Cannabis Freedom Index

Changelog 1ac86f0

Correct Vietnam, South Sudan and Bangladesh penalties

Vietnam's amended Articles 249 and 251, in force on 1 July 2025, set possession at three to five years and sale at three to seven. Life or death for sale starts at 30 kg of cannabis resin or 150 kg of the listed plant parts. Five kilograms and 75 kilograms are the twenty-years-or-life bracket. The death classification stays. South Sudan's Penal Code punishes cannabis possession or use with up to five years and dealing with up to fourteen years. Death or life is written for a dangerous drug other than cannabis, so the death classification comes off. Use itself is an offence, so consumption moves from 1 to 0 and the score from 3 to 2. The plant, prepared cannabis and resin are defined separately and are not repeated in that exclusion. Bangladesh's amendment dated 16 July 2026 adds section 36A. Specified digital buying, selling and advertising of a narcotic can be any term of imprisonment or death. That is not the penalty for ordinary possession. The organised-crime subsection does not itself state death. Scores stay. Fixes #103, #105, #106 and #107.

2 history entries added1 history entry edited1 score changed2 country profiles edited2 files of code, design or docs +215 −60 lines

Score changes 1 place

  1. South Sudan32−1consumption 1 → 0

History changes.yaml

Added 2

Edited 1

Southern Sudan's Penal Code sets up to five years for possession or use

description

The Penal Code Act, 2008 made, signed on 22 August 2008, punishes acquiring, possessing, consuming or growing a dangerous drug for one's own use an offence punished with up to five years in prison, a fine, or both, with. A court may order treatment as an alternative for addicted userswhere it finds abuse or addiction. Dealing, including supply, is a separate, more serious offence of up to fourteen years, a fine, or both. Death or life imprisonment is written only where the drug was a dangerous drug other than cannabis and an aggravating circumstance is proved. Cannabis in that chapter means the flowering or fruiting tops.

sources

South Sudan Ministry of Justice — Penal Code Act 2008, sections 382–384 UNODC SHERLOC — Penal Code Act 2008, Article 383 UNODC SHERLOC — South Sudan Penal Code Act, 2008, sections 383–384

Countries and states 3 files

South Sudan countries/ss.yaml

consumption 1 → 0

recreational

deathillegal

summary

Possession of 'bhang' brings prisonor use is up to five years, six monthsa fine, or both. Dealing is up to fourteen years, a year in reported cases; dealing can carry lifefine, or both. The death or life sentence is written for a dangerous drug other than cannabis.

segments › possession › text

Sections 383 andSection 384 of the Penal Code Act 2008 prohibitmakes acquiring or possessing and dealing ina dangerous drugs. Possession is reporteddrug an offence, punished with up to carry severalfive years on paper; in practice courts, a fine, or both. Courts have jailed people for six months to a year for holding 'bhang'.

segments › possession › sources

eye, law, eye

segments › cultivation › text

CultivationGrowing for one's own consumption is the section 384 offence, up to five years, a crime; cannabisfine, or both. Growing in order to deal is the section 383 offence, up to fourteen years, a fine, or both. Cannabis is grown in Equatoria.

segments › cultivation › sources

law, rt

segments › sharing › text

UnlawfulSection 383 makes selling, supplying, transporting and other dealing under section 384 can bringan offence. The sentence is up to fourteen years, a fine, or both. Death or life imprisonment or deathis written only where the drug was a dangerous drug other than cannabis and an aggravating circumstance is proved.

segments › sharing › sources

eye, law

segments › consumption › text

UseSection 384 makes ingesting, smoking or otherwise consuming a dangerous drug an offence, with up to five years, a fine, or both. Where the court finds that the person abuses or is prosecuted through possessionaddicted to the drug, it may order treatment as well as or instead of that sentence.

segments › consumption › sources

eyelaw

context › death penalty › text

Unlawful dealing under section 384 can bringSection 383(3) defines the aggravating circumstances for death or life imprisonment as applying when the drug was a dangerous drug other than cannabis. Cannabis in that chapter means the flowering or deathfruiting tops. The cannabis plant, prepared cannabis and cannabis resin are defined separately and are not repeated in the exclusion. Other dealing is up to fourteen years, a fine, or both. No later statute replacing these sections was found.

context › death penalty › sources

eye, law

context › clubs › text

No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it. Supplying a dangerous drug is dealing under section 383, punished with up to another person are both prohibitedfourteen years, and the law provides for the death penalty for the most serious drug offencesa fine, or both.

context › clubs › sources

rt, eye, law

context › visitors › text

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Sections 383 andPossession or use under section 384 of the Penal Code Act 2008 prohibit possessing and dealing in dangerous drugs; courtsis up to five years, a fine, or both. Courts have jailed people for six months to a year for holding bhang. Dealing under section 383 is up to fourteen years, a fine, or both.

context › visitors › sources

eye, law, eye

sources

South Sudan Ministry of Justice — Penal Code Act 2008 UNODC SHERLOC — South Sudan Penal Code Act 2008 (PDF) 2 unchanged

Bangladesh countries/bd.yaml

summary

Herbal cannabis carries six months to five years for up to 5 kg and up to ten years above 15 kg; hashish is classed with. A separate digital offence in the drugs for whichamendment dated 16 July 2026 can be punished with any term of imprisonment or death is possible.

segments › enforcement › text

Heavily and visibly policed. A 2018 anti-drug drive was accompanied by hundreds of alleged extrajudicial killings. On 16 August 2026 the narcotics department filed its first case under section 36A, over THC and CBD products it said had been sold on Daraz.

segments › enforcement › sources

netra, dt, ds36a

segments › sharing › text

Trafficking carries longThe quantity offences for herbal cannabis are the prison terms in the possession section. Section 36A, lifeinserted by the amendment dated 16 July 2026, is a separate offence: using a website, social media, an app, another digital medium, or a digital payment, e-wallet, virtual asset or cryptocurrency to buy, sell, supply, offer, advertise, broker or communicate about a narcotic. Recovery of the drug is not required. The sentence is any term of imprisonment or death, and a fine of up to 2 million taka. An international or organised case under the next subsection is any term of imprisonment, a fine of up to 5 million taka, or both, and that subsection does not itself state the death penalty.

segments › sharing › sources

nca36a, dt, netra

context › death penalty › text

The 2018 act provides for death or life imprisonment for the largest quantities of Class A … Class B and its top tier is seven to ten years. Hashish is classed with the Class A drugs in the sources previously read, so a death sentence for a cannabis product is possible in law, but no quantity for it was found in the sources . The First Schedule was not re-read for this update. Separately, section 36A of the amendment dated 16 July 2026 punishes specified digital buying, selling, supply and advertising of a narcotic with any term of imprisonment or death, and a fine of up to 2 million taka. It states no cannabis quantity and no class limit. It is not the penalty for ordinary possession.

context › death penalty › sources

palo18, netra, nca36a

context › visitors › text

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Under the Narcotics Control Act 2018 for … g and seven to ten years above 15 kg; consuming a drug carries three months to two years. Using a website, app or digital payment to buy or sell a narcotic is a separate offence that can be punished with any term of imprisonment or death.

context › visitors › sources

palo18, nca36a

sources

Bangladesh Ministry of Law — Narcotics Control (Amendment) Act 2026, section 36A The Daily Star — first section 36A case, over THC and CBD products on Daraz (17 August 2026) 7 unchanged

Vietnam countries/vn.yaml

summary

A first detection of use brings a fine and a year of police management; using again in that time is a crime. Trafficking can carry theIllegal sale is three to seven years. Life or death penaltyapplies from 30 kg of cannabis resin or 150 kg of the listed plant parts.

segments › possession › text

Cannabis is on List I, banned from all use. Criminal liability for possession under Article 249 of the Criminal Code starts at, as amended from 1 July 2025, punishes illegal possession that is not for sale, transport or production. The first bracket is three to five years for 1 g to under 500 g of cannabis resin, or 1 kg to under 10 kg of the listed plant materialparts (leaves, with one to five years in prison. Below those amounts possession is handled administrativelyroots, with finesstem, unless the personbranches, flowers and fruit). A prior administrative penalty or conviction that has not been cleared can make a prior recordsmaller amount criminal. Five kilograms or more of resin, or 75 kg or more of those plant parts, is fifteen to twenty years or life.

segments › possession › sources

ln1, ln2a249

segments › sharing › text

AnyIllegal sale or transfer is trafficking under Article 251, with two years to life; the death penalty appliesas amended from 1 July 2025, is three to seven years. From 5 kg to under 30 kg of cannabis resin, or 75 kg to under 150 kg of the listed plant materialparts, the sentence is twenty years or life. From 30 kg of resin, or 150 kg of those plant parts, it is life or death. The article is the sale offence.

segments › sharing › sources

ln1a251

context › death penalty › text

Trafficking can carryFrom 1 July 2025, illegal sale of 5 kg to under 30 kg of cannabis resin, or 75 kg to under 150 kg of the death penaltylisted plant parts, whichis twenty years or life. Life or death applies from 530 kg of resin or 75150 kg of those plant materialparts. Death is an alternative sentence in that bracket, not a required one. The same law removed the death penalty for illegal transport.

context › death penalty › sources

ln1a251, mps25

context › visitors › text

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Possession becomes a crime under Article 249 of the Criminal CodeIllegal possession that is not for sale, transport or production is three to five years from 1 g of cannabis resin or 1 kg of plant material, with one to five years in prison; below those amounts it is handled administratively, with fines, unless the person has alisted plant parts. A prior recordpenalty can make a smaller amount criminal.

context › visitors › sources

ln1, ln2a249

sources

Chinhphu.vn — Article 249, illegal possession of narcotics, as amended by Law 86/2025/QH15 (14 July 2025) Chinhphu.vn — Article 251, illegal sale of narcotics, as amended by Law 86/2025/QH15 (22 July 2025) Ministry of Public Security — the Criminal Code amendment is in force from 1 July 2025 6 unchanged

Code, design and documents 2 files

docs/research/profile-legal-vn-ss-bd-2026-10-24.md +15 −0
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# Vietnam, South Sudan and Bangladesh, 24 October 2026
+
+Issues #103, #105, #106 and #107.
+
+## Vietnam
+
+Read the government text of amended Articles 249 and 251 on Chinhphu.vn, and the Ministry of Public Security notice that Law 86/2025/QH15 took effect on 1 July 2025. Possession that is not for sale, transport or production is three to five years in the first bracket, not one to five. Sale is three to seven years. Five kilograms of cannabis resin, or 75 kg of the listed plant parts, is twenty years or life. Life or death applies from 30 kg of resin or 150 kg of those plant parts. Death in that bracket is an alternative. The ministry notice also says death was removed for illegal transport, and that the life-or-death bracket of Article 251 was separated in order to raise the quantity. The possession score stays at 1 because the first weight band is not a small amount and a first quantity below it is not in the criminal list that was read. Sale remains a death-eligible offence, so the death classification stays. The full amending statute was not opened page by page beyond the two articles and the ministry notice.
+
+## South Sudan
+
+Read sections 382 to 384 in the Ministry of Justice PDF of the Penal Code Act 2008, and the same dealing and possession sections on UNODC SHERLOC. Possession, use and growing for one's own consumption are up to five years, a fine, or both. Dealing, including supply, is up to fourteen years, a fine, or both. Death or life imprisonment is written only where the drug was a dangerous drug other than cannabis and an aggravating circumstance is proved. In that chapter, cannabis means the flowering or fruiting tops. The cannabis plant, prepared cannabis and cannabis resin are defined separately and are not repeated in the exclusion. No later statute replacing these sections was found. A 2024 workshop recommended amendments; the report that was read does not say they were enacted. The death classification was removed. Use itself is an offence, so consumption moves from 1 to 0. The other scores stay.
+
+## Bangladesh
+
+The ministry site returned a gateway error on a direct fetch. The section text used here is the official section 36A as returned in full from that site's page, Act No. 101 of 2026, dated 16 July 2026. Subsection (2) is any term of imprisonment or death, and a fine of up to 2 million taka. Subsection (3), for an international or organised case, is any term of imprisonment, a fine of up to 5 million taka, or both, and does not itself state death. Recovery of the drug is not required. Section 1(2) was not in the page that was read, so the history date is the date printed on the act. The Daily Star report of 17 August 2026 was read: the narcotics department filed the first case under the section on 16 August, over THC and CBD products it said had been sold on Daraz. The First Schedule was not re-read, so the earlier hashish classification was left as it stood. Scores stay. The death classification stays because section 36A can carry death.
scripts/history-scope.test.cjs +32 −0
@@ -898,2 +898,34 @@ test("Maldives quantity presumptions, Kuwait decree-law 159, and Japan cultivati
   assert.equal(jp.scores.cultivation, 0);
 });
+
+test("Vietnam sale brackets, South Sudan's cannabis exclusion, and Bangladesh section 36A follow the texts that were read", () => {
+  const vn = y.load(fs.readFileSync("countries/vn.yaml", "utf8"));
+  const ss = y.load(fs.readFileSync("countries/ss.yaml", "utf8"));
+  const bd = y.load(fs.readFileSync("countries/bd.yaml", "utf8"));
+  const sale = byId["vietnam-sale-possession-penalties-2025"];
+  const digital = byId["bangladesh-digital-drug-offence-2026"];
+  assert.match(vn.segments.possession.text, /three to five years/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(vn.segments.possession.text, /one to five years/);
+  assert.match(vn.segments.sharing.text, /30 kg/);
+  assert.match(vn.segments.sharing.text, /150 kg/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(vn.segments.sharing.text, /death penalty applies from 5 kg/);
+  assert.equal(vn.recreational, "death");
+  assert.equal(vn.scores.possession, 1);
+  assert.equal(sale.date, "2025-07-01");
+  assert.equal(sale.category, "other");
+  assert.match(ss.segments.sharing.text, /other than cannabis/);
+  assert.match(ss.segments.sharing.text, /fourteen years/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(ss.summary, /life or death/);
+  assert.equal(ss.recreational, "illegal");
+  assert.equal(ss.scores.consumption, 0);
+  assert.equal(ss.scores.sharing, 0);
+  assert.match(bd.segments.sharing.text, /Section 36A/);
+  assert.match(bd.segments.sharing.text, /2 million taka/);
+  assert.match(bd.context.death_penalty.text, /not the penalty for ordinary possession/);
+  assert.equal(bd.recreational, "death");
+  assert.equal(bd.scores.possession, 0);
+  assert.equal(digital.date, "2026-07-16");
+  assert.equal(digital.category, "death");
+  assert.equal(digital.before, undefined);
+  assert.ok(digital.unscored);
+});
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