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Solomon Islands MPs examine a bill with life sentences fortougher general drug offences-offence penalties

A parliamentary committee began its inquiry intoexamined the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2025, which would allowNo. 9 of 2025. Its official call for submissions set a finedeadline and announced an inquiry start of up to 15 million penalty units,17 February 2026; contemporary reporting on 20 February described proposed life imprisonment or both where the Dangerous Drugs Act sets no specific punishmentsentences and larger fines. The government moved after prosecutors said the Act didproposal is not explicitly criminalise possessingcounted as enacted law. Existing section 8 already expressly criminalises cannabis possession, supplying or manufacturing drugsgrowing and giving; reports of wider gaps in drug legislation should not be read as an absence of cannabis offences.

Solomon Islands Parliament — Bills and Legislation Committee call for submissions on Bill 9 of 2025 Solomon Islands Attorney-General — Dangerous Drugs Act, Cap. 98, authorised reprint as at 1 October 2009 1 unchanged

Parliament approved a reform of the criminal code that legalises growing three plants and … ed shops had been dropped along the way. The changes were set to start on 1 January 2026. The amendment setting the personal limits, which also abolished the offence of holding drugs for someone else, was drafted by the think tank of the former drug coordinator Jindřich Vobořil, who accused the STAN deputies who submitted it of passing it off as their own.

Seznam Zprávy — „Ukradli jste mi návrh.“ Bývalý vládní drogový expert se hádá se STAN (11 August 2025) 2 unchanged

Adults may carry 7 g, keep 50 g at home and grow four plants per household. Instead of shops, the law allows licensed non-profit associations that grow for their members. Smoking in public is still prohibited. President George Vella, a doctor, signed it despite calls from opponents to refuse, saying the president could not impose his own view on parliament, and the law was published on 18 December.

UNGASS on Drugs (Times of Malta) — It's official: recreational cannabis reform is now law (18 December 2021) 2 unchanged

Robert Abela announced plans to legalise possession of small amounts of cannabis and plants for personal use. Parliament passedA public consultation from March drew 350 submissions. The opposition Nationalist Party, which had claimed the lawidea of regulated clubs, voted against the bill, and it passed on 14 December by 36 votes to 27.

MaltaToday — Looking back at 2021: From reefer madness to cannabis regularisation UNGASS on Drugs (Times of Malta) — Cannabis bill approved in parliament, in first for Europe (14 December 2021) 1 unchanged

Any doctor mayAn amendment to the Drug Dependence Act, passed on 26 March, let doctors prescribe cannabis for chronic pain, whichspasticity in multiple sclerosis and the side effects of chemotherapy, to patients holding a control card from the Superintendent of Public Health; pharmacies dispense non-smoked forms. A second law the same year licensed production for medicine, research and export.

MaltaToday — Malta has officially legalised medical cannabis (27 March 2018) 1 unchanged

2013-06-08

A reform letDecree 2013-473, signed on 5 June and published on 7 June, took effect the medicines agency approvenext day. It exempted specified operations involving cannabis-derived medicines, giving limited medical accesscontaining pharmaceutical specialties with a French or EU marketing authorisation. It opened an authorisation route rather than legalising all therapeutic cannabis or proving products were available.

Légifrance — Decree 2013-473 of 5 June 2013, original Journal officiel text Cannabis: non solo fumo Wikipedia — Cannabis in France

tighteningdebate

TheParliamentary debate on the Combating of the Abuse of Drugs Bill set prison terms of twenty to forty yearsproposed exceptionally severe penalties. Contemporary reporting described parliamentary adoption, but this review did not establish assent or large fines,commencement. The proposal must not be substituted for any drug offence regardless of quantitythe operative 1971 Act’s penalty provisions.

The Namibian — Parliament adopts drug bill (23 November 2006) 1 unchanged

1994-08-09

Sudan passesreplaces its Narcotic Drugshashish law with a narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Actpsychotropic substances act

Sudan's Narcotic DrugsThe published statute is dated 9 August 1994 and Psychotropic Substancesrepeals the Hashish and Opium Act was passed in 19941924. Its available consolidated text distinguishes personal use and cultivation for use (up to five years and a fine) from trafficking (life and a fine, with specified capital aggravations) and supply even without payment (at least ten years and a fine). It includes licensed medical and scientific activities and a treatment-related bar to meetprosecution for dependent users. The hosted text contains later references, so this is not proof that every provision is unchanged from the country's obligations under the three UN drug conventionsoriginal enactment.

Sudan — Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1994, Arabic consolidated text hosted by UNODC Wikipedia — Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (Sudan)

possession 0 · cultivation 0 · enforcement 1 · sharing 0 · consumption 1 · access 0

tighteningother

Guinea-Bissau passesreplaces its 1976 narcotics decree-law

Decree-Law 2-B/93 sets two to twelve years in prisonreplaced Decree-Law 1/76 and distinguished small personal-use possession, cultivation and consumption from trafficking. Article 20 imposed different custody bands for growinghigh-risk plants, selling or possessing listed drugs, cannabis oil and its resin among themother derivatives, with a separate article for growing or acquiring for personal useconditional waiver restricted to qualifying minors. The edited copy flags a missing trafficking minimum in the gazette. No unsupported score immediately before the reform is assigned.

Guinea-Bissau — Decreto-Lei n.º 2-B/93, 28 October 1993 (OGDT-hosted Portuguese compilation) UNIOGBIS — Decreto-Lei n.º 2-B/93 de 28 de Outubro

1987-03-20

The Narcotic Drugs (Prohibition and Control) Act made all possession of cannabis illegal, with fines or prison from the first ounceact commenced on 20 March 1987. It allowsprohibited cannabis possession on a, cultivation and distribution, with specified professional and medical prescriptionexceptions. The current consolidation, renamed the Prohibited Drugs Act in theory2020, but no medical cannabis is availablegives marijuana a penalty ladder and retains prescription exceptions; it does not by itself verify an operating patient service.

Marshall Islands Parliament — Prohibited Drugs (Prohibition and Control) Act 1987, consolidated through P.L. 2025-37 1 unchanged

FSM Code 2014 — full Title 11 Chapter 11, Controlled Substances, sections 1111–1149 1 unchanged

Abuse of Dependence-Producing Substances and Rehabilitation Centres Act, 1971 (Act 41 of 1971), Schedule Part I (Namibia Legal Information Institute) 1 unchanged

Under the French protectorateprotectorates kif had been sold legally through a state tobacco and kif monopoly. France ended the salesthis in its zone in 1954, while the Spanish zone still licensed growing. When Morocco became independent in 1956 and after independence a royal decree extendedjoined the existing drug conventions, the ban was extended to the whole countryboth former zones. Growing continuedAfter putting down an uprising in the Rif, toleratedprovoked partly by the ban on growing, King Mohammed V condoned cultivation in practicethe five historical villages around Ketama, where it has gone on since.

Transnational Institute — The Rise and Decline of Cannabis Prohibition, chapter 1, The history of cannabis in the international drug control system (2014, PDF) 1 unchanged

morocco-french-zone-ban-1954, morocco-spanish-zone-dahir-1954

Under French rule a state monopoly had sold cannabis, known as takrouri, alongside tobacco. AThe decree of 23 April 1953 prohibited growing, possessing, trading and using itconsuming Indian hemp and takrouri. Pharmacies could use up their medical stocks until 1 January 1955 at the latest, and independenthemp for textiles could still be grown under licence. Independent Tunisia kept the ban.

UN Bulletin on Narcotics — Evolution in 1952 of national legislations on narcotics, 1954, issue 2 1 unchanged

tunisia-takrouri-monopoly-1890

Kiribati Government Trade Portal — Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 23, Revised Edition 1977 (scan) 2 unchanged

Tuvalu Government — Dangerous Drugs Act, CAP. 10.10, 2022 Revised Edition 2 unchanged

To carryThe Law on the Trade in Narcotics (Opiumgesetz) of 10 December 1929, in force on 1 January 1930, carried out the 1925 Geneva convention, a new and replaced the Opium Law broughtof 1920. It listed Indian hemp under control for, its extract and its tincture among the first time. Cannabis could still be sold bycontrolled drugs: importing, growing, making, trading, acquiring or supplying them needed a permit, except for pharmacies; dispensing on prescription and patients buying from them. Hashish and other tradecannabis resin were banned outright. Breaches were punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine, and possession became offencesforeigners convicted could be expelled.

Gesetz über den Verkehr mit Betäubungsmitteln (Opiumgesetz). Vom 10. Dezember 1929, Reichsgesetzblatt 1929 Teil I Nr. 43 S. 215–217 (scan on Wikimedia Commons) 2 unchanged

British Palestine bans's Dangerous Drugs Ordinance covers Indian hemp

The Mandatory government promulgated the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance of 1925, modelled on Br … 8, 1932 and 1936. Hashish kept flowing through Palestine from Syria and Lebanon to Egypt. It formalised a ban on hashish that the military government had announced in 1919.

possession 10 · cultivation 10 · enforcement 10 · sharing 10 · consumption 10 · access 8

British Palestine bans's Dangerous Drugs Ordinance covers Indian hemp

The Mandatory government promulgated the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance of 1925, modelled on Br … 8, 1932 and 1936. Hashish kept flowing through Palestine from Syria and Lebanon to Egypt. It formalised a ban on hashish that the military government had announced in 1919.

possession 10 · cultivation 10 · enforcement 10 · sharing 10 · consumption 10 · access 8

Sudan — Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1994, Arabic consolidated text hosted by UNODC 2 unchanged

PersonalThe 1993 decree-law criminalises use and small personal possession carries up to three months or cultivation, with different custody bands for high-risk plants, cannabis oil and other cannabis derivatives. Its youth waiver is conditional, not a fine; trafficking 2 to 12 yearsgeneral first-offender exemption.

Illegal underArticle 20 of Decree-Law 2-B/93 and a 2010 drug law. Possessionseparates small quantities intended for personal use is punishable by upconsumption from ordinary trafficking. It sets two months to threeone year for high-risk plants or substances, expressly including cannabis oil, and one to six months in prisonfor cannabis derivatives other than oil. It does not state a gram threshold or a fine — a separate, much lighter provision than the 2alternative in that article. The earlier three-tomonth-12or-year trafficking offencefine claim was unsupported; representative sentencing practice remains unverified, so the possession rating is provisional.

undl2b93

GrowingSmall-quantity cultivation for personal consumption is covered byfalls within article 20, with the same lighter provision; othersubstance-dependent prison bands as personal possession. Other unauthorised cultivation of Table I/II plants falls under article 3, whose maximum is traffickingtwelve years. The compilation prints an editorial two-year minimum but notes that the official gazette omitted that number. No legal home-growing allowance or fixed plant limit was established.

undl2b93

Light penaltiesThe law permits custody for users on paperpersonal use. The country's drug enforcementA discretionary waiver under article 20(2) requires all three conditions: the person is dominated by its role as a cocaine transit pointbelow legal adulthood, has no repeat offence, and solemnly undertakes before a magistrate not to repeat it. Article 22 allows a dependent offender’s sentence to be suspended on treatment conditions, with revocation for culpable noncompliance. These are statutory routes, not evidence that adult users usually receive fines; the justice system is weakenforcement rating remains provisional pending actual outcomes.

undl2b93

Transferring drugsArticle 3 includes offering, even free of chargedistributing, falls under the trafficking offence with 2transferring or providing high-risk drugs to 12another person, with no general exemption for an unpaid gift. Its maximum is twelve years; the printed two-year minimum is flagged by the editor as absent from the official gazette. Article 12 separately punishes inciting or facilitating illicit use. Passing cannabis to another adult is not a lawful sharing route.

ConsumptionUse itself is an offence under article 20. A 2017 review of the decreeThe text distinguishes high-law givesrisk plants or substances including cannabis oil (two months to one year) from other cannabis derivatives (one to six months in prison where the drug is cannabis, against two). It should not be reduced to twelve monthsa single one-to-six-month tariff for other drugsall cannabis. The waiver is restricted to qualifying minors, and saysnot all first-time offenders can be exempted from punishment. Users who need help from theArticle 21 protects anonymity and medical confidentiality for people voluntarily seeking health services have their identity protectedassistance.

idpc17, dl2b93

No legal sourcelawful recreational supply route or operating cannabis patient service was established. Article 3 distinguishes authorised conduct from illicit supply, but does not itself show that cannabis licences or medicines are available. Voluntary addiction care under article 21 is not a permission to obtain cannabis.

undl2b93

Reliable national information about lawfulArticle 3 distinguishes unauthorised cultivation and manufacture from conduct under an authorisation; licence-holders acting outside their authorisation face separate penalties. This recognises an authorisation framework, but the reviewed text does not establish issued cannabis production was not established by the retained sourceslicences, an industrial-hemp exemption or lawful production volumes.

dl2b93

Reliable national information about legally availableTable I expressly lists cannabis products wasand cannabis resin. Article 20 distinguishes cannabis oil from other derivatives when setting personal-use penalties. These statutory categories do not established by the retained sourcesestablish any product currently available through legal retail or patient supply.

dl2b93

The retained sourcesArticles 21–23 regulate care for people using drugs: voluntary attendance carries anonymity and professional secrecy, while treatment ordered within proceedings involves reports to the court, normally every three months. These addiction-treatment provisions do not establish whether a medical cannabis prescribing programme operatesor patient supply service.

dl2b93

The retained sources doArticles 16–17 provide forfeiture of drug-related equipment, proceeds and associated assets. Under article 19, a court may expel a foreign national convicted of trafficking for at least ten years; this is not establish collateral consequences beyond the penalties described abovean automatic consequence of every small personal-possession conviction. Specified premises offences can also lead to closure for one to five years.

dl2b93

Decree-Law 2-B/93 punishes anyone who,Article 20 covers small personal cultivation without authorisationlegalising it, cultivateswhile article 3 covers other unauthorised cultivation. Table I lists cannabis and resin, sells, buys, transportsbut the reviewed text does not expressly settle isolated seed possession or holds plants listed in its first two tables with two to twelve years in prisonseed trading. The decree-law doesgrey seed label records that unresolved scope, not mention seedsa verified permission. Growing cuttings has no recreational exemption.

No cannabis clubs are known, and theThe reviewed law leavesestablishes no room for them: recreational collective-growing cannabisor supply permission: personal cultivation remains an offence under article 20 and supplying ittransferring cannabis to another person are both prohibitedfalls under article 3. This legal restriction does not establish whether informal associations exist.

undl2b93

There is no legalNo recreational visitor supply for anyoneroute was established. Possession of cannabisArticle 20 permits custody for one's ownsmall personal possession or use carries one to six months in prison, from which a first-time offender can be exempted; supplying itand its waiver requires minority, even freeno repeat offence and a solemn undertaking. Foreign nationals convicted of charge, is trafficking may additionally face expulsion for at least ten years under article 19.

idpc17, dl2b93

Guinea-Bissau — Decreto-Lei n.º 2-B/93, 28 October 1993 (OGDT-hosted Portuguese compilation) UNODC SHERLOC — Guinea-Bissau Decree-Law 1/76, French translation Decreto-Lei n.º 2-B/93, de 28 de Outubro — legislação relativa a estupefacientes (UN mission in Guinea-Bissau, PDF) 3 unchanged

nonelimited

Sudan's narcotics law provides for the death penalty for producingPersonal use and trading in hashish; the text of its penaltiespossession for personal use could not be found, socarry up to five years under the scores are unverifiedpublished narcotics statute. Unpaid supply carries at least ten years; aggravated trafficking can carry death. Current wartime enforcement remains insufficiently documented.

Unverified. Sudan passed a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act inArticle 20(1) of the published 1994 Act text punishes use, acquisition, import, production or possession for personal consumption with up to five years and Amnesty International reports an earlier narcotics act of July 1989a court-set fine. The textArticle 20(2) bars prosecution of neither could be founda dependent user who voluntarily seeks treatment or requests it before trial. Trafficking intent brings the separate, much harsher article 15 regime. The Criminal Act 1991available text includes later references; a complete amendment chronology was read in full and has no narcotics offencenot established.

wikiact1994, amnestyactfull

Unverified. Amnesty reports that the 1989 act providesArticle 20(1) expressly includes cultivation to extract drugs for personal consumption in the up-to-five-year offence, with a fine. Cultivation with trafficking intent falls under article 15: life imprisonment and a fine, with death in specified aggravated cases. Personal cultivation therefore has a distinct lesser penalty for the illegal production of hashish and opium, although it remains imprisonable.

amnestyact1994

The narcotics act introduced in July 1989 provides for the death penalty for producingA National Supreme Court ruling, finalised on 16 November 2018 and tradingpublished in hashish. Amnesty International recorded death sentences passed by special courts for dealing in hashish in 1990its 2019 collection, and Reuters reported nine women sentenced to deathupheld life imprisonment for possession of 657.3 grams of hashish with trafficking intent; it reduced the fine to 10,000 pounds. The court inferred intent from quantity in hashish in 1995that case, without stating a universal threshold. How possession forThis does not establish how small personal-use iscases are handled in practice could not be verified, especially during the current conflict.

amnesty95, wikihashishcase

Amnesty reports that the 1989 act provides for the death penalty for trading in hashishArticle 16 covers providing narcotics or facilitating access whether paid or unpaid: at least ten years and opiuma court-set fine outside authorised cases. Specified aggravations, including repeat offences and that nine women were reported sentencedsupply to minors or at schools, allow death for trafficking in hashish in June 1995or life imprisonment. The text of the current act wasA gift is not foundexempt.

amnestyact1994

UnverifiedUse itself is prohibited by article 12(2) and punishable under article 20(1) by up to five years and a fine. Article 20(2) provides a treatment-related bar to prosecution for dependent users who seek help voluntarily or before trial; see possessionit is not general decriminalisation of consumption.

wikiact1994, actfull

Unverified; no lawful sourceArticles 12 and 14 allow ministerially licensed medical or scientific activities, including research institutions holding controlled plants or seeds. A cannabis patient programme, dispensing service or recreational supply route was foundnot established by the reviewed material, so the general licensing power is not counted as observed access.

wikiactfull

Amnesty International reports thatThe published 1994 Act text distinguishes ordinary and aggravated offences. Article 15 starts trafficking at life imprisonment plus a narcotics act of July 1989 providesfine, with death in specified aggravated cases. Article 16 permits death or life for theaggravated supply; article 17 prescribes death penalty for illegal production of and tradingspecified international organised-crime connections. These are distinct from the personal-use offence in hashish and opiumarticle 20.

amnestyact1994

The retained sourcesArticle 12 permits medical and scientific activities under ministerial licence, and article 14 allows recognised universities and research institutions to hold controlled drugs, plants and seeds for scientific purposes. These powers do not establish whetherprove that a medical cannabis treatment programme operatesor accessible cannabis medicines operate.

actfull

The retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyondArticle 22(2) requires deportation of a foreign national for article 15 or 16 offences and permits it for personal-use offences under article 20(1), in addition to the penalties described abovesentence. Article 21 provides confiscation and destruction rules for drugs, plants, seeds and property involved in specified supply offences.

actfull

No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no roomArticle 16(1)(c) criminalises preparing or managing a home or other place for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibiteddrug use or dealing outside authorised cases, andwithin the lawminimum-ten-year supply provision. The reviewed statute provides for the death penalty for the most serious drug offencesno recreational social-club exemption; this does not establish whether informal associations exist.

amnestyact1994

There is no legal recreationalvisitor exemption from the reviewed personal-use or supply offences. Article 22(2) makes deportation compulsory for anyone, so a visitor has no lawful way to buy cannabisforeign nationals convicted under articles 15 or 16 and discretionary for article 20(1) personal-use offences. The sources behind this profile describe no separate ruleNo lawful recreational supply route for visitors was established.

wikiactfull

UNODC SHERLOC — Sudan Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1994, Arabic text of articles 15–20 (includes later references) Sudan — Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1994, Arabic consolidated text hosted by UNODC (catalogue attachment labelled 1996) Sudan National Supreme Court — Sudan Government v. Z. A. A. J., final order 16 November 2018, reported in the 2019 criminal judgments 4 unchanged

illegal

banned

illegal

banned

Article 13 prohibits importing or dealing in controlled plants and seeds, including cultivation, ownership, sale, transfer and transport, at any stage of growth. Article 14 allows licensed scientific possession by recognised research institutions. That exception is not a general home-growing or seed-import permission.

actfull

nonelimited

Prohibited under a 1948 colonial-era law; very few casesA 2025 amendment sets minimum prison terms for small cannabis offences and little information on enforcementpermits medical or scientific licences; ordinary recreational supply remains prohibited.

Illegal underSchedule 3 of the Dangerous Drugs Act, a colonial-era law dating from 1948 that prohibits importing, growing, selling or possessing Indian hemp. Possession2025 amendment sets two to five years for possession of any amount is a criminal offence that can bring a fine or imprisonment; no reliable figuremore than 5 g, and three to seven years for small amounts was foundno more than 10 g. Its overlapping bands and omitted intermediate quantities require interpretation.

wikidda2025

CultivationUnlicensed cultivation is prohibited by the same Act. Schedule 3 sets one to five years for up to one plant and two to seven years for up to three. The printed bands leave gaps; do not interpolate a tariff.

wikidda2022, dda2025

With about 11The 2025 statute prescribes minimum imprisonment,000 people and very few recorded drug cases, there is little evidence of how including two years for the law is appliedsmallest possession band. Actual post-amendment prosecutions and sentencing practice were not established.

wikidda2025

Sale is prohibited, with heavier penaltiesThe amended section 8 covers sale and trafficking. Schedule 3 gives selling or trafficking no more than 5 g the same two-to-five-year band as possession. No verified case interpretation of an unpaid gift was found.

wikidda2025

Cannabis is illegal under the Dangerous Drugs Act. The sources read do not say whetheramended section 5 prohibits unlicensed use is an offence separate from possession; no drug-related crimes were reported in 2019 or 2020Schedule 3 expressly includes smoking Indian hemp alongside possession.

wikidda2025

NoneNo recreational supply route. New section 14A permits ministerial licences for medical and scientific activities; it does not establish an operating patient supply service.

wikidda2025

NoneThe 2025 amendment permits licensed medical or scientific cultivation and manufacture. The reviewed sources do not establish actual licensed production.

wikidda2025

NoneThe licensed framework covers dangerous drugs for medical and scientific purposes. It is not evidence of cannabis products being available to consumers.

wikidda2025

The retained sources do not establish whether aSection 14A now permits medical and scientific licences, with conditions on records, security and reporting. No issued cannabis programme operateslicence or patient service was verified.

dda2025

The retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyond the penalties described aboveSections 6 and 39 provide for forfeiture of drugs and specified articles; section 10 permits seizure and destruction of cannabis plants.

dda2022

No cannabis clubs are known, andrecreational club exemption is established by the reviewed law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it. The 2025 licensing power is confined to another person are both prohibitedmedical and scientific purposes.

wikidda2025

illegallicensed

bannedregulated

illegallicensed

bannedregulated

The Dangerous Drugs2025 Act defines Indian hemp as either ofreplaces the plantsformer seed-import prohibition with a general licensing rule. Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica orstill includes any portion thereof, which takes in seeds and cuttings alike. Section 5 prohibits importing or exporting any seed of Indian hemp, and section 7 prohibits cultivating the plant; cultivation and sale require a medical or scientific licence. No personal growing exemption was established.

ddadda2022, dda2025

There is no legalNo recreational supply route is established for anyonevisitors or residents. British travel advice says itThe 2025 licence power is illegal to import, export, cultivate or distribute drugs, with finesfor medical and imprisonment as penaltiesscientific purposes; unlicensed cannabis offences have minimum prison terms.

wiki, fcdodda2025

Tuvalu Government — Dangerous Drugs Act, CAP. 10.10, 2022 Revised Edition Tuvalu Government — Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2025, Act 9 of 2025 4 unchanged

PrisonSevere penalties include prison and caning, for any amount;specified trafficking carriesoffences, caning or a mandatory death sentence that is. Death sentences are imposed but have not been carried out in decades.

Illegal underSection 6(a) prohibits unauthorised possession. In the Misusereviewed 2013 consolidation, section 15 presumes trafficking above 15 g of Drugs Act with no exemptionscannabis unless rebutted. Possession of any amount means a long prison sentence plus caning; possessing more thanThe separate death-penalty quantity is above 500 g is treated asfor specified trafficking offences; it is not the presumption threshold.

wikimda

Cultivation is a serious offenceSection 8 prohibits cannabis cultivation. The reviewed Second Schedule provides up to 20 years, B$40,000, or both, with prison andstated minimums of three years, B$5,000, or both. That row does not prescribe caning.

wikimda

Prison andSevere statutory penalties apply, including caning for any quantity; death sentences forspecified trafficking offences. Death sentences are reported as imposed but not carried out. The possession and cultivation rows reviewed do not support a blanket claim of mandatory caning for any quantity.

hoc, mda

Trafficking carriesGiving or distributing cannabis falls within trafficking. Specified quantities attract the mandatory death penalty on; the statute bookreviewed statutory threshold for cannabis is more than 500 g. Brunei has not carried out an executionexecutions in decades.

hoc, wikimda

The retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyond the penalties described aboveSection 24 allows forfeiture of drugs and articles connected with an offence, including where nobody has been convicted, subject to its notice and claim procedures.

mda

Recreational use is illegal; a 2021 measure authorised cannabis is prohibited. A 2022 ministerial order specifies licensing and controls for medical and scientific purposes under licencecannabis activities; an operating patient programme was not verified.

RecreationalArticle 2 of the 2022 order prohibits possession is illegal under a 1971 narcotics ordinancefor purposes other than medical and the Penal Codescientific use. Consumption cases can end in shorter sentences or rehabilitation ordersIt does not set a small personal-use allowance.

wikiorder2022

Cultivation isArticle 97 requires health-ministry authorisation for medical or scientific cultivation. Non-industrial cultivation requires a crime, though cannabis (bangi) is one of the most widely grown illicit crops in central Africaprior derogation under article 101; recreational growing remains prohibited.

wikiorder2022

No source read for this profile givesArticle 121 refers violations to the penaltiesPenal Code and pharmacy and health legislation. Those cross-references do not by themselves establish a precise cannabis sentence or describes how the law is appliedactual enforcement frequency. Cannabis is the one drug produced in the country, mainly for local consumption; the score assumes that prison is possible for users.

wikiorder2022

SupplyRecreational commercialisation is illegal; the retained source does not establish a preciseprohibited by article 2. The licensed cannabis sentencesector remains subject to authorisations and controls. No personal gifting exemption was established.

wikiorder2022

A law of February 2021 limits narcoticsArticle 72 prohibits use outside a medical prescription; article 2 reserves authorised activities to medical, educational and scientific purposes; using cannabis for any other purpose stays prohibited.

wikiorder2022

No legal sourceThere is no recreational route. Article 112 requires express authorisation for the publicimports of finished medical cannabis products; an operating patient supply service was not established.

wikiorder2022

A February 2021 measure authorised narcotics, including cannabis, exclusively forThe 2022 order regulates licensed medical, educational and scientific purposes under licencecannabis cultivation and production. Industrial plots require at least five hectares; smaller operations need prior derogation.

wikiorder2022

No legal consumerArticle 112 restricts imports of finished medical cannabis products to express authorisation. Article 113 permits exports of semi-finished and finished products under authorisation, while prohibiting raw cannabis exports.

wikiorder2022

Authorised in principle since 2021;The order provides a regulated medical and scientific framework. Article 100 specifies at most 0.2% THC for medical cultivation and no accessibleTHC ceiling for scientific cultivation. This does not verify patient programmeavailability.

wikiorder2022

The retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyond the penalties described aboveArticle 119 permits withdrawal of a cannabis-sector licence for breaches, illicit trafficking, recreational diversion or refusal of inspection. Article 120 provides a corrective-measures process.

order2022

No cannabis clubs are known,The reviewed order establishes medical and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibitedscientific licensing, not recreational social clubs. Article 97 excludes non-profit associations from its ordinary agricultural-operator provision.

wikiorder2022

DR Congo — Ministerial order 1250/CAB/MIN/SPHP/038/DCA/CPh/2022 of 24 November 2022 (Journal officiel, 6 March 2023) 2 unchanged

Growing even one plantChapter 50 section 1(2) criminalises cultivating or attempting to cultivate hemp for use as a narcotic or its raw material. It is not a narcoticsblanket offence, treated more seriously than use covering all hemp growing.

wikicriminal50

Supply is aChapter 50 section 1(4) covers sale, brokering, transfer to another and other distribution or attempted distribution. The ordinary narcotics offence withcarries a fine or up to two years in prison.

wikicriminal50

No clubs are known. A Europe-wide survey of cannabis social clubs carried out in 2018 and 2019 found, after online searches and contact with people in the field, that there did not seem to be any active club in Finland. The model is prohibited throughout the European Union. Nothing more recent was found.

Finlex — Criminal Code 39/1889, Chapter 50, current Finnish text 10 unchanged

nonelimited

National law sets a maximumCannabis penalties vary by state. The national code’s $50 fine for an ounce or less of marijuanasmall-possession provision is not a nationwide ceiling: published state laws also allow custody, and up to three months for more; growing or supplying carries up to five yearsthe available Chuuk drug-law appendix is historical.

Marihuana is a controlled substance under Title 11, Chapter 11 of the FSM Code. SectionNational section 1142 setsgives a fine of at mostmaximum $50 fine for onean ounce or less; for more than an ounce, but under 2state law differs.2 pounds, Pohnpei’s 2012 Code permits up to three monthsone month, a fine of up to $500,100 or both; for 2that amount.2 pounds or more, Yap permits up to one year and a30 days, $1100 or both,000 fine, with a rebuttable presumption of trafficking. Afine-only rule for first drug offenders. Kosrae classifies it as a category-time possession offender may be giventhree misdemeanor: up to six months, $500 or both. Chuuk’s website reproduces a conditional discharge (Section 1148)$50 provision in an unrevised 1980 reference appendix; this does not verify its current law. The fourLater state codes were not readamendments and representative sentencing remain gaps.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs, kosraedrugs, kosraemisd, chuukappendix, chuukstatus

"Manufacture" is defined to includeNational law treats cultivation as production and propagation, and "production" to include/manufacture. Pohnpei similarly includes planting, cultivation and growing (Section 1112)in production and criminalises unauthorised manufacture. ManufacturingYap has a controlled substance other than a narcotic drug carriesseparate marijuana-production offence carrying up to five years and aone year, $51,000 fine (Section 1141)or both. Kosrae’s trafficking definition includes manufacture; a 1987 court also applied possession law to growing plants. No recreational home-growing permission was established. These published editions do not establish typical sentences or every later amendment.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs, kosraedrugs, paulino1987

The national penalty for one ounce or less isstatutes do not establish a fine of at most $50,single nationwide sentencing pattern. National law and aPohnpei provide discretionary conditional discharge for qualifying first possession offences, while Yap expressly limits first-time small-possession offender may receiveoffenders to a conditional dischargefine. Prison is possible for larger amountsKosrae’s published penalty allows custody even in the smallest category. How courts apply it isThe 2023 Ehsa order left national jurisdiction over locally grown plants open. These observations are not shown bya representative sentencing survey; the textcountry’s numerical ratings remain provisional while state amendments and actual outcomes are checked.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs, kosraedrugs, kosraemisd, ehsa2023

Delivering marihuana isThe national code treats an unpaid transfer of no more than an ounce as small possession, with a maximum $50 fine. Pohnpei has the same exception from ordinary trafficking, but its small-possession penalty allows one month, $100 or both. Yap’s published delivery offence has no equivalent small unpaid-gift exception and carries up to fivethree years and a, $5,000 fine (Section 1141), exceptor both. Kosrae includes delivery in its felony trafficking definition without a gift exception in that distributing no more than one ounce for no paymentsection. The national carve-out is treated as possession of that amount:therefore not a fine of at most $50uniform state-law rule.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs, kosraedrugs

The code makesnational and state drug provisions reviewed focus on possession an offence; no separate offence for use itself, manufacture and delivery rather than establishing general permission to consume. Additional conduct offences apply: Yap expressly prohibits marijuana consumption while driving and while in a vehicle on a highway. No complete survey of municipal or public-consumption rules was foundestablished.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs, kosraedrugs, yapdriving

None; marihuana is a controlled substance with no authorisedNo functioning cannabis patient or recreational supply route inservice was established. National and Pohnpei law distinguish Schedule I research from ordinary dispensing provisions for other schedules. Yap lists marijuana among hallucinogens and expressly prohibits writing prescriptions for the sections readhallucinogenic substances in section 1004. Research powers and general prescription exceptions must not be represented as permission to obtain cannabis in every state.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs

Reliable national information about lawfulSections 1132–1133 provide registration for controlled-substance manufacture and distribution, including controls over Schedule I substances. These statutory powers do not establish issued cannabis licences or production was not established byvolumes. Locally grown plants were at issue in the retained sources2023 Ehsa proceeding, which left national jurisdiction open.

code, ehsa2023

Reliable national information about legally available cannabisThe definition of marihuana in section 1112 includes the plant, seeds, resin and preparations, while excluding mature stalks and specified fibre or seed products was, including sterilised non-germinating seed. This identifies statutory scope, not established by the retained sourcescurrently marketed legal cannabis products.

code

The retained sources donational code and Pohnpei’s published code provide controlled research registration for Schedule I substances. In Yap, section 1005 expressly bars prescriptions for the listed hallucinogens, which include marijuana. The country’s limited label reflects the documented research framework, not establish whether a medical cannabis programme operatesuniform patient prescribing permission or verified medicine availability.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs

TheNational section 1148 and Pohnpei section 4-130 allow qualifying first possession offenders, with consent, to receive probation without judgment. Successful completion leads to discharge without a conviction for statutory disqualifications, and an expungement application is possible, apart from a retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyondnonpublic eligibility record. This is discretionary and once-only; the penalties described abovesame route was not established for all four states.

code, pohnpei2012

The national codeNational and Pohnpei definitions include the plant, viable seeds, resin and preparations, with specified exclusions for mature stalks, fibre and sterilised non-germinating seed. Yap defines marihuanamarijuana as all parts of the plantgenus Cannabis sativa, whether growing or not, and names theincluding seeds, so seeds and cuttings are a controlled substance like the rest of the plantwithout reproducing those exclusions in section 1003(c); it separately prohibits marijuana production. Only sterilisedA uniform national seed that cannot germinate is left out. The four state codes wereexemption should not readbe assumed under every state law. Kosrae’s seed-specific position and a current Chuuk consolidation remain unverified.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs

No cannabis clubs are known. Delivering marijuana is trafficking, with one carverecreational collective-out: handing over no more than an ounce for no payment is treated as simple possession. Nothinggrowing permission was established in the code provides for collective growingreviewed framework. The national and Pohnpei small unpaid-transfer rules leave the conduct criminal, and Yap and Kosrae have broader delivery offences. Those limited gifting rules do not authorise a club to cultivate or distribute cannabis. Current informal club activity was not verified.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs, kosraedrugs

There is no legalNo lawful recreational supplypurchase route for anyone, so avisitors was established. A visitor has no lawful way to buyshould not treat the national $50 possession provision as a state-law ceiling: Pohnpei, Yap and Kosrae publish different penalties, and Yap expressly prohibits cannabis prescriptions. The sources behind this profile describe no separate rule for visitorsCurrent Chuuk law and recognition of foreign prescriptions were not verified.

code, pohnpei2012, yapdrugs, kosraedrugs, kosraemisd

FSM Code 2014 — full Title 11 Chapter 11, Controlled Substances, sections 1111–1149 FSM Supreme Court — FSM v. Ehsa, 24 FSM R. 151 (Pon. 2023), order of 27 June 2023 Pohnpei Legislature — Code of the State of Pohnpei, 2012 advance edition Yap State Code, unofficial edition — Title 11 chapter 10, State Drug Control Act Kosrae State Code, unofficial legislative-counsel edition — Title 13 chapter 5 Kosrae State Code — Title 13 chapter 13, misdemeanor penalties Chuuk State Code website — retained Trust Territory controlled-substances reference appendix Chuuk State Code website — introduction to the Title 12 appendices Yap State Code — Title 25 chapter 7, traffic offences Kosrae State Code — Title 13 chapter 7, motor vehicle offences Draft Chuuk State Code — Title 31 chapter 7, vehicle violations and penalties Kosrae State Court — Kosrae State v. Winfield Paulino, Criminal Case 4-87, 22 September 1987 Innocente I. Oneisom — Marijuana in Chuuk, Micronesian Counselor 3, June 1991 FSM Code (2014), Title 11, Chapter 11 — Controlled Substances (§§ 1111-1149), fsmlaw.org

impairment

Rules are state-specific. Pohnpei section 71 PC 12-105 prohibits driving when drug influence makes safe driving impossible, with up to one year, $500 or both in the 2012 edition. Yap section 704 defines drug influence through impaired driving ability, but also mentions habitual narcotic users; sections 705–706 separately prohibit marijuana consumption while driving or in a vehicle on a highway. Kosrae section 13.710 prohibits driving under controlled-substance influence. Chuuk’s draft section 1305 addresses narcotic drugs and other drugs impairing safe operation, with separate habitual-user wording. No numerical THC limit was established in these provisions; the map classification concerns the reviewed influence offences, not an absence of additional rules. Later amendments and testing practice remain unverified.

pohnpei2012, yapdriving, kosraedriving, chuukdriving

Historical local evidence: Oneisom’s five-month Chuuk study in 1985, published in 1991, described mostly part-time or family cannabis dealing alongside a dealer network, with locally grown cannabis and reported supplies from other islands. It did not establish sufficient evidence of exports from Chuuk. This exploratory study is not a current nationwide market estimate.

oneisom1991

Historical Chuuk figures, not nationwide totals: Oneisom reproduced monthly police reports showing 26 arrests in 30 reported cases in 1983 and 40 arrests in 56 cases in 1984. Daily officer reports instead listed 36 cases for 1984 and did not consistently record arrests. These incompatible series should not be combined, and none is a current arrest rate.

oneisom1991

Illegal on paper with long sentencesDrug possession remains a serious offence. The 1993 decree expressly covered cultivation, but smoked openlypossession, use and rarely prosecuted among localsgifts; its penalties need reconciliation with the 2022 Penal Code. A report of open use in 2000 does not establish current tolerance.

Illegal on paper under drug laws of 1980The 1993 decree’s article 4 expressly included possession and 1991, with prisonprescribed medium-term imprisonment plus a CFA fine. Current British travel advice still warns of severe penalties including prison. The decree’s exact relationship to the Penal Code effective in December 2022 has not been verified, so the former one-to-twenty years across possession, cultivation-year claim is removed and saleno current numerical custody range is asserted. In practice cannabis has long been smoked openly at all levels of society: a 2000 report said nobody had been arrested for smoking or dealing in living memoryThe possession rating remains provisional.

ioldecree1993, un2023, fcdo

Cultivation is a crime on paperArticle 4 of the 1993 decree expressly criminalised unauthorised cultivation alongside manufacture and common in practicetrafficking. No recreational home-growing exemption was established. The later Penal Code and representative sentencing need further review before a current tariff or typical outcome can be stated; the numerical rating remains provisional.

wikidecree1993, iolun2023

Current British travel advice saysdescribes drug possession of drugs isas a serious offence and punishments can be severe, includingpunishable by prison sentences. No accountAn AFP report dated 6 January 2000 described open cannabis use and quoted local claims of how the lawlittle enforcement; that is applied in practice was foundhistorical reporting, not a current arrest or sentencing survey. The enforcement rating remains provisional pending recent cannabis-specific outcomes.

fcdo, iol

Drug laws of 1980The 1993 decree expressly included donation and 1991 are reported to set prison of one to twenty years across possessionfacilitating illegal use within article 4, cultivation and salewithout a general unpaid-gift exemption. A report in 2000 said nobody had been arrested for smoking or dealing cannabis in living memoryThe reviewed evidence does not establish a current lawful recreational gifting route. Precise penalties and the numerical rating require reconciliation with the later Penal Code and enforcement evidence.

ioldecree1993, un2023

UseArticles 1 and 4 of the 1993 decree expressly prohibited and punished use. The 2000 report of open smoking is illegal but culturally acceptedretained as historical context, not proof of present-day tolerance. Current cannabis-specific prosecutions and the effect of the 2022 Penal Code remain gaps; the numerical rating is provisional.

ioldecree1993, wikiun2023, iol

None legallyNo functioning legal recreational or cannabis patient supply route was established. Article 2 of the 1993 decree permitted Health Ministry authorisation for medical and scientific narcotic imports, exports, sales and use; an open informal marketa general controlled-medicines power is not proof of cannabis prescriptions or available products.

ioldecree1993

NoneThe 1993 decree criminalised cultivation and manufacture, while article 2 reserved medical and scientific authorisations to the Health Ministry. It does not establish that a cannabis production licence was issued or that a lawful hemp industry operates. The later legislative position remains under review.

wikidecree1993, un2023

NoneThe 1993 decree regulated narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances generally; article 3 referred prescription and dispensing requirements to the national pharmaceutical selection committee under Decree 7/1991. It did not establish a cannabis flower, oil or other retail-product list. Current cannabis medicine availability remains unverified.

wikidecree1993

NoArticles 2–3 of the 1993 decree expressly contemplated authorised medical and scientific use of controlled drugs and rules for prescribing medicines containing them. This is a general medicines framework rather than evidence of a cannabis-specific patient programme. The none label records that no such programme or supply route has been established.

wikidecree1993

The retained sources doArticle 5(2) of the 1993 decree prescribed professional disqualification for a physician or public official abusing their position, including specified health and pharmacy personnel. That is not establish collateral consequences beyonda general employment ban for every cannabis user. Its present application must be checked against the penalties described abovelater Penal Code.

decree1993, un2023

No cannabis clubs are known,recreational club authorisation was established. The 1993 decree expressly prohibited cultivation and the law leaves no room for them: donation, so its medical/scientific exception cannot be read as collective recreational-growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibitedpermission. Current informal club activity was not verified.

wiki, ioldecree1993

iol, fcdo, decree1993

IOL — Sacred weed makes for happy Guineans (2000) Equatorial Guinea — Decree-Law 3/1993 of 15 September, English translation (UNODC SHERLOC) UN Secretary-General — A/78/298, 9 August 2023 Spain, Boletín Oficial del Estado — Decree 480/1966, published 1 March 1966 Wikipedia — Cannabis in Equatorial Guinea IOL — Sacred weed makes for happy Guineans (2000) 1 unchanged

nonelimited

Possession or, cultivation carries up to ten years and a A$2,000 finegifting are criminal offences under a colonial-era ordinancethe inherited Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. A separate framework covers prescription cannabis preparations; current dispensing availability was not established.

Illegal under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, whichSection 8(b) makes it an offence to be found in possession of Indian hemp an offence. The maximum penalty isIn the government-hosted 1977 revised text, section 39(2) provides a fine of A$2,000 fine and ten years on High Court conviction, or a fine not exceeding $1,000 and five years on summary conviction. These are the published statutory penalties, not typical sentences. Later amendments reviewed here concern proceeds in prison1995 and datura in 2001; a complete current consolidation was not established.

case, wikiddo_gov

KnowinglySection 7 prohibits cultivating Indian hemp 'whether, and section 8(a) expressly covers knowing cultivation for private use or otherwise' is an offence with. The revised text contains no personal plant-count exemption. Section 39 supplies the same maximumgeneral court-dependent penalties.

caseddo_gov

FewThe revised ordinance provides imprisonment on both High Court and summary conviction, alongside fines. The previously retained 2018 judgment is a case-specific lead; it does not establish that few cases reach the courts; thosecourt or that dosentences nationwide are sentenced wellusually below the maximuma particular level. Current sentencing patterns remain unverified.

caseddo_gov

GivingSection 8(b) expressly includes giving or selling Indian hemp to anyanother person is covered by, within the same offence provision as possession. It contains no exemption for an unpaid adult gift. The separate prescription regulations restrict supply of controlled preparations to authorised channels.

caseddo_gov, reg1980

Use is covered by theThe reviewed cannabis provision criminalises possession and cultivation, without expressly listing consumption as a separate act. The ordinance separately creates explicit use offences for prepared opium, which should not be transplanted to cannabis. Possession associated with use remains an offence; this is not a finding that recreational consumption is permitted under every applicable law.

wikiddo_gov

NoneNo operating cannabis patient service or recreational retail route was established. The legal framework is narrower than a blanket absence of medical permission: the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance makes possessingSchedule 2 includes cannabis extracts and tinctures, cultivating, giving and selling Indian hemp offencesthe 1980 regulations authorise pharmacists to prepare them and regulate prescription supply and patient possession. Those provisions do not establish access to flower or actual medicine availability.

caseddo_gov, reg1980

NoneRegulation 9(1)(a)(i) expressly authorises registered pharmacists in business to manufacture an extract or tincture of Indian hemp at their shop in the ordinary course of retail business. This limited preparation authority is distinct from cultivation, which remains prohibited under sections 7–8 of the ordinance. No production volumes were established.

wikireg1980, ddo_gov

NoneThe ordinance separately controls the cannabis plant and resin under Part II and cannabis extracts or tinctures under Schedule 2 Part I paragraph 7. Pharmacist preparation is expressly contemplated by the 1980 regulations; present product listings, stock and patient dispensing were not verified.

wikiddo_gov, reg1980

NoRegulations 6 and 11–12 recognise possession following lawful prescription supply and set dispensing requirements. Regulation 9 expressly covers pharmacist manufacture of cannabis extracts or tinctures. This is a limited statutory medicines framework, not evidence of an operating broad medical-cannabis programme.

wikiddo_gov, reg1980

A conviction is a criminal record; foreigners mayThe 1995 amendment adds section 8A: possessing property reasonably suspected to be deporteddrug-offence proceeds without a satisfactory lawful account is an offence carrying two years. It also permits warrantless arrest and court-ordered forfeiture in specified circumstances. Section 39 separately provides forfeiture of articles involved in an offence. A cannabis-specific deportation rule was not established.

wikiproceeds1995, ddo_gov

No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no roomSections 7–8 prohibit cultivation for them: growing cannabisprivate use or otherwise and supplying itgiving cannabis to another person are both prohibited. The reviewed framework contains no recreational club exemption. This is a statement about the law, not a verified count of informal associations.

caseddo_gov

ddoddo_gov

Kiribati Government Trade Portal — Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 23, Revised Edition 1977 (scan) Kiribati Government Trade Portal — Dangerous Drugs Regulations, L.N. 19/80, commenced 21 February 1980 Kiribati Government Trade Portal — Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 1995, Act 8 of 1995 6 unchanged

Cultivation is regulatedSection 903(b) prohibits knowingly planting or cultivating a prohibited drug. Section 902 includes cannabis seeds and penalised by the same Actgrowing plants in marijuana.

wikilaw

SaleDistribution includes giving, transferring and distribution carry heavier penaltiesdelivering to another. The general marijuana penalty ladder in section 909 applies; an unpaid transfer is not a separate legal route.

wikilaw

UseSection 903(c) prohibits self-administration except as the Act permits. Consumption is therefore expressly covered by the, rather than merely inferred from possession offence.

wikilaw

None: the Narcotic Drugs (ProhibitionNo recreational route. Sections 904–907 allow specified professional and Control) Act 1987 makes possession itself an offenceprescription exceptions; their existence does not establish that cannabis medicines are supplied in practice.

The Act allows possession under a valid medicalSections 904–907 provide prescription and professional-use exceptions, but no medicinalwith licences specifying drugs and quantities. Actual cannabis is actually available-medicine availability was not established.

wiki, law

A conviction is a criminal recordSections 909–910 provide confiscation and forfeiture, including property used in an offence, with procedures for innocent ownership claims.

wikilaw

Marshall Islands Parliament — Prohibited Drugs (Prohibition and Control) Act 1987, consolidated through P.L. 2025-37 PacLII — Narcotic Drugs (Prohibition and Control) Act 1987 2 unchanged

illegal

banned

illegal

banned

Section 902 includes seeds and any part of a growing cannabis plant. Section 903 prohibits possession, planting, cultivation and distribution outside the Act’s exceptions; no personal seed or cutting exemption was identified.

law

Cultivation is Section 1 includes cultivation within dealing; section 2(a crime under the 1971 Act) prohibits dealing in a prohibited dependence-producing drug or its plant. Cannabis is listed in Schedule Part I.

wikiact41

Dealing carries heavy penalties; The Act’s definitions extend dealing to supply and sale to disposal without payment. Section 2(a) therefore reaches unpaid transfers; the 2006 bill proposed 20 to 40 years even for first offencesis not used here as an enacted penalty tariff.

wikiact41

Use is an offenceSection 2(b) expressly criminalises use as well as possession of a prohibited dependence-producing drug or plant.

wikiact41

NoneNo recreational supply route. Sections 4–5 preserve specified medicine-related provisions but do not establish an ordinary cannabis supply service.

wikiact41

A conviction is a criminal recordSection 8 provides forfeiture of drugs, plants and specified property connected with an offence, subject to the Act’s safeguards for other interests.

nam2act41

nonelimited

Possession orCannabis possession, growing carries a fine ofand gifting are offences. The published reprint gives up to SI$5,000 or six months on summary conviction or ten years on conviction with assessors, plus fines expressed in the magistrates' courtspenalty units; current practice needs fuller verification.

Possession isSection 8(b) makes possession of Indian hemp an offence under the Dangerous Drugs Act. In the magistrates' courts the applicable maximum for possession or growing is a fineSection 39(2) of SI$the authorised reprint gives up to 5,000 penalty units or six months in prison; higher maximumsor both on summary conviction, and up to 100,000 penalty units or ten years or both on conviction by the court sitting with assessors. Penalty units are cited for more serious casesnot a verified current dollar tariff. The government catalogue lists this reprint as current; a 2025 amendment bill was under parliamentary inquiry in February 2026, and its later enactment or commencement was not established.

caseact, inquiry2026

Cultivation is an offence on the same footing as possessionSections 7–8 prohibit growing Indian hemp even for small growsprivate use, with heavierno small-grow exemption in the reviewed text. Section 39 supplies the same general court-dependent maximum penalties as for plantations; police regularly uproot cropspossession. The statute does not itself demonstrate typical sentences or a separate plantation-size tariff.

case, stact

MostlyThe authorised statute permits fines, imprisonment or both, with distinct summary and assessor-court maxima. The retained 2016 case and crop-seizure report are individual observations, not sufficient evidence that most personal-use cases nationally end in fines or short sentences for small amounts. Marijuana is the country's main illicit drug and widely grownA representative current sentencing account remains a research gap.

case, stact

British travel advice saysSection 8(b) expressly criminalises giving Indian hemp to another person as well as selling drugs is illegal and can lead to a prison sentencepossessing it. There is no exemption for an unpaid gift in that provision. The general penalties in section 39 depend on the mode of trial.

fcdoact

British travel advice says theOfficially published sections 7–8 expressly cover cultivation, possession, sellinggiving and usesale of drugscannabis. A separate cannabis-use offence was not identified there; the explicit smoking and use provisions in section 12 concern prepared opium. British travel advice more broadly warns that drug use is illegal and can lead to prison sentences. Possession associated with cannabis use remains criminal.

act, fcdo

No legal sourcerecreational supply or operating cannabis patient service was established. Sections 13–20 do provide a controlled medicines framework that expressly includes cannabis extracts and tinctures, with powers over manufacture, prescriptions, import, storage and dispensing. That framework is not evidence that medicines are stocked or that flower can lawfully be purchased.

caseact

Reliable national information about lawfulThe cultivation ban applies even to private use. Separately, sections 13 and 15 include cannabis extracts and tinctures within the controlled pharmaceutical framework and provide for rules authorising qualified pharmaceutical businesses to prepare controlled drugs. An operating cannabis production industry was not established by the retained sources.

act

Reliable national information about legally availableThe Act covers the cannabis products wasplant and resin under Part I and extracts or tinctures under Part III. These are statutory product categories, not established by the retained sourcesa verified list of products currently available to patients.

act

The retained sources do not establish whether a medicalSections 13–20 contemplate regulated cannabis extracts and tinctures within the controlled-medicines system, including prescription rules, storage and authorised withdrawal by medical and pharmacy professionals. A broad patient programme operates, issued cannabis licences and dispensing availability were not verified.

act

A conviction isSection 39(2) requires forfeiture of articles involved in a criminal recordconviction and permits destruction or other court-directed disposal. Sections 6 and 10 separately address unlawfully imported substances and destruction of plants. These provisions do not by themselves establish automatic deportation or employment consequences.

caseact

No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leavesThe published Act has no room for them: recreational collective-growing cannabisexemption: sections 7–8 prohibit private cultivation and supplying itgiving cannabis to another person are both prohibited. That statutory restriction does not establish whether informal associations exist.

case, stact

Solomon Islands Attorney-General — Dangerous Drugs Act, Cap. 98, authorised reprint as at 1 October 2009 Solomon Islands Parliament — Bills and Legislation Committee call for submissions on Bill 9 of 2025 4 unchanged

illegal

banned

illegal

banned

Section 2 defines Indian hemp as Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica or any portion. Section 5 expressly prohibits importing or exporting cannabis seeds and plant portions; sections 7–8 prohibit cultivation and giving or selling the controlled plant. No personal seed or cutting exemption was identified.

act

nonelimited

Illegal under the penal code and shariaCannabis remains prohibited; outcomes dependsurviving drug laws prescribe prison, while enforcement depends on who controls the territoryterritorial control. Later amendments and nationwide sentencing practice remain incompletely verified.

Illegal under the 1962 Penal Code, with sharia affirmed as the basisArticle 5 of legislation by the 2012 provisional constitution. PenaltiesLaw 46 of 1970 prescribes two to seven years and a fine of 2,000–20,000 Somali shillings for unauthorised acquisition or possession range from fines to prison; drug casesof listed narcotics. Decree 227 lists cannabis and hashish. These are reported to bring lengthy sentences without bailverified historical statutory provisions; a complete later consolidation and present sentencing practice across all administrations have not been established.

wikiact1970, schedule1970

Cultivation isArticle 4 of the 1970 law requires special Health Ministry authorisation to cultivate, harvest or process plants yielding controlled substances; breach carries six months to two years plus a crimefine. The 1984 decree separately prescribes ten years for unlawful manufacture or production, without expressly resolving its relationship to cultivation under article 4. No lawful home-growing route was established.

wikiact1970, schedule1970, drugs1984

Cannabis is covered byArticle 14 of the 1971 penal code; the sources read give no statutory sentences1970 law restricts transfers even when free to authorised recipients. Where armed groups rule they have applied their own punishments: after AlArticle 1 of Decree-Shabaab took Kismayo in 2008Law 5 of 1984 prescribes ten years and a 50, three men arrested000-shilling fine for hashish were publicly floggedunlawful manufacture, production, import, dealing or supplying another person. This is a statutory baseline, not a verified nationwide sentencing tariff today.

wikiact1970, drugs1984

Use is illegal. KhatArticle 2 of the 1984 decree punishes allowing a public or private place to be used for drug consumption with five years and a 25, by contrast000-shilling fine; entering such a place to consume carries three years and a 20,000-shilling fine. This is legala consumption-premises offence, taxed by the government and chewed daily by many Somalis — exceptnot evidence of an identical sentence for every act of private use. EUAA documents separate intoxicant prohibitions in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas, where it too is banned.

drugs1984, euaa

NoneNo functioning cannabis-specific patient or recreational supply route was established. The 1970 law does provide a general narcotics medicines framework: authorised institutions and pharmacies, prescriptions, medicinal doses and record keeping. Those provisions alone do not demonstrate that cannabis medicines are available.

wikiact1970, schedule1970

NoneThe 1970 law puts narcotic production under Health Ministry control and sets annual laboratory quotas. Its cannabis schedule and the 1984 production offence establish controls, but these texts do not establish the present scale of lawful or illicit cannabis cultivation.

wikiact1970, schedule1970, drugs1984

NoneThe historical control list expressly includes Cannabis, with Hashish as a synonym, and Indian Hemp. The medicines provisions concern pharmaceutical preparations in medicinal doses; they do not establish that flower, oils or other cannabis products are currently supplied to patients.

wikischedule1970, act1970

The retained sources do not establish whetherArticles 6 and 15–17 of the 1970 law regulate institutional narcotics use, dispensing on prescription and inappropriate prescribing. This is a medicalgeneral medicines framework; a working cannabis programme operatesand cannabis-specific prescribing permission were not verified.

act1970

The retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyond1984 decree assigned drug cases to the penalties described aboveNational Security Court and its regional branches, with transitional rules for pending cases and earlier offences. These historical procedural provisions should not be read as proof that those institutions operate today.

drugs1984

No cannabis clubs are known, andThe texts reviewed do not provide a recreational club exemption: the 1970 law leaves no room for them: growing cannabisrestricts gratuitous transfers, and supplying it to another person are both prohibitedthe 1984 decree punishes organising public or private drug-consumption premises. This establishes the statutory restriction, not a census of associations operating informally.

wikiact1970, drugs1984

There isThe reviewed drug laws contain no legal recreational supply for anyonevisitor exemption. Cannabis is illegal under the 1962 Penal CodeThe historical possession and supply restrictions apply generally; penaltiesno verified lawful recreational purchase route for possession range from finesvisitors was established. The general prescription provisions should not be treated as permission to prison, and drug cases are reported to bring lengthy sentences without bailcarry cannabis across the border.

wikiact1970, drugs1984

Somalia — Law 46 of 3 March 1970, Official Gazette 22 August 1970, pp. 833–842 (Roma Tre archive) Somalia — Health Secretary Decree 227 of 26 September 1970, narcotic substances list (Roma Tre archive) Somalia — Decree-Law 5 of 18 May 1984, drug offences, Official Gazette 1 June 1984, pp. 394–395 (Roma Tre archive) Somalia — Law 25 of 24 June 1984 converting the drug-offences decree, Official Gazette 19 July 1984, p. 483 (Roma Tre archive) 2 unchanged

Modern Tuvalu still carries a’s cannabis law thatlegislation began under British colonial rule. The Dangerous Drugs Ordinance commenced on 20 October … ppy and coca seeds. Unlawfully imported or exported material is seized and forfeited. ## A completeThe original prohibition The cultivation rule is short and absolute: no person may cultivate Indian h … that the act occurred without their knowledge or consent. ## From colony to country The current2022 consolidated version is titled under the Laws of Tuvalu and says it is enacted by Tuvalu's Parliament, but it retains the 1948 commencement date and the enactment's amendment history. It is therefore both a current national statute and a surviving piece ofpreserves the territory'’s colonial legal inheritance. A [2025 amendment](/history/tuvalu-drug-amendment-2025/) subsequently added minimum prison terms and a medical/scientific licensing power; the earlier provisions described here should be read in that historical context. The corresponding law remains in [Kiribati](/history/gilbert-islands-dangerous-drugs-1948/ … restriction in the index and changes all six segments from the earlier unregulated state.

Tuvalu Government — Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2025 1 unchanged

Kiribati's cannabis prohibition began before Kiribati existed as an independent state. A … ds-dangerous-drugs-1948/), which separated from the Gilbert Islands before independence. This event moves every segment ofThe index uses this dated ordinance as Kiribati's index down from the pre-prohibition state: the law restrictedfirst documented restriction and reconstructs a low freedom score after it. The cannabis provisions expressly cover possession, cultivation, enforcement, sharing, consumption giving and access at oncesale; this is not a finding that consumption itself is a separately worded cannabis offence. The later [1980 prescription regulations](/history/kiribati-drug-prescription-regulations-1980/) establish a limited framework for preparations, without proving that patients could obtain them.

Kiribati Government Trade Portal — Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Revised Edition 1977 Kiribati Government Trade Portal — Dangerous Drugs Regulations, L.N. 19/80 1 unchanged

Guinea-Bissau's 1993 drug law replaced an early post-independence statute with detailed r … expressly in its highest-risk schedule. ## Replacing the 1976 law Decree-Law No. 2-B/93 is datedwas published on 28 October 1993, according to the compilation’s gazette reference. Its preamble says Guinea-Bissau had adopted Decree-Law No. 1/76 soon after independence, … ho consumes, cultivates, acquires or possesses a small quantity for personal consumption. High-risk plants or substances, expressly including cannabis oil, carry two months to one year. A cannabis derivative other than cannabis oil carries one to six months in prison. Cannabis oil, treated as a high-risk substance, carries two monthsThe provision should not be simplified to one yeara single tariff for every form of cannabis. The article supplies no fixed gram threshold. It turns instead on whether the small qua … is not a repeat offender, and solemnly promises before a magistrate not to offend again. The lawArticle 8 separately gives up to two years where prohibitedspecified trafficking conduct is carried out exclusively to obtain drugs for the accused's own use. That reduce … entiality. A court may suspend a dependent offender's sentence on condition of treatment. Sharing remains distinct: Article 3 expressly includes transferring or providing drugs to another person; an unpaid gift is not a general exception. Article 12 separately addresses inciting or facilitating illicit use of a high-risk drug can bring, with up to three years. The decree explainssupplies the present criminal structurelegal framework discussed on the [Guinea-Bissau profile](/country/gw/), with later amendments and representative sentencing still requiring verification. In the index, 1993 does not move a score because the country's first prohibition remain … he later national framework without assigning an unsupported score immediately before it.

Guinea-Bissau — Decree-Law No. 2-B/93 of 28 October (OGDT-hosted Portuguese compilation) Guinea-Bissau — Decree-Law No. 2-B/93 of 28 October (UNIOGBIS archived copy)

Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth (1978–2019), known as Ken Okoth was, served as the member of Kenya's National Assembly for Kibra who sought a regulated, Nairobi, from 2013 until his death in July 2019. In September 2018, he proposed replacing cannabis market rather than continued prohibition with a regulated framework for cultivation, production, distribution and consumption. His proposed [Marijuana Control Bill of 2018](/history/kenya-marijuana-control-bill-2018/) brought together cultivation, research, taxation and the consequences of criminal convictions. He diedHis initiative did not result in 2019cannabis legalization before the proposal became lawhis death. His place in cannabis history rests on that legislative initiative. Anthropologist Neil … In reporting on his letter to Speaker Justin Muturi, *The Star* described proposals for progressive taxation and jobs across the production chain. Okoth also raised medical and industrial research, industrial uses and protection of Kenyan genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Cannabis reform was an economic and plant resourcessocial policy question for him, extending beyond individual consumption. Those were objectives for a proposed industry, not evidence that a legal export market a … tion of growers, producers, manufacturers and users, with protection of children. It also sought relief for people carrying records fromproposed amnesty and clearing previous cannabis-userelated criminal records, addressing the continuing consequences of convictions for cannabis use. These elements distinguish a regulatory proposal from the claim that cannabis should be … change Kenya's cannabis law, with no legal score change attributed to the unpassed bill.

The Standard — MP Okoth tables four-point bid to have bhang legalized Marijuana Moment — Lawmaker Pushes For Marijuana Legalization In Kenya (24 September 2018) 3 unchanged

src ../../src/assets/culture/ken-okoth-2018.jpg · fit contain · alt Kenyan parliamentarian Ken Okoth seated outdoors wearing glasses and a dark blazer, gesturing with one hand while holding a tablet. · caption Ken Okoth (1978–2019), the Kenyan parliamentarian who proposed the Marijuana Control Bill in 2018, seeking cannabis regulation, taxation, and relief from previous criminal convictions. · credit The Standard, photograph credited as Courtesy, published 21 September 2018; photographer unidentified · credit url https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001296438/kibra-mp-okoth-tables-bid-for-legalisation-of-marijuana

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language/hashish, language/cannabis, people/lumir-hanus

Thomas Adeoye Lambo (1923–2004) was a pioneering Nigerian psychiatrist whose work helped bring cannabis onto the country's medical and poli … a field of medical expertise, but expertise did not determine the law that followed. His research should not be read as advocacy of cannabis legalization or as the direct cause of the 1966 prohibition. His own assumptions about class also shaped what he saw in the clinic. ## Psychiatry in its s … ider research examined the relationship between culture, social change and mental health. In Abeokuta, he established the Aro Village System, integrating psychiatric treatment with community and family life. The Aro Hospital and its associated therapeutic village brought community settings into psychiatric careblended traditional and modern approaches to mental healing. His cannabis research belonged to this broader project. Klantschnig describes him as on … cannabis use in the 1950s, before newspapers made a supposed hemp boom a regular story. TheHis 1965 studypaper, *Medical and Social Problems of Drug Addiction in West Africa (With Special Emphasis on Psychiatric Aspects)*, appeared in the *West African Medical Journal* and, volume 14, issue 6, pages 236–254. His work also appeared in the United Nations' *Bulletin on Narcotics*. Those publications carried the debate beyond an individual hospital and into international discussions of drug use. The PubMed citation provides a bibliographic record; the account of his cannabis research here follows Klantschnig's historical analysis rather than an independent reading of the original paper. ## What counted as addiction Lambo questioned whether the cannabis users he treated met t … in the limited influence those questions had on the punitive law adopted after his study.

Medical and Social Problems of Drug Addiction in West Africa (With Special Emphasis on Psychiatric Aspects) 2 unchanged

src ../../src/assets/culture/thomas-adeoye-lambo-1975.jpg · aspect ratio 1 · position right · alt Historical black-and-white photograph of Nigerian psychiatrist Thomas Adeoye Lambo seated at an academic gathering in 1975, wearing a ceremonial medallion. · caption Thomas Adeoye Lambo (1923–2004), Nigerian psychiatrist and pioneer of African transcultural psychiatry, attending a Pontifical Academy of Sciences plenary session in April 1975. · credit Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Vatican City, 17–19 April 1975; photographer unidentified · credit url https://www.pas.va/en/academicians/deceased/lambo.html

A cannabis social club is a private, non-profit association whose members grow cannabis t … ared since the Constitutional Court's ruling of 2018, in a legal grey area like Spain's. In [Italy](/country/it/), the name also became a vehicle for patient campaigning. On [15 January 2013](/history/italy-racale-patient-club-2013/), Lucia Spiri and Andrea Trisciuoglio founded LaPianTiamo in Racale, Puglia. Parrella’s 2014 account describes their aim as collective cultivation for patients facing delays and costs in obtaining imported cannabis medicines. Their association sought a lawful supply route; its founding did not itself authorise a shared crop. This was a therapeutic campaign, with a different emphasis from the adult-use associations in Spain. ## An older ancestor The name is new but the thing has a precedent. In the United States … cannabis, and put much of it down to the legal grey area in which most clubs still work.

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italy-racale-patient-club-2013, spain-arsec-conviction-1997, spain-social-clubs-2001, uruguay-club-registry-2014, spain-su … in-rasquera-plantation-2012, malta-first-associations-2024, malta-cannabis-amendments-2025

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The Italian *cordai*, or rope-makers, worked cannabis into an everyday material: hemp cor … pation and some of its techniques in place. ## An agricultural plant under cannabis law The later agricultural revival also had an organised base. [Assocanapa](https://www.assocanapa.org/assocanapa-chi-siamo/) dates its [foundation in Carmagnola to 1998](/history/italy-assocanapa-founded-1998/). Parrella’s 2014 account describes work on seed supply, Italian varieties and processing equipment. These efforts concerned the crop’s renewed industrial use; they do not establish a revival of the older rope-making occupation. Italy's [2016 hemp law](/history/italy-hemp-law-2016/) established a framework supporting … the people who knew how to turn a crop into a rope, and the villages shaped by that work.

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Cannabis: non solo fumo Assocanapa — Chi siamo 5 unchanged