place was fellow Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, the mayor of Seongnam, with 11.7 percent approval, down from 12.0 percent in the previous week.
Ban’s presidential ambitions hit a hurdle last week when two of his relatives were indicted by U. S. prosecutors on Tuesday over bribery allegations. Ban has denied any knowledge of his relatives’ business affairs.
Controversy around the building deal linked to Ban’s relatives had been reported previously in South Korean media.

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The company flag of Samsung Electronics flutters next to the South Korean national flag in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. Prosecutors requested the arrest Monday of the de facto head of Samsung, South Korea’s biggest company, on bribery and other charges in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of the country’s president. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
(The Associated Press)
SEOUL, South Korea –   A request by South Korean prosecutors to arrest Lee Jae-yong, the 48-year-old vice chairman and de facto leader of Samsung Electronics, has added to the troubles for the country’s most valuable company after a spate of recalls last year.
Lee faces allegations he offered $36 million in bribes to a friend of President Park Geun-hye, who has been impeached. Prosecutors say they also suspect him of embezzlement and lying under oath. A Seoul court will review the request for his arrest Wednesday and will likely decide on it within this week.
Here is what you need to know about the entanglement of the world’s largest smartphone maker in the scandal:
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SAMSUNG’S LINK TO THE SCANDAL
Samsung is alleged to have made substantial donations to nonprofit foundations controlled by Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of Park’s who has been jailed and is on trial for allegedly using her connections with the president to extort money and favors from companies and unlawfully interfere with government affairs.
South Korean prosecutors say the company agreed to pay more than $18 million to a company Choi set up to finance equestrian training of her daughter in Germany. It also helped pay for a winter sports center run by Choi’s niece. Of four Samsung executives prosecutors have questioned Lee is the only one they have asked to arrest. The prosecutors say they plan to summon Park for questioning as a possible suspect.
The company has said it never made donations to win favors.
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LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
Since Lee Jae-yong’s father suffered a heart attack in May 2014, the company has been trying to accelerate a leadership succession from the 72-year-old father to his son.
The younger Lee has held various executive positions at Samsung Electronics but owned less than a 1 percent stake in the company in 2014. Inheriting his father’s 3-percent stake would cost him billions of dollars in inheritance taxes. To strengthen his control over the company without having to lay out a fortune in either taxes or share purchases, the Samsung group chose in 2015 to merge two of its member companies, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
Lee was the biggest shareholder in Cheil. The merger made him the biggest shareholder in Samsung C&T, increasing the share of Samsung Electronics shares that he effectively controls to about 5 percent.
Minority shareholders of Samsung C&T, including the U. S. hedge fund Elliott Management, opposed the merger, saying it benefited the Lee family at their expense.
Prosecutors have indicted a former health minister, Moon Hyung-pyo, for allegedly abusing his power in asking the national pension fund to support the Samsung merger plan at Park’s request.
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EXPOLDING PHONES AND WASHERS
Just weeks before Samsung was dragged into the political scandal, the company discontinued its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7, after finding it was prone to overheat and catch fire. The recalls began shortly after the smartphone was launched in August.
Samsung has estimated the total cost of the recall at at least $5.3 billion and slashed its third-quarter profit forecast.
The recalls and safety concerns stung, and company officials say they plan to soon announce a definitive conclusion on why the phones were overheating.
In another upset, about a month after the Note 7 was discontinued, nearly 3 million Samsung washing machines were recalled in the U. S. following several reports of injuries — including a broken jaw — due to “excessive vibration. ”
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PROFIT MACHINE
Samsung has postponed the personnel reshuffle it usually announces every December. An arrest for Lee also might slow decision making on big investments and long-term strategy. But Lee is not involved in day-to-day management, so the company’s smartphone and chip sales would be unlikely to suffer much immediate damage from his absence.
The company remains a profit machine thanks to its formidable business in making microchips for computers and mobile devices. Earlier this month, Samsung said its October-December operating profit jumped 50 percent to $7.8 billion, its best performance in more than three years. It is due to give more details on its earnings in a conference call scheduled for Jan. 24.
Before prosecutors requested Lee’s arrest, Samsung Electronic’s share price had been setting record highs, with shareholders anticipating generous dividends. On Monday, it fell 2 percent.
___
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Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong is grilled by South Korean prosecutors after becoming a criminal suspect in the corruption scandal engulfing impeached President Park Geun-Hye.
Video provided by AFP

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South Korea’s special prosecutor on Monday sought an arrest warrant for Samsung Electronics heir apparent Lee Jae-yong on bribery charges, linking the executive into the country’s deepening political scandal and raising potential economic uncertainty for the tech giant.
The move came after investigators questioned the executive of the world’s largest smartphone maker last week on suspicion he paid an estimated $36 million in bribes to organizations tied to Choi Soon-sil, a friend of recently impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye and a key figure in the scandal, according to the Korea Times and other media reports.
The executive, who’s known as Jay Y. Lee in the West, is also under suspicion of embezzlement and perjury, according to reports, which cited the arrest warrant application.
At least in the short term, the prosecutorial action could raise questions about the corporate leadership of Samsung, which separately has struggled to determine the problem responsible for causing the company’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to burst into flames. The issue forced the company to issue a recall that’s expected to cost billions of dollars.
It is considered unusual for South Korean prosecutors to seek the arrest of an executive who symbolizes the future of South Korea’s most important family-controlled conglomerates because such leaders are usually considered vital for the national economy. Lee, 48, became the acting head of Samsung in 2014 after his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a debilitating heart attack.
However, Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the special prosecutor’s office, said that “while the country’s economic conditions are important, upholding justice takes precedence. ”
Calling the decision “difficult to agree with,” Samsung issued a formal statement saying the company “did not make contributions in order to receive favors. ”
“In particular, we find it hard to accept the special prosecutor’s argument that Samsung has made improper requests related to the merger of Samsung affiliates or the leadership transition,” the company said. “We believe the court will make the appropriate judgment on this matter. ”
A Seoul court said is expected to review the prosecutors’ request on Wednesday. The request takes two to three days to review, according to a Seoul court official in charge of arrest warrants who declined to give his name because of office rules.
The investigation of the Samsung chief could also target Park. Her impeachment is under review by the Constitutional Court, which will decide whether to restore her power or force her from office.
The prosecutors’ spokesman said investigators had evidence proving that Park shared wealth with Choi and was an accomplice in the Samsung bribery case. They plan to summon Park and will then decide whether to name her as a suspect in the Samsung case, he said.
Contributing: Associated Press

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