Every year, numerous U.S. citizens are arrested, charged and imprisoned abroad for using and/or distributing illegal drugs. If you are caught with illegal drugs in a foreign country, their laws will apply to your case, not the laws of the United States. Ignorance of their laws is no excuse, and that argument will not hold up in court. Depending on the crime and the country, if you are convicted you may face a sentence ranging from fines and jail time, to years of hard labor or even the death penalty. Sometimes the penalties are much more severe than they would be in the United States.  For instance, U.S. citizens have spent years in overseas jails after being caught with only one gram of marijuana. It’s not worth the risk!