POV: You walk 30 seconds in Bangkok and pass 14 dispensaries before finding pad thai.

POV: You walk 30 seconds in Bangkok and pass 14 dispensaries before finding pad thai.

Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Denver — every legal-or-tolerated cannabis city eventually develops the same skyline of green-cross signs and neon leaf logos. For first-time cannabis travelers it can feel surreal, even overwhelming. But density does not equal safety: some shops are licensed, some are gray-market, and what you can legally buy as a tourist varies wildly by country and even by neighborhood. Knowing how to identify a legitimate dispensary abroad — licensing displays, ID checks, lab-tested products, no street-side sales — is the difference between a fun souvenir story and a customs problem.