charts

2021-07-1614

The Northern Mariana Islands'’ first cannabis dispensaryshop opens in Saipan

The first licensed dispensary openedSaipan Select began selling cannabis to the publicadults in Tanapag with a soft opening on 14 July, nearlyfollowed by its grand opening on 16 July. Nearly three years after adult use was legalisedlegalisation, giving adults a legal place tocustomers could buy flower from a licensed shop supplied by its adjoining indoor farm. The commission had granted its first retail licence in May; a separate cannabis lounge followed later that summer.

possession 6 · cultivation 5 · enforcement 6 · sharing 35 · consumption 3 · access 0

Marianas Variety — First cannabis store opens doors to Saipan community, 20 July 2021, reporting from the farm and store CNMI governor’s office — First retail licence, 13 May 2021 Wikipedia — Cannabis in the Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands legalise cannabis by act of the legislatureadult use, home growing and gifts

Adults aged 21 and over gained legal possession, home cultivation and capped gifts under a law signed by Governor Ralph Torres signed House Bill 20-178. Households could keep six mature and twelve immature plants and up to eight ounces of usable cannabis, which became Public Law 20-66with a larger plant allowance for medical patients on a doctor’s recommendation. Torres backed a regulated market for health, legalising adultjobs and medical userevenue but vetoed proposed fees and creating a cannabis commission to license businessestax terms, which lawmakers revisited in 2019.

CNMI — Public Law 20-66, approval and item vetoes; sections 106, 112, 170 and commencement Wikipedia — Cannabis in the Northern Mariana Islands CNMI Cannabis Commission — Citizen-Centric Report FY2025 (3 September 2025)

home-growing, thresholds, patients, retail, taxes

patients, retail, youth

Puerto Rico putsgives its medical cannabis onprogramme a statutory footingbase

Law 42 of 2017 replacedPatients using cannabis within the 2015 executive order withregulated programme gained statutory protection from Puerto Rico criminal and municipal sanctions. The law created a legal framework forregulatory board, required medical cannabisrecommendations and patient identification, with licensed cultivatorsprohibited smoking and public consumption, and kept sales within authorised dispensaries regulated by. It followed the Department of Health2015 executive order and dispensary openings in 2016, with transitional licences for businesses adjusting to the new rules.

possession 1 · cultivation 1 · enforcement 2 · sharing 1 · consumption 1 · access 1

Puerto Rico — Medical Cannabis Act 42-2017, articles 5, 8–13, 17 and transitional clause Wikipedia — Cannabis in Puerto Rico Platea — The most treated conditions with medical cannabis in Puerto Rico (18 April 2024)

The programme was already dispensing cannabis in December 2016. The 2017 law provides a statutory structure and conditions; the existing access gain is dated to actual supply rather than this later enactment.

2015-05-03

Puerto Rico'’s governor allowsorders a route to medical cannabis by executive order

Governor Alejandro García Padilla signed an executive order permittingdirected the health secretary to follow the drug law’s procedures, reclassify cannabis components as appropriate and authorise their medical use of cannabis, two years before. The order argued that patients’ health required distinguishing medical from nonmedical use and required a law put the programme on a statutory footingprogress report within three months. Regulations and licensing followed before dispensaries began serving patients in December 2016.

possession 1 · cultivation 1 · enforcement 2 · sharing 1 · consumption 1 · access 0

Puerto Rico — Executive Order 2015-010, signed 3 May 2015, operative clauses 1–4 Primera Hora — First dispensaries open, 30 December 2016, reporting governor’s announcement Wikipedia — Cannabis in Puerto Rico

The order directed administrative action and did not itself open a lawful supply channel. The access step is placed at the documented December 2016 start of dispensary sales.

patients

colonial

Congo passes a newseparates small personal quantities from wider drug control lawtrafficking

Law 30-2025 bans holdingSmall personal possession, using andpurchase or growing controlled plants and sets 1carried one to 12six months for personal use of a cannabis derivative other than oil, and two months to one year for high-risk drug (Article 40), with lighter penalties fordrugs including cannabis oil; a small amount (Article 53) and 2fine alone was possible in either tier. Wider high-risk trafficking carried two to 10ten years for supply (Article 39), a fine, or both. It repeals earlier contrary provisions;President Denis Sassou-N'Guesso signed the law it replaces is not namedafter parliament debated the need to replace an outdated drug-control system.

ACI — Les Sénateurs approuvent la loi sur le contrôle des stupéfiants et des substances psychotropes 1 unchanged

sentencing, home-growing, trafficking, visitors, youth, driving, police-powers

2023-0607-12

Liberia makes drug supply offences non-bailableadds prison minimums for cannabis use and bars trafficking bail

The Liberian Senate and House of Representatives passedPresident George Weah signed a drug law that makes the cultivationsetting four months to one year for first-time Schedule I drug use, manufactureincluding cannabis, importation, export, trafficking and sale of controlled drugs and substancesraising repeat use to a second-degree felony. Cannabis trafficking became non-bailable first; personal possession and cultivation remained separate second-degree felonies with cash bail set at twice the bond. After a dispute over bail in the Senate, the signed law also required deportation of non-Liberians convicted under it and drug clearance for institutional admission or employment.

Liberia — Controlled Drugs and Substances Act 2023, sections 14.89–14.91, 14.93 and 14.100–14.102 Executive Mansion — President Weah signs drugs bill into law, 15 July 2023 (signature on 12 July) WADPN — Senate committee debate, 25 July 2022 allAfrica — Liberia: Lawmakers pass non-bailable drug law

sentencing, trafficking, home-growing, treatment, visitors, seeds

The 2023 Act adds custody minimums, stricter bail and mandatory deportation. The legacy score allocation already represents a highly restrictive regime; practice and the earlier score chain require reconstruction before assigning a further numerical step.

patients, cbd, visitors

Regulations signed on 28 February 2020 and in forcePatients could apply for approval to obtain prescribed CBD medicines from 1 July let specialists apply to2020, after a specialist assessed their condition and the Public Health Authorityfailure of earlier treatment. The rules followed litigation by Ralph Volcere seeking access for a permit to prescribe cannabidiol-basedhis mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease. They allowed only tightly defined CBD products through authorised pharmacies, with THC no higher than 2% of the cannabidiol. Regulation 19 restates that nobody may grow or smokea 30-day supply limit; smoking and growing cannabis remained forbidden.

Seychelles Constitutional Court — Volcere v Minister for Home Affairs and others, signed judgment, 31 May 2019 Wikipedia — Cannabis in Seychelles 1 unchanged

2016-06-01

Seychelles passes a new Misuse of Drugs Actgives judges more discretion over cannabis sentences

Parliament unanimouslySeychelles replaced theits 1990 act. Cannabis was placed in Class Bdrug law, allowing courts to sentence cannabis offenders without the old mandatory minimum and letting prisoners apply for a review of their remaining terms. Home Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne promoted the law put more weight onreplacement as a response to rising drug imprisonment and dependence, combining enforcement with treatment and rehabilitation. Later that year, a judge gave a first offender a suspended sentence for users115 grams of cannabis instead of the former 16-year minimum.

Seychelles Official Gazette — Misuse of Drugs Act 2016 (Commencement) Notice, S.I. 34 of 2016 Seychelles Nation — New law to boost fight against drugs, 7 April 2016 Seychelles Supreme Court — R v Ah Kong, signed sentence, 26 October 2016 Seychelles judiciary notice reproduced by Nation — Judiciary puts in place drug sentences review tribunal, 14 June 2016 Wikipedia — Cannabis in Seychelles

sentencing, treatment, amnesty

The sentencing and review changes are verified, but their historical six-component score effect needs reconstruction alongside the inherited 1882 baseline.

2014-10-09

sentencing, thresholds, youth

The Gambia lowers penalties forgives first-time cannabis offenders a lower penalty scale

An amendment to the Drug Control Act, applying toFirst-time cannabis possession only, setgained a separate penalty scale: 0.1–150 grams carried a 50,000–100,000-dalasi fine or six months, one to a yeartwo years in prison for a first offence involving up to 150 g, risingor both. The prison ranges rose to two to threefive years above for 151–500 ggrams and three to ten years from 501 grams, each with a fine alternative. Interior Minister Ousman Sonko argued that lighter penalties would reduce the imprisonment of young people unable to pay large fines and ease pressure on prisons.

The Gambia Gazette — Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2014, Act 9, 9 October 2014 Drug Law Enforcement Agency, The Gambia — Drug laws 1 unchanged

2014-10-21

tighteningother

Liberia passes its Controlled Drugmakes personal possession a felony and Substances Actoffers users treatment

The Controlled Drug and Substance Act 2014 isPeople holding Schedule I drugs for themselves faced a second-degree felony under the new law that was later amended, withreplacing the West Africa Drug Policy Network'public-health law’s help, in a bill that cuts the sentencemisdemeanor for drug use andunauthorised possession from 5 to 20 years to 3 to 18 months and makes cultivation. Growing for personal use became a lower-grade felony than growing for trafficking. Use was a separate offence, manufacture, transport and trafficking non-bailable with 10 to 20 yearscourts could order treatment, education or rehabilitation instead of conviction or punishment. The law took effect on publication on 21 October 2014.

Liberia — Controlled Drugs and Substances Act 2014, repealer, sections 14.107–14.109 and commencement Liberia — Public Health Law, sections 41.22–41.24 IDPC — Liberia: Legislative committee reports to Senate on Controlled Drug and Substance Act 2014 (amended)

sentencing, home-growing, treatment, trafficking, visitors

2011-04-29

deathtightening

sentencing, trafficking, thresholds

The Gambia abolishesraises the death penalty for drug offencesminimum trafficking fine tenfold

Gambia raised the general drug-trafficking fine from at least one million to at least ten million dalasi, alongside a prison term of at least ten years. The National Assembly removed capital punishmentquantity rule covered holdings above ten grams of cannabis resin or two kilograms of cannabis, unless the accused proved the possession was not for drug offences while stiffening other penalties;trafficking. The same amendment replaced the maximumseparate death sentence for large amounts of cocaine or heroin becameholdings above 250 grams with life imprisonment.

The Gambia Gazette — Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2011, Act 2, 29 April 2011 The Gambia Gazette — Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2010, Act 16, 29 October 2010 The Gambia — Drug Control Act 2003, consolidated with the 2005 amendments, Issue 1/2009 Library of Congress (Wayback copy) — Gambia: Death penalty for drug offenses abolished 1 unchanged

The verified cannabis change raises the fine attached to the general trafficking offence; its effect on historical personal-user enforcement scores is not established.

2003-10-03

tighteningother

The Gambia passesreplaces its Drug Control Actdrug-control decree with a new law

The Act isGambia replaced the main1996 drug-control decree with a law on theregulating prohibited and controlled drugs, including cannabis. It prohibited unauthorised growing, supply, use and possession of controlled, while reserving tightly limited medical and prohibited drugsscientific authorisations to approved establishments. Later amendments reorganised the enforcement agency and changed penalties, including a separate first-offender cannabis scale in The Gambia2014.

The Gambia — Drug Control Act 2003, consolidated with the 2005 amendments, Issue 1/2009 The Gambia Gazette — Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2014, Act 9, 9 October 2014 Drug Law Enforcement Agency, The Gambia — Drug laws

sentencing, trafficking

tighteningother

Niger issues its drug ordinancegives small personal supplies and growing a separate penalty

Ordinance 99-42 on combating drugs lists cannabis and cannabis resin in Table ISmall personal possession, the high-risk drugs,purchase and bans growing could be punished with a fine alone under the replacement drug ordinance; its cannabis plant (Article 8). Trafficking in high-risk drugs carries tenrelated prison ranges ran from one month to twenty years; a year. The law banned cannabis cultivation and required landowners and occupiers to destroy plants, while retaining a separate small amount for -personal use carries-quantity tier. It expressly repealed the 1974 ordinance and its 1977 implementing decree and allowed courts to order treatment for a lighter penalty (Article 145)dependent person convicted of specified offences.

Niger pharmaceutical regulator — Legislative and regulatory compilation, 2019 edition 1 unchanged

home-growing, sentencing, treatment, trafficking

Mauritania's drug law allows sets death penalties for repeat offendersand aggravated drug offences

Law 93Producing, growing or trafficking high-37 setsrisk drugs carried fifteen to thirty years in prison and a fine, with death for producingrepeat offences; organised crime, violence, weapons or internationally trafficking high-riska death caused by the drugs could also bring capital punishment. Simple illicit use carried up to two years, and the death penalty for a repeat offencefine alone, or both, with treatment routes that could prevent prosecution. President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya signed the law nineteen days after Mauritania joined the UN convention against drug trafficking.

United Nations Treaty Collection — 1988 convention against illicit drug trafficking, participants 1 unchanged

trafficking, trade, sentencing, treatment, visitors, police-powers

The earlier national penalties remain unreconstructed; possession, cultivation and sharing already sit at zero in the retained timeline, so the capital provisions cannot support an additional whole-point drop without a historical score audit.

The law on the sale of medicinal substances and the fight against drug addiction replaced the 1953 rules, under which holding cannabis without a licence was already an offence, and made using, holding and growing cannabis criminal offencesit crimes, with prison for personal use.

possession 102 · cultivation 101 · enforcement 103 · sharing 101 · consumption 103 · access 100

colonial

No first law is recorded here for Liberia. Historians of’s public-health law prohibited cannabis cultivation and punished unauthorised possession before those criminal provisions were replaced in Africa find that most colonial governments had banned it by 1920, so its first2014. The early restriction date is assumed to fall between 1900 and 1920estimated; the documented public-health regime provides the later historical baseline.

1900, 19201976

Liberia — Public Health Law, sections 41.22–41.24; later documented baseline for an unverified early date Chris S. Duvall — The African Roots of Marijuana (Duke University Press, 2019)

TheMadagascar’s Merina kingdomking bans cannabis smoking

Andrianampoinimerina prohibited cannabis smoking in the Merina kingdom; Condominas places smoking among capital offences. Molet’s account, citing the Tantara, distinguishes forbidden smoking in central Imerina from permittedwhile allowing cultivation for cloth and rope. Historical accounts describe death as a penalty, and a proverb collection says the rule was applied only briefly. The conventional 1787 date is not independently established by these passages, andremains uncertain; the restriction should not be projected uniformly across presentcolony-day Madagascarwide smoking-cannabis decree followed in 1915.

Le Livre de la Sagesse Malgache 2 unchanged

sentencing, hemp, traditional

enforcement, trafficking, trade

military, enforcement, trafficking

Djibouti military policegendarmes seize 12 kg of cannabis in Balbala

The Einguella Military Police Brigadegendarmerie brigade broke up what it called a cannabis distribution network in the Balbala district of Djibou … n estimated street value of 1.76 million Djiboutian francs. Several people were arrested, placedheld in temporary detention and were to be broughtpolice custody before a courtpresentation to the justice authorities.

RTD — La Gendarmerie démantèle un réseau et saisit 12 kg de cannabis à Balbala 1 unchanged

1932-04-19

Puerto Rico first restrictsapproves a law banning cannabis growing and trade

Puerto Rico passed narcotics laws in 1932 and 1934adopted a law to punish cannabis planting, which its 1959 Narcotics Law replacedimportation, purchase and sale. WhenThe Supreme Court later identified it as the original cannabis was first covered is not recorded here, sostatute and explained that a separate law in May 1934 re-enacted it is assumed to fall between those laws. Cannabis remained criminalised through the harsher narcotics law introduced in 1959.

true

1932, 1959

Puerto Rico Supreme Court — Pueblo v. Tribunal Superior, 84 DPR 140 (1961), note 1 identifies Act 12 of 19 April 1932 Puerto Rico — Ley de Narcóticos, Ley Núm. 48 de 18 de junio de 1959

true

home-growing, trade, sentencing

The Northern Mariana Islands legalised adult and medical use by an act of the legislature in September 2018. Adults 21 and over may carry an ounce, keep eight at home and grow their own, and licensed. Licensed shops, lounges and delivery have operated sincelounges opened in 2021; the commission reported retailer-delivery rules in 2025.

Adults may grow up to six mature orand twelve immature plants at homeper household or at a cultivation site they lawfully use, out of public view and secured from anyoneagainst unauthorised access and access by people under 21. Growers are asked to join aA homegrown-registry; homegrown card is required, with a statutory annual fee of $75. The 2019 amendment protected compliant growing while registry rules were unfinished, subject to obtaining a card when available. Homegrown cannabis may not be sold.

pit20codeHome, codeRegistry

Adults 21 and over may give another adult up to one ounce of usable cannabis, 16 ounces of solid products, 72 ounces of liquid products, five grams of extracts or six immature plants for noncommercial purposes. The recipient must accept the gift. Homegrown cannabis and plants may not be sold for consideration. The commission's public guidance does not set out a rule on gifts between adults.

pit20codeHome

The CNMI Cannabis Commissioncommission licenses producers, processors, retailers, wholesalers, lounges and testing. The first dispensary opened to the publicSaipan Select held a soft opening on 1614 July 2021; seven and its grand opening on 16 July. Seven retailers renewed their licences in 2025,; the commission’s 2025 report also records amended retailer-delivery rules and retailers may delivera compliance advisory for delivery from their licensed premises.

ccr25firstShop, wikiccr25

The 2018 Actlaw covers medical as well as adult use. Medical patientsA patient or caregiver may also grow their ownup to twelve mature and twenty-four immature plants when a physician considers it necessary and practical for treatment, with a registry card and physician statement. The 2019 law allows licensed sales to patients aged eighteen to twenty-one with a valid doctor’s recommendation, including qualifying recommendations from a nonresident patient’s country of origin.

pit20codeHome, wikilaw19

CNMI — Cannabis Act 2018, Public Law 20-66, with governor’s item vetoes CNMI — Cannabis amendment, Public Law 21-5, 21 August 2019 CNMI Law Revision Commission — Commonwealth Code section 53006 CNMI Law Revision Commission — Commonwealth Code section 53012 Marianas Variety — First cannabis store opens doors to Saipan community, 20 July 2021 3 unchanged

Law 30-The 2025 of August 2025 punisheslaw allows a fine alone for small personal use or possession of, purchase or growing; cannabis derivatives other than oil carry a small amount with up one-to a year in-six-month prison and a fine; trading carries up to ten yearsrange.

Law 30-2025 of 22 August 2025 bans holding the plants and substances of Table I without authorisation (Article 6). For a small amount bought, held or grown for personal use, Article 53 sets 2two months to 1one year and, a fine of 100,000 to –500,000 CFA francsfranc fine, or both for a high-risk drug (drugs including cannabis oil included), and 1. Cannabis derivatives other than oil carry one to 6six months and, a 50,000 to –250,000 CFA francs for a cannabis derivative other than the oil. Usingfranc fine, or holding a highboth. No numerical small-risk drug for personal consumptionquantity threshold is also covered bydefined. Article 40: 1 separately sets one to 12twelve months and, a fine of 1,000,000 to –2 million franc fine,000,000 CFA francs or either alone for high-risk drugs held or used for personal consumption. The law text does not name cannabis in its tables, which are set by order.

Article 7 bans growing plants classedclassified as narcotics by the international conventions, and requires landowners must, operators and occupiers to destroy themsuch plants. GrowingOrdinary high-risk drugscultivation carries 5five to 10ten years and, a fine of 5,000,000 to –20,000,000 million CFA francs (franc fine, or both under Article 37); a small amount grown for. Small personal use falls undergrowing is covered by Article 53 and can result in a fine alone.

In November 2024, the official news agency reported cannabis arrests and a house search in Owando, with suspects presented to the prosecutor. The report still cited the colonial 1916 poisonous-substances law allows prison even for a small. Outcomes of ordinary personal amount (Article 53) and doubles the maximum penalties in listed aggravating-use cases (Article 56). How it is applied is not shown byunder the text2025 law remain unknown.

owando2024, loi2025

Giving or offering a high-risk drug to a persondirectly for their own useanother person’s consumption carries 1one to 2two years and, a fine of 500,000 to –1,000,000 million CFA francs (franc fine, or either alone under Article 43). Selling, distributing or holding forGeneral high-risk supply under Article 39 carries 2two to 10ten years (Article 39), a 5–20 million franc fine, or both.

Article 52 forbids using controlled drugs without aprohibits drug use outside medical prescriptionprescriptions and orders any drug found on a user seizedpermits confiscation even without prosecution. UsingArticle 40 provides one to twelve months, a 1–2 million CFA franc fine, or either penalty alone for high-risk drugdrugs held or used for personal consumption is punished under Article 40.

The retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyondFor offences under Articles 40–54, courts can order a foreigner’s expulsion, residence restrictions, driving restrictions and professional bans under Article 61. For prison sentences of at least one year under Articles 40–54, Article 74 restricts specified release and sentence-adjustment measures before two-thirds of the penalties described aboveterm has been served.

loi2025

No cannabis clubs are known, and theThe drug law leaves no room for them: growing cannabisprohibits cultivation and supplying itsupply and provides no recreational club exception. Facilitating high-risk use, including through premises, carries five to another person areten years, a fine, or both prohibitedunder Article 41.

There is no legal recreationalRecreational supply is prohibited for anyone, sovisitors. A small personal quantity can attract a visitor has no lawful wayfine alone under Article 53, while Article 61 allows courts to buy cannabisexpel foreigners convicted of offences under Articles 40–54, including the personal-quantity offence. The sources behind this profile describe no separate rule for visitors.

ACI — Owando arrests involving cannabis and an agriculture official (20 November 2024) 2 unchanged

UseIllicit use carries aup to one year in prison and holding or sellingpossession up to ten under the Penal Code; cannabis use is rare, khat beinggeneral sentencing rules let courts impose just one of the local druglisted penalties.

Illegal. The Penal Code's section on trafficking and use of narcotics punishes illicit use with one year in prison and a fine of 200,000 francs (Article 359). Holding narcotics falls under Article 356, with transport, offer and sale: of the 1995 Penal Code sets ten years in prison and a fine of 500 million francsfranc fine for illicit possession, acquisition, transport or supply. The code setsdefines no personal-use amountquantity. Articles 70–73 let courts impose just one listed penalty and reduce prison terms or fines, so the listed term and fine are not invariably imposed together.

The Penal Code does not single out growing; producing narcotics falls under Article 355 with importing, manufacturing and exporting:sets twenty years of criminal imprisonment and a fine of 500 million francsfranc fine for illicit production, manufacture, import or export. It does not separately define a personal-growing tier. The climate makes cultivation raregeneral sentencing rules in Articles 70–73 allow one listed penalty alone and reductions in sentence.

cp, wiki

The code's penalties are heavy on paper: one year for useIn August 2026, ten for holding or selling, twenty for producing or importing, and life for leadingthe Einguella gendarmerie reported seizing 88 cannabis packages weighing 12 kg at a trafficking groupBalbala storage site. No account of how cases are handledSeveral suspects were held in practice was found; use is low, sincepolice custody pending presentation to justice authorities. This report does not establish the legal stimulant khat is preferredusual outcome of personal-use cases.

cp, wikirtd2026

SellingGiving or offering narcotics to a persondirectly for their own useanother person’s consumption carries five years in prison and a fine of 5 million francsfranc fine under Article 358, rising to ten years where minors, schoolseducation centres or government premises are involved (Article 358). Other sale, offer and transportGeneral supply under Article 356 carries ten years (Article 356). The port is a transit point for cannabis moving from AsiaArticles 70–73 allow courts to Africa, the Middle Eastselect one penalty alone and Europereduce sentences.

cp, wiki

Illicit use of narcotics is an offence under Article 359 of the Penal Code:sets one year in prison and a fine of 200,000 francs. Cannabisfranc fine for illicit use is uncommon;. The general sentencing rules allow a court to impose a fine alone or a shorter prison term. The maximum written in the legal stimulant khatoffence is the country's drug of choicenot a mandatory one-year sentence.

cp, wiki

No legal source: theThe Penal Code punishes acquiringcriminalises illicit acquisition, holdingpossession, offering and selling narcotics alikesupply. Free-zone rules also expressly exclude cannabis, hashish and cannabis resin from the goods admitted to those commercial zones.

cp, freezone

The retained sources doFor drug offences, courts can impose professional restrictions, suspend or cancel a driving licence and confiscate property. Article 366 permits permanent exclusion, or exclusion for up to ten years, of foreigners convicted under Articles 355–357; the clause does not establish collateral consequences beyondlist the penalties described aboveseparate simple-use offence in Article 359.

cp

No cannabis clubs are knownThe Penal Code criminalises illicit production, possession and the law leavessupply and provides no room for them: growingrecreational cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibited-club exception.

wikicp

There is no legal recreationalIllicit possession and supply remain offences for anyonevisitors. Foreigners convicted of production, so a visitor has no lawful wayimport, general possession or supply, or drug-money laundering under Articles 355–357 can also be excluded permanently or for up to buy cannabisten years. The sources behind this profile describe no separate rule for visitorsforeigner-exclusion clause does not list simple use or direct supply to a consumer.

wikicp

Djibouti — Penal Code, Law 59/AN/94 of 5 January 1995, Articles 70–73 and 355–368 (VERTIC copy) Djibouti official journal — Decree 2003-0202 on economic activities in free zones, Article 13 RTD — Gendarmerie seizes 12 kg of cannabis in Balbala (12 August 2026) Code pénal de la République de Djibouti, articles 355–368, trafic et usage de stupéfiants (2002 text, Equipo Nizkor) 2 unchanged

First-time possession of 0.1–150 grams carries a fine of 50,000–100,000-dalasi or six monthsfine, one to a yeartwo years in prison, or both.

Under the Drug Control Act as amended inThe enacted 2014, a amendment gives first-time offender with betweencannabis possession its own scale. For 0.1 g and –150 g of cannabis facesgrams it allows a fine of 50,000 to –100,000 dalasi or six months, one to a yeartwo years in prison, or both. The amendment was meant; for 151–500 grams, 100,000–150,000 dalasi or two to ease prison overcrowdingfive years, but the fine is far beyond most people's meansor both; from 501 grams, so many serve the prison term in default150,000–250,000 dalasi or three to ten years, or both. The general possession rule remains separate, as do trafficking offences.

pointamend2014, gamlaw2003

CultivationUnauthorised cannabis growing is prohibited. The 2014 amendment expressly extends the cultivation provision to prohibited drugs and the First Schedule, where cannabis is listed; its penalty allows a crime with heavier penaltiesfine of at least 50,000 dalasi, at least three years in prison, or both. The law separately provides for specifically authorised scientific cultivation.

pointlaw2003, amend2014

Courts regularly impose six-figure finesPrison remains possible for small amounts offirst-time cannabis possession, with imprisonment if unpaidalongside a fine alternative. The drug agency’s 2019–2023 strategy described burdensome fines, prison sentences and limited rehabilitation, and called for alternatives for young and first-time offenders.

gamamend2014, pointstrategy2019

Trafficking carries long sentences;The 2011 amendment raised the death penaltyminimum fine in the general trafficking clause to ten million dalasi, alongside at least ten years in prison. The quantity rule covers more than ten grams of cannabis resin or two kilograms of cannabis, unless the accused proves the possession was not for drugtrafficking. Separate supply offences has been abolishedalso apply.

hoclaw2003, amend2010, amend2011

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Under the Drug Control Act as amended inThe 2014, a first-time offender with betweenscale for cannabis possession starts at 0.1 g and –150 g of cannabis facesgrams, with a fine of 50,000 to –100,000 dalasi or six months, one to a yeartwo years in prison, or both; the enacted scale provides longer prison ranges for larger quantities.

point, gamamend2014

The Gambia — Drug Control Act 2003, consolidated with the 2005 amendments, Issue 1/2009 The Gambia Gazette — Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2010, Act 16, 29 October 2010 The Gambia Gazette — Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2011, Act 2, 29 April 2011 The Gambia Gazette — Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2014, Act 9, 9 October 2014 Drug Law Enforcement Agency, The Gambia — Five-Year Strategy Plan 2019–2023 6 unchanged

Since 2023, personalCannabis use carries three to eighteenfour months to one year on a first offence under the 2023 law. Possession and growing for personal use are separate felonies; trafficking is non-bailable; dealing carries ten to twenty years.

The 2023 amendments to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act separated users from traffickersSection 14. Use89 makes unlicensed possession or purchase an offence. For Schedule I cannabis it distinguishes first-degree felony possession for personal use istrafficking from second-degree felony possession otherwise. Second-degree cases require cash bail worth twice the bond. The penalty paragraph gives 10–20 years or the Penal Law’s sentencing rules; those rules ordinarily cap a bailable second-degree felony with three to eighteen months in prison — down fromat five to twenty years under, leaving the old lawinteraction of the two clauses unresolved.

ndcdsa23, idpcpenal

Cultivation isSection 14.90 distinguishes growing Schedule I cannabis for trafficking, a non-bailable first-degree felony, from growing otherwise, a second-degree felony with ten to twentycash bail worth twice the bond. Its penalty clause gives 10–20 years or sentencing under Penal Law sections 50.5–50.6. No personal plant allowance is specified.

ndcdsa23

Much lighter for users than beforeThe enacted 2023, but still prison, law requires cash bail for cannabis-use cases and far heavierdenies bail for anything classed as dealingfirst-degree trafficking offences. First-time Schedule I use carries four months to one year; repeat use is a second-degree felony carrying one to five years or more under the stated sentencing references.

nd, idpccdsa23

SaleGiving cannabis away is covered by the supply offence and the definition of trafficking are. Schedule I trafficking is a first-degree felony, non-bailable, with ten to twentycarrying 10–20 years or sentencing under Penal Law sections 50.5–50.6.

ndcdsa23

Consumption is covered by the same threeSection 14.91(a) makes unauthorised use of Schedule I drugs a first-degree misdemeanor with four months to one year, escalating on second apprehension to a second-eighteen-month offencedegree felony with one to five years or more under the sentencing references. Cash bail is required. Cannabis, resin, extracts and tinctures are listed in Schedule I. The express rehabilitation alternative appears in the separate paragraph for Schedules II–IV.

ndcdsa23

A felony conviction isSection 14.100 requires immediate deportation of a criminal recordnon-Liberian convicted of an offence under the drug law after serving the sentence or sanction. Section 14.101 requires drug clearance for admission, enrolment or employment in public institutions and directs private institutions to introduce such measures; failure to comply can justify refusal.

ndcdsa23

greyillegal

unclearbanned

Section 14.10882 expressly includes cannabis seeds and all parts of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act 2014 makes it an offence to plant, cultivate or culture a scheduled plant without a licence from the Minister, and the Act names the cannabis plant in its definition of cultivationcannabis, covering viable seeds and cuttings. The 2014 text does not mentionIt excludes sterilised seeds; the 2023 amendments were not read that cannot germinate, mature stalks and fibre, and seed oil or cake. Unlicensed possession, supply and cultivation are offences under sections 14.85, 14.89 and 14.90.

cdsa14cdsa23

ndcdsa23

There is no legal recreational supply for anyonevisitors. Under section 14.100, so a visitor has no lawful way to buy cannabis. The sources behind this profile describe no separate rulenon-Liberian convicted of any crime in the drug-law subchapter must be deported immediately after serving the sentence or sanction, including convictions for visitorsuse.

idpccdsa23

Liberia — Controlled Drugs and Substances Act 2023, Ministry of Foreign Affairs printing Liberia — Penal Law, general sentencing provisions 5 unchanged

Prison evenThe 1993 law allows death for repeat or aggravated high-risk drug offences; simple use, can mean up to two years;, a large share of prisoners are held for possessionfine alone, or both.

Completely prohibited. TheArticle 5 of the 1993 law imposes prison even for simple use orincludes possession for personal useand purchase of high-risk drugs among offences carrying 15–30 years and a fine, with death for a maximum ofrepeat offence. The separate simple-use offence carries up to two years and, a fine alone, or both; its wording does not extend that penalty to personal possession.

gdpo, wikil9337

GrowersGrowing or producing high-risk drugs carries 15–30 years and producers can be sentenced to deatha fine under Article 3 of the drug1993 law — unique in the Maghreb — though Mauritania has not carried out executions, with death for decadesa repeat offence. Article 13 also permits capital punishment in specified aggravated cases, including organised crime and violence or weapons.

gdpol9337

Users are jailed in large numbers: one account estimates that roughly a thirdReliable figures on arrests or imprisonment of the prison population is held forcannabis users remain unknown. Khalid Tinasti's 2017 analysis described scarce Mauritanian drug offences-use data and a public debate focused on trafficking. ECPM's 2024 assessment reported a moratorium on executions, ninewith the last military-court execution in ten of them for simple possession or use1987.

gdpo, ecpm2024

Trafficking isGiving a high-risk drug to another person, including without payment, falls under Article 5's 15–30 years and a fine. Repeat offences carry death; Article 13 also permits capital offence on the statute bookpunishment for specified aggravated offences.

gdpol9337

Use is punished with prisonIllicit use carries up to two years, a fine alone, or both under Article 39. Completing prescribed treatment or successful detoxification or medical supervision can prevent prosecution under Articles 44 and 51. Voluntary treatment seekers can request anonymity.

gdpol9337

None: the drug law punishes even simple use and possession for personal useRecreational supply is prohibited. The 2008 parliamentary debate concerned controlled medicines, with prisondoctors prescribing and pharmacists dispensing under strict supervision.

gdpol9337, assembly2008

Trafficking is a capital offence on the statute bookThe 1993 law prescribes death for repeat high-risk production, cultivation, import, export and growers and producers cantrafficking offences under Articles 3–5. Article 13 also be sentenced to deathpermits capital punishment where specified offences involve organised crime, which is unique inviolence or weapons, or drugs that caused a death. ECPM's 2024 assessment still listed these clauses and reported the Maghreblast execution in 1987, following a military-court conviction. Mauritania has not carried out executions for decades.

gdpol9337, ecpm2024

NoneTinasti's 2017 analysis cited limited earlier evidence of small cannabis production near the Senegal River in the south. Current production levels remain unknown.

wikigdpo

NoneLegal recreational products are prohibited by the drug law.

wikil9337

No operating medical cannabis programme is established by the retained sources. The 2008 debate addressed the controlled supply of narcotic medicines under prescription.

wikiassembly2008

The retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyondArticle 17 of the penalties described above1993 law requires permanent territorial exclusion for foreigners convicted of listed offences, including illicit use. Courts can also impose travel restrictions, withdraw passports and suspend driving licences. The separate use chapter contains an additional exclusion clause with inconsistent cross-references.

l9337

Law 93-37 punishes growing a high-risk drug with 15 to –30 years in prisonand a fine, and with death for a repeat offence (Article 3). Which plants count is set by ministerial order, which was not readMinisterial orders determine the domestic schedules. The law speaks of substances and plants and does not mention seeds.

No cannabis clubs are known, and theThe 1993 law leaves no room for them:prohibits growing cannabis and supplying it tohigh-risk drugs, including gifts, and provides no recreational club exception. Facilitating another person are both prohibited's use, including by providing premises, carries two to ten years and the law provides for the death penalty for the most serious drug offencesa fine.

gdpol9337

There is no legal recreational supply exception for anyonevisitors. The law imposes prison even for simpleSimple illicit use or possession for personal use, with a maximum ofcan bring up to two years and, a fine alone, or both. Article 17 requires permanent exclusion for foreigners convicted of listed drug offences, including use; the use chapter also contains a separate exclusion clause with inconsistent cross-references.

gdpo, wikil9337

Khalid Tinasti — Harm reduction, drug policy and the law in the Maghreb, focus on Tunisia and Mauritania (July 2017) ECPM — Mauritanie, la peine de mort en droit et en pratique (2024), printed pp. 2 and 6 AMI — National Assembly debate on narcotic and psychotropic drugs (21 February 2008) Wikipedia — Cannabis in Mauritania Global Drug Policy Observatory — July 2017 archive (Mauritania drug law) 1 unchanged

Cannabis is a high-risk drug under the 1999 ordinance; a small amount for. Small personal use carries one to six months in prisonpossession and growing have shorter prison ranges, a fine, trafficking ten to twenty yearsor both; a fine alone is expressly possible.

Cannabis and cannabis resin areappear in Table I (, the high-risk drugs) of Ordinance 99-42 of 23 September 1999category. ForArticle 145 gives a separate tier for small amountquantities held, bought or grown for personal useconsumption: high-risk plants or substances, Article 145 setsincluding cannabis oil, carry two months to one year and, a fine of 500,000 to –1,000,000 million CFA francs for a high, or both. Non-risk drug (cannabis oil included), andcannabis derivatives carry one to six months and, a fine of 250,000 to –500,000 CFA francs for a cannabis derivative other than the oil, or both. The court may waive the penalty for a first offender who solemnly promises not to reoffendNo gram limit is given. Larger amounts fall under Article 96 (10 to 20 years).

law, compilation

Article 8 bansprohibits growing the cannabis plant, and requires landowners must, operators and occupiers to destroy plantationsplants growing on their land. Growing high-risk drugs falls under the 10-to-20-year trafficking tier;Article 145 expressly includes a small amount grown for personal use getscrop in the lighter Article 145 tiershorter penalty tiers described for possession, without a fixed plant limit.

The ordinancelaw allows prison even foror a fine alone for small personal amount (Article 145) and sets 10quantities. Courts may invite a dependent person convicted of specified offences to 20undergo treatment instead of or alongside punishment; evading those measures carries one to five years for the main offences, a fine, or both. How often users are jailed isThe retained sources do not shown by the textestablish typical sentencing for cannabis users.

Giving or offering a high-risk drug to a persondirectly for their own useanother person's consumption carries one to five years and, a fine of 100,000 to –500,000 CFA francs (Article 98). Selling, distributing or deliveringboth. General high-risk trafficking under Article 96 carries 10ten to 20twenty years (Article 96), a fine of 1–20 million francs, or both.

Article 144 forbidsprohibits using controlled drugs withoutoutside a medical prescription and orders any drug found on a user seizedpermits confiscation even without prosecution. The separate penalty set for users in the text is the possession tier of Article 145 expressly covers possession, purchase and growing for personal consumption.

The retained sources do not establish collateral consequences beyondFor the penalties described aboveproduction, trafficking and related offences listed in Articles 94–102, courts may add restrictions on residence, civic rights, travel, driving or professional activity. They may exclude a convicted foreigner permanently or for ten to twenty years. Small personal quantities are dealt with separately in Article 145.

law

Article 8 of Ordinance 99-42 bansprohibits growing the cannabis plant anywhere in the country and obliges whoever owns or occupies land to destroy anyrequires destruction of plants that come upon occupied land. Small personal cultivation still carries criminal penalties under Article 145. The ordinance doesretained clauses do not mention seedssettle ungerminated seed possession or trade separately.

o9942law

There isVisitors have no legallawful recreational supply for anyoneroute. For specified production and trafficking offences, so a visitor has no lawful wayArticle 113 permits permanent exclusion or exclusion for ten to buy cannabistwenty years of a convicted foreigner. The sources behind this profile describe no separate rule for visitorsThat clause covers Articles 94–102; small personal quantities are addressed separately in Article 145.

Niger pharmaceutical regulator — Legislative and regulatory compilation, 2019 edition 2 unchanged

PossessingUnauthorised cannabis withoutpossession remains a prescription is a felony carrying a fixed three-year prison term, though first offenders can have the case dismissed afterwith probation and other alternatives available in qualifying cases. Alongside, Puerto Rico runs one of the largest medical programmes anywhere: about 115,000Medical dispensaries began serving patients, 3 in December 2016.6% of the population The health department counted 110, and more than 300 dispensaries736 active patients in 2023August 2026.

Under Article 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (Law 4 of 1971), possessing a controlle … ing of guilt and, if it is completed, have the case dismissed once in a lifetime. After a qualifying treatment assessment and with prosecution consent, a court may also impose a fine of $1,000 to $10,000 and up to six months of community service instead of prison.

ley4, plateamedicalLaw

ley4, wikimedicalLaw

NoThere is no legal adult-use sourcesupply. Medical cannabis, legal sinceThe medical route requires a 2015 executive order and Law 42 of 2017, is easy to obtain on arecommendation from an authorised doctor's certification: in January 2024 the Department of Health counted 114,818 patients, and patient identification under the number of dispensaries rose from 277 to 342 during 2023regulated programme. The most certified conditions were insomniahealth department’s August 2026 report counted 110, anxiety736 active patients and chronic pain59 registered certifying doctors. Dispensaries began serving patients in December 2016; the 2017 law supplied the statutory structure.

plateamedicalLaw, wikistats26, retailStart

plateamedicalLaw, wikiplatea

AThe May 2015 executive order first alloweddirected the health secretary to authorise medical usecannabis through the drug law’s procedures. Dispensary sales began in December 2016, and Law 42 of 9 July 2017 set upfollowed by the regulated system of cultivators and dispensaries under the Department of Health2017 Medical Cannabis Act. PatientsIn August 2026, anxiety was certified for insomnia (5759.34%) of active patients, anxiety (53insomnia for 55.14%) and chronic pain (43for 34.81%) make up most of the programme, which shrank slightly after mid-2023; patients may be certified for more than one condition.

wikiorder15, plateamedicalLaw, stats26, retailStart

BillsRegistered medical patients who identify themselves to decriminalise possession for personal usean employer have statutory protection against discrimination, including one in 2013 and another in 2022subject to exceptions involving safety, did not passessential duties, federal permissions or funding, and unauthorised workplace use or possession. FederalA 2022 amendment also prevents registered medical use from triggering the disability law still treats all cannabis as’s exclusion for illegal, as in the states-drug users.

plateamedicalLaw, metro13civil22

There is no adult-use supply for anyone. Medical cannabis requiresFor medical access, article 12 of the 2017 law recognises a certification undernonresident patient’s identification from the Puerto Ricorelevant jurisdiction for entering a dispensary and possessing cannabis; the programme’s applicable conditions still govern. The law also provides for board rules recognising resident-jurisdiction patient cards.

plateamedicalLaw

Puerto Rico — Medical Cannabis Act 42-2017, incorporating Act 15-2021 Puerto Rico — Executive Order 2015-010, 3 May 2015 Puerto Rico Department of Health — Medical Cannabis Programme statistics, August 2026 Primera Hora — First medical dispensaries open, 30 December 2016 Puerto Rico — Act 90-2022, patient exception to disability-law exclusion 6 unchanged

Medical cannabis has been available by specialist prescription sinceCBD medicine rules introduced in 2020 require specialist assessment and public-health approval; otherwiserecreational cannabis remains illegal.

Cannabis is a Class B controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 2016 and unauthorised possession isremains a criminal offence. The 2016 Act moved away fromlaw removed the old mandatory minimums, and courts frequently impose fines or suspended sentencesminimum for small amountsthe cannabis trafficking offence considered in R v Ah Kong; the judge gave that first offender a suspended sentence and a fine.

wikiahkong

FinesSentences depend on the offence and circumstances. In October 2016 Paul Ah Kong received a suspended sentences are common for userstwo-year term and a 15, but prison is used too: in000-rupee fine for trafficking 115 grams of cannabis. In January 2023 the Seychelles Kanabis Association protested the custodial cannabis sentences given to two other men for cannabis offences, calling them excessive. Very long maximums remain for growing and trafficking.

nation23ahkong, wikination23

NoThere is no adult-use sourcesupply. SinceRules effective from 1 July 2020 patients with specialist certification andallow an application for prescribed CBD medicines after specialist assessment, Public Health Authority approval and issuance of a permit can receive imported cannabidiol. Authorised pharmacies may dispense a maximum 30-based medical productsday supply.

The 2020 regulations created a permit system: a specialist certifies the patientrules cover defined CBD medicines, with THC and specified related substances limited to 2% of the product is importedCBD content. A specialist must assess the failure of earlier treatments and dispensed underlikely benefits and risks before submitting an application. Public-health approval, a permit and a prescription are required. ItThe rules followed a court order requiring the government to allow medical useRalph Volcere’s case seeking access for his mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease.

reg, wikivolcere

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Cannabis isThe CBD medicine rules recognise a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 2016 and possession is a crime; courts often impose fines or suspended sentences for small amountsvisiting qualifying patient with an equivalent foreign medical document, but prison sentences are also handed down, and possession with intentrequire prior written Public Health Authority authorisation to traffic carries up to fifty yearsenter or leave Seychelles carrying the medicine.

wiki, nation23reg

Seychelles Supreme Court — R v Ah Kong, signed sentence, 26 October 2016 Seychelles Constitutional Court — Volcere v Minister for Home Affairs and others, signed judgment, 31 May 2019 5 unchanged

The Republic of the Congo enacted a's new national drug-control law in, signed on 22 August 2025. It preserves criminal, set separate penalties for small personal cannabispossession, purchase and growing. Cannabis derivatives other than oil carried one to six months, while spelling outhigh-risk drugs including cannabis oil carried two months to one year; a lower range for a small amount than for trafficking conductfine alone was possible in either tier. ## A new national framework Law No. 30Parliament wanted a stronger response to trafficking At the [Senate's April debate](/history/congo-senate-drug-law-debate-2025 covers/), sponsor Yves Fortuné Moundele-Ngollo Ehourossia linked illicit productiondrugs to organised crime, possessionmoney laundering, manufacture, transport, traffickingcorruption and use of narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursors violence. It was signed at Brazzaville on 22 August and published inSenators approved the official journalproposal on 25 September 20257 April. The law uses schedules based on internationalCongo had [joined two UN drug-control conventions in 2004](/history/congo-single-convention-2004/). Article 7 prohibits cultivating plants classified as narcotics throughout the country and requires the owner, operator or occupier of landThe debate returned to destroy controlled plants that grow therethe need for domestic controls following those commitments. Its final article repeals earlier provisions that conflict withPresident Denis Sassou-N'Guesso signed the new act, without naming a predecessor law in August, and the official journal published it on 25 September. ## Personal-use amounts Article 52 prohibits use ofSmall personal quantities could bring a controlled drug outside a medical prescription. A drug held for illicit use is seized and confiscated by judicial decision even if the holder is not prosecuted. Article 53 applies whenfine alone The personal-quantity rule covered an illegally bought, possessed or cultivated amount is small enough to be considered intended for personalthe person's own consumption. Cannabis derivatives other thanIt set no numerical limit in grams or plants. For a high-risk drug, including cannabis oil carry one to six months' imprisonment and a, the fine ofwas 100,000–500,000 CFA francs. For a cannabis derivative other than oil, it was 50,000 to –250,000 CFA francs. Courts could impose the prison range, the fine, or either penaltyboth. Cannabis oil falls under the A separate clause addressed high-risk category: two months todrugs held or used for personal consumption, with one year andto twelve months, a 1–2 million franc fine of 100,000 to 500,000 francs, or either alone. The article sets no numerical definition of “small.” It also permits a waiver of the sentence or -quantity rule expressly overrode that clause where its execution when the person has not reached the age of criminal majority, while repeat cases may receive stricter measuresconditions were met. ## Supply and cultivation ForWider supply had longer prison ranges General high-risk drugs, sale, delivery, transport, purchase and possession carrytrafficking carried two to ten years, a 5–20 million franc fine, or both. Giving or offering such a drug todirectly for another person for personal's consumption carriescarried one to two years. Unlawful cultivation, a 500,000–1 million franc fine, or production in theeither alone. Ordinary high-risk category carriescultivation and production carried five to ten years, a 5–20 million franc fine, or both. The law provides different bands for drugs placed in its lower-risk scheduleprohibited growing narcotic plants and required landowners and occupiers to destroy plants on their land. The result is## Conviction could also affect residence and release Courts could order the framework described onexpulsion of foreigners convicted of listed offences, including small personal quantities. For specified prison sentences of at least a year, the current [Republiclaw restricted early release and sentence adjustments before two-thirds of the term had been served. It also retained a reference to the [2010 child-protection law](/history/congo-child-drug-protection-2010/) when addressing supply to minors. Small personal quantities, wider trafficking and offences affecting children consequently had different rules within [Congo profile's](/country/cg/): a small amount remains criminal, cultivation remains banned, and sharing is separately punished continuing prohibition system. In the index, the 2025 law does not move a score because the country was already recorded as prohibited. It replaces contrary rules and clarifies penalties, but the text does not establish that legal freedom changed on its commencement.

ACI — Senators approve drug-control proposal 1 unchanged

gpt-6

In August 2014 The Gambia's National Assembly passed the Drug Control (Amendment) Act, which lowered the penalties for introduced a separate penalty scale for first offence of possessing-time cannabis possession in October 2014. A person holding 0.1–150 grams could receive a fine of 50,000–100,000 dalasi, one to two years in prison, or both. Larger quantities brought higher fines and longer prison ranges. ## The new scale The amendmentHeavy fines were filling prisons Interior Minister Ousman Sonko presented the reform as a response to the Drug Control Actimprisonment of young people who could not pay existing fines. He argued that reducing their punishment would ease pressure on prisons and cut the public costs of keeping them there. The [earlier drug law](/history/gambia-drug-control-act-2003/) set a minimum fine of 250,000 dalasi or at least three tiersyears in prison for aunauthorised cannabis possession, with both punishments possible. The new amendment separated first-time offender caught with cannabis offenders from that general rule. Parliament passed the amendment in August. President Yahya Jammeh assented on 9 October, the date stated in the enacted law. ## Three quantity bands set the punishment The new scale distinguished smaller holdings from larger ones. Each band allowed the court to choose a fine, imprisonment, or both. | QuantityCannabis quantity | Fine in dalasi | Prison range | |---|---|---| | 0.1 g to –150 ggrams | 50,000 to –100,000 | 6 months to 1 year–2 years | | 151 g to –500 ggrams | 100,000 to –150,000 | 1 to 2–5 years | | 501 ggrams and above | 150,000 to –250,000 | 2 to 3–10 years | A court may imposeThe lower band substantially reduced the minimum fine facing a first offender. A custodial sentence remained available throughout the scale, and the highest band allowed a prison term, or both reaching ten years. ## The amendment also changed enforcement rules The same actlaw renamed the National Drug Enforcement Agency as the Drug Law Enforcement Agency. ##, The reasons given The interior ministerGambia. It also expanded several cultivation, Ousman Sonko, toldproduction and other drug provisions to refer expressly to prohibited drugs alongside controlled drugs. Those changes connected the Assembly thatreform to the bill separated outwider operation of the punishment for firstdrug-time offenderscontrol law. He pointed to the number of young people being arrestedCannabis and convictedcannabis resin were listed as prohibited drugs, 1,538 between 2010 and 2013, and saida classification that remained in place as the aimsnew possession bands were to avoid jailing more of them, to relieve crowded prisons and to cut public spendingintroduced. He also said ## The debate continued after the existinglower scale The agency’s [2019–2023 strategy plan](/history/gambia-drug-strategy-rehabilitation-2019/) described continued problems with burdensome fines could be too heavy for Gambian youths, prison sentences and limited rehabilitation. A regional It called for a review of drug laws published in 2017 describes the amendment the same way: it reduced prison termsand alternatives such as community service for small amounts so that people could return to society after serving a sentenceyoung and first-time offenders. The review adds that a fine remained the only alternative to prisonplan also proposed counselling, skills training and that it did not apply in every caserehabilitation facilities. ## What it did not change Possession of any amount without a licence stayed a crime, and the lowest fine on the new The first-offender scale had reduced some penalties, 50,000 dalasi, is beyondwhile the meansquestion of most people, so many serve the prison term in default. Possession for trafficking can bring ten years or more, accordinghow to the same review. Ten years on, the drug agency reported 1,219help people arrested in 2024, with cannabis making up more than halfavoid repeated imprisonment remained part of all seizures. ## Why the index moved The index moveddrug-policy debate in [The Gambia](/country/gm/) from 7 to 9 with the [2014 amendment](/history/gambia-first-offenders-2014/). Only enforcement changed, from 0 to 1: a first offence with a small amount now has its own lower scale of months or a fine. Possession stays at 1 because it remains a crime at every quantity.

opusgpt-5.56

The Gambia Gazette — Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2014, Act 9, 9 October 2014 The Gambia — Drug Control Act 2003, consolidated with the 2005 amendments, Issue 1/2009 Drug Law Enforcement Agency, The Gambia — Five-Year Strategy Plan 2019–2023 International Drug Policy Consortium and West Africa Commission on Drugs — Drug laws in West Africa, annex of country profiles, November 2017 (PDF) The Point — Gambians lead in drug abuse cases, says DLEAG DG (27 June 2025) 1 unchanged

King Andrianampoinimerina prohibited cannabis smoking in the Merina kingdom of Madagascar. Later historical accounts associate the offence with severe punishment, including death. They also preserve an important distinction: cultivationcentral Imerina while allowing people to grow hemp for cloth and rope. Historical accounts describe death as a penalty for smoking, but a collection of Malagasy proverbs says the rule was allowedapplied only briefly. The conventional date 1787 does not come withepisode belongs to the history of a verified day or surviving decree examined hereroyal highland kingdom whose territory differed from modern Madagascar. ## Smoking and useful cultivationGrow hemp, but do not smoke it Louis Molet reproduces a royal statement, citing drawn from the Tantara collection of Merina history. The speaker prohibits consuming orking addresses people growing cannabis for textiles and cordage, approving those uses while threatening punishment for smoking hempit in the heart of Imerina while expressly permitting people to cultivate it for textiles and cordage. ThisFor growers, that distinction changesmattered: the meaning of the familiar phrase “the king banned cannabis.” Thesame plant had several uses,supplied useful fibre and thean intoxicating preparation. The reported command treated them differently. It supports a restriction on intoxicating consumption; it does not establish that everyleft room for hemp field or fibre usefields and the work of making cloth and rope. Its target was outlawedsmoking. The royalking's explanation linksconnected smoking with loss of reason. That is evidence ofThe surviving account places the ruler’s stated justification as transmitted through later textsrestriction within royal efforts to regulate behaviour, rather than a present-day medical assessmentalongside rules about alcohol. ## Punishment and royal authorityDeath as a punishment, briefly applied Georges Condominas placeslists hemp smoking among capital offences in his discussion ofunder Andrianampoinimerina’s monarchy. His accountdiscussion connects the king’s rules aboutgoverning personal conduct with measures protectingthe protection of royal authority and the unity of the kingdom. Condominas also describes tobacco and alcohol restrictionsA different perspective survives in that political setting. His rhetoricthe commentary attached to a proverb about intoxicationa hemp smoker's heart. In *Le Livre de la Sagesse Malgache*, Paul de Veyrières and Guy de Méritens describe the previous court reflects the perspective of his historical accountking introducing death as a punishment to discourage smoking. It should not be mistaken for independent clinical evidence aboutThey add that the effectslaw was applied only briefly. That recollection makes enforcement part of cannabisthe story. Together The royal threat was severe, but the two sources strengthen the identification ofproverb's commentary describes a royal restriction while showing why its scope needs precision. Neither passage supplies a detailed recordshort period of cannabis prosecutionsapplication, without supplying dates or a count of executions. ## A kingdom and an uncertain year The relevant jurisdiction was Imerina underand the king’s authority. It was not identical to the territory of the present Republic of Madagascar. A statement about the heart of the kingdom cannot establish uniform policing across the whole island.conventional date The existing history entry usesis conventionally dated 1787 as its conventional date. The additional passages examined here support attribution tohistorical passages attribute the reign, but do not independently fix enactmentban to thatAndrianampoinimerina, while leaving its precise year unresolved. The article therefore treats Molet's reproduced statement specifically addresses central Imerina. Its geography matters when comparing this royal restriction with later laws issued for the precise date as unresolvedwhole colony and its dependencies. The highland smoking ban forms an early regional chapter in Madagascar's cannabis history. ## What this history does establishA colony-wide ban followed in 1915 The episode records[colonial decree of October 1915](/history/madagascar-colonial-rongony-ban-1915/) prohibited preparation, peddling, sale and consumption of smoking cannabis throughout Madagascar and its dependencies. Its penalties reached one year in prison, with a locally articulated prohibitionfine possible instead of or alongside custody. [Growing and possession offences followed in 1958](/history/madagascar-cultivation-possession-penalties-1958/), before the modern international drug[1960 government raised penalties](/history/madagascar-control systemrongony-penalties-raised-1960/) to as much as five years. It cannot be calledThose dated laws trace the oldest banlater expansion of cannabis controls in this index now that medieval restrictions are included. It also cannot establish a continuous legal regime from the king’s reign to contemporary [Madagascar](/country/mg/). The historical consumption ban and the continuing usefulness of hemp need to remain visible as separate parts of the record.

Le Livre de la Sagesse Malgache 2 unchanged

On 28 February 2020 the minister responsible Patients in Seychelles could apply for home affairs, Macsuzy Mondon, signed regulationsapproval to obtain prescribed CBD medicines under section 54 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 2016, made in consultation with the health minister. They came into operationrules that took effect on 1 July 2020. Their stated object is "lawful access to medicinal cannabis as an alternative treatment",Access depended on a specialist’s assessment and they tie it toa permit from the right to the protection of health in Article 29 of the ConstitutionPublic Health Authority. The permitted products were tightly defined, while smoking and growing cannabis remained prohibited. ## A narrow productfamily’s court case preceded the rules The [2016 drug law](/history/seychelles-misuse-of-drugs-2016/) allowed controlled drugs to be used medically under regulations use. [Ralph Volcere challenged the words "medicinal cannabis"absence of new rules](/history/seychelles-volcere-medical-rules-2019/) while seeking access for his mother, butwho had Alzheimer’s disease. In May 2019 the definition is tightConstitutional Court ordered ministers to issue regulations within twenty-four months, leaving their content to the government. Home Affairs Minister Macsuzy Mondon made the CBD rules the following February, in consultation with the minister responsible for health. ## Only defined CBD medicines qualified The product must beregulations covered products made from cannabidiol, including edible preparations, ointments and any tinctures intended for use without smoking. Their definition excluded forms of cannabis producing a psychoactive effect. THC-type substance and the related substances specified in it may bethe rules could together amount to no more than 2%two per cent of the CBD content. The two-per-cent limit was measured against the amount of cannabidiolCBD in the product. It must be meant The Health Care Agency could import medicines for use "other than by smoking": edibles, ointments and tinctures are namedits pharmacies or authorised pharmacies. The definition adds that cannabidiol "shall not include any form of cannabis that givesOther importers needed a psychoactive effect"licence. Patients, including qualifying visitors, needed prior written permission to enter or leave Seychelles with the medicine. ## The route toApproval came before a prescription | Step | Rule | |---|---| | Who applies | A specialist, for a had to assess the patient in continuing care (regulation 7) | | Test | Otherand conclude that earlier prescribed treatments have failedhad been ineffective, that CBD medicine might help, and benefitsthat likely outweighbenefits outweighed the risks | | Who decides |. The application also required a plan for continued care. The Public Health Authority, reviewed the certification with the Medical and Dental Council | | Result | Patient entered in a. Approval led to confidential registerregistration and given a permit | | Dispensing | A Health Care Agency pharmacy or one it authorises, followed by a prescription. Pharmacies could dispense no more than a 30thirty-day supply | Only the Health Care Agency may import the products withoutat a licencetime. A patient may not enter or leave Seychelles with them without written authorisation, though the regulations recognise The rules allowed designated caregivers to obtain and administer medicine for a "visiting qualifying patient" holding an equivalent foreign document. ## What stayed forbidden Regulation 19 says, "for the avoidance of any doubt", that a person shall not cultivate or smoke cannabis of any form or type, They also provided extra consent and lets police arrest a suspect without a warrantapproval requirements for children. ## Patients still faced strict boundaries Using the medicinal productmedicine without the Authority's permission is an offence too, withauthorisation could bring a fine of up to 10,000 rupees or, up to six months in prison. A doctor who makes a false statement on a certification faces a fine of at least 20,000 rupees or up to two yearsboth. ## Why the index moved Before July 2020 nothing derived from cannabis could lawfully be obtained in Seychelles. The regulations opened one supervised channelexpressly prohibited cultivating or smoking any form of cannabis and allowed police to arrest suspects without a warrant. In [January 2023, the Seychelles Kanabis Association criticised the rules](/history/seychelles-kanabis-association-sentencing-2023/) as unfit for cannabidiol products with almost no THCpatients’ needs, so access rose from zerolinking difficulties obtaining treatment to onethe risk of criminal punishment. They leftIts intervention kept patient access part of the rest alone and restated it: growing and smokingwider cannabis remain offences, so no other score changed-law debate in [Seychelles](/country/sc/).

opusgpt-5.56

Seychelles Constitutional Court — Volcere v Minister for Home Affairs and others, signed judgment, 31 May 2019 Seychelles Nation — Seychelles Kanabis Association decries sentencing for cannabis-related offences, 30 January 2023 1 unchanged