Liberia: recreational/hemp/arrests/culture, penalty tables, 2023 article cites

Section 14.89 makes unlicensed possession or purchase an offence. For Schedule I cannabis it distinguishes first-degree felony possession for trafficking from second-degree felony possession otherwise, a split introduced by the [2023 overhaul](/history/liberia-non-bailable-2023/).[@cdsa23] Second-degree cases require cash bail worth twice the bond. The penalty paragraph gives 10 … second-degree felony at five years, leaving the interaction of the two clauses unresolved.[@cdsa23,penal]

Section 14.90 distinguishes growing Schedule I cannabis for trafficking, a non-bailable first-degree felony, from growing otherwise, a second-degree felony with cash bail worth twice the bond.[@cdsa23] Its penalty clause gives 10–20 years or sentencing under Penal Law sections 50.5–50.6. No personal plant allowance is specified.[@cdsa23,penal]

cdsa23, penal

The enacted 2023 law requires cash bail for cannabis-use cases and denies bail for first-degree trafficking offences, after senators [clashed over the bail ban](/history/liberia-drug-law-bail-debate-2022/) the year before.[@cdsa23] 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.[@cdsa23]

Giving cannabis away is covered by the supply offence and the definition of trafficking.[@cdsa23] Schedule I trafficking is a first-degree felony, non-bailable, carrying 10–20 years or sentencing under Penal Law sections 50.5–50.6.[@cdsa23,penal]

cdsa23, penal

Section 14.91(a) makes unauthorised use of Schedule I drugs a first-degree misdemeanor wit … to a second-degree felony with one to five years or more under the sentencing references.[@cdsa23] 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.[@cdsa23]

None.[@idpc]

NoneNo licensed cannabis production was found. What is grown is unlicensed: the 2023 Act sets no personal plant allowance and treats even non-trafficking growing as a second-degree felony.[@cdsa23]

idpccdsa23

None.

idpc

No medical cannabis. Schedule I lists cannabis, resin, extracts and tinctures, and unauthorised use is an offence; the express rehabilitation alternative sits in the separate paragraph for Schedules II–IV, not for cannabis.[@cdsa23]

idpccdsa23

Section 14.100 requires immediate deportation of a non-Liberian convicted of an offence under the drug law after serving the sentence or sanction.[@cdsa23] 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.[@cdsa23]

Section 14.82 expressly includes cannabis seeds and all parts of the plant in its definiti … des sterilised seeds that cannot germinate, mature stalks and fibre, and seed oil or cake.[@cdsa23] Unlicensed possession, supply and cultivation are offences under sections 14.85, 14.89 and 14.90.[@cdsa23]

No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibited.[@cdsa23]

There is no legal recreational supply for visitors. Under section 14.100, a non-Liberian c … eported immediately after serving the sentence or sanction, including convictions for use.[@cdsa23]

The government-published Vehicle and Traffic Law section 10.90 prohibits operating a motor … ing ability, and covers non-narcotic drugs causing dizziness or inability to drive safely.[@trafficPublished] It also has a separate habitual-narcotic-user prohibition, so not every limb requires proof of impairment on that occasion. Lawful, and lawful entitlement to use a drug is expressly no defence.[@trafficPublished] The published statute lists a $1,000 fine ceiling or one year’s imprisonment; current currency treatment, amendments and tariffs were not certified.[@trafficPublished] Section 2.61 requires licence revocation on a section 10.90 conviction; under section 2.69 a new application may be made after one year from surrender, subject to investigation and licensing conditions.[@trafficPublished] The implied specimen-consent and refusal-hearing provisions concern alcohol and were not treated as cannabis-testing powers. Current; current drug-specific testing rules and a THC cutoff remain unverified.[@trafficPublished]

Figures reported by the government to the UN drugs office record 2,581 kg of herbal cannabis seized in 2024, against 596 kg in 2023.[@unodc_szr] The UN publishes them as kilogram equivalents, and countries count seizures differently, so the figures are not comparable across borders.[@unodc_szr] The LDEA later reported seizing 1,419.34 kg of illicit drugs worth over US$20.8 million between July 2025 and June 2026.[@newdawn26]

unodc_szr, newdawn26

Analyst Liberia — LDEA seizes over L$40 million worth of narcotics, 178 suspects forwarded to court (12 November 2025) The New Dawn — LDEA seizes over US$20 million worth of drugs in one year (29 June 2026) The African Roots of Marijuana 7 unchanged

label Possession other than for trafficking · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 5 years · note Second-degree felony; Penal Law cap five years, but the Act also states 10–20 years — interaction unresolved, label Possession for trafficking · treatment criminal · term Possession for trafficking · prison min 10 years · prison 20 years · note First-degree felony, non-bailable; 10–20 years

label Growing other than for trafficking · treatment criminal · term Cultivation · prison 5 years · note Second-degree felony; Penal Law cap five years, but the Act also states 10–20 years — interaction unresolved, label Growing for trafficking · treatment criminal · term Cultivation for trafficking · prison min 10 years · prison 20 years · note First-degree felony, non-bailable; 10–20 years

There is no legal way to get cannabis. First-time unauthorised use of Schedule I drugs carries four months to one year, and a second apprehension escalates to a second-degree felony with one to five years; cash bail is required in both cases.[@cdsa23] Schedule I covers cannabis, resin, extracts and tinctures, and the [2023 overhaul](/history/liberia-non-bailable-2023/) kept all of them outside any licence.[@cdsa23]

cdsa23

none

No hemp regime was found: no THC threshold, licence, or cultivation permit was located, and the 2023 Act kept cannabis in Schedule I without a medical or industrial pathway.[@cdsa23] The definition carve-out for sterilised seed, mature stalks and fibre, and seed oil or cake takes those materials outside cannabis rather than licensing a hemp crop.[@cdsa23]

cdsa23

Congo-origin Liberians farmed and smoked diamba in calabash water pipes, a habit Swiss naturalist Johann Büttikofer reported in 1890 as brought from their old home.[@duvall19] The word lives on in the atlas entry [diamba](/culture/language/diamba/), and the episode is traced in the [1890 account](/history/liberia-congo-recaptive-diamba-smoking-1890/).[@duvall19]

duvall19

Between September and October 2025 the LDEA arrested 178 suspected traffickers and dealers across all 15 counties, seizing narcotics valued at over L$40 million, with the suspects forwarded to court.[@analyst25] No account of routine user-level arrests was found.

analyst25

President George Weah signed Liberia's new drug law on 12 July 2023,[@4] setting four months to one year for first-time cannabis use and making cannabis trafficking non-bailable.[@1] It also required the deportation of non-Liberians convicted under the law after they served their sentence or sanction.[@1] ## Bail had divided the Senate The West Africa Drug Policy Network worked on the amendment with Representative Thomas Goshua and the drug agency.[@3] During the [Senate debate in July 2022](/history/liberia-drug-law-bail-debate-2022/), a committee challenged the proposed denial of bail and recommended a bond worth twice the seized drugs' value.[@3] Another senator argued that wealthy traffickers could afford bail and evade prosecution. The network urged a constitutional compromise protecting people who use drugs.[@3] Weah's office presented the eventual signing as part of a campaign against drug trafficking and harm to young people.[@4] ## Cannabis use carried its own prison range The signed law listed cannabis, resin, extracts and tinctures in Schedule I.[@1] Unauthorised first-time use was a first-degree misdemeanor carrying four months to one yea … econd-degree felony, with one to five years or more under the law's sentencing references.[@1] Cash bail was required for use cases. The express option for rehabilitation, education, aftercare or community service appeared in the separate paragraph dealing with drugs in Schedules II–IV.[@1] The [2014 law](/history/liberia-controlled-drugs-act-2014/) had already made first-time Schedule I use a misdemeanor and provided a general treatment alternative.[@2] The new text added an explicit minimum prison term and raised the grade for repeat use.[@1] ## Holding cannabis was a separate felony Personal possession and cultivation were second … ree felonies. The latter were non-bailable; the former required cash worth twice the bond.[@1] The possession and cultivation penalty clauses specified ten to twenty years or sentencing under the Penal Law. Those general rules ordinarily capped second-degree felonies at five years.[@1] The overlapping language made the distinction between offence grades particularly conseque … private institutions to introduce such measures. Failure to comply could justify refusal.[@1] For non-Liberians, the earlier law's possible deportation proceedings became mandatory immediate deportation after serving a drug sentence or sanction.[@1] These rules extended the consequences of a cannabis conviction into education, work and the ability to remain in [Liberia](/country/lr/). Enforcement followed: between September and October 2025 the drug agency arrested 178 suspects across all 15 counties.[@5]

Analyst Liberia — LDEA seizes over L$40 million worth of narcotics, 178 suspects forwarded to court 4 unchanged