Nicaragua countries/ni.yaml
Law 735 of 2010 criminalises cannabis, but the Penal Code treats possession of less than 5 g of marijuana as a minor offence: 70 to 100 day-fines and 30 to 60 days of community service at two hours a day, with no prison.[@clr,cp641] Under Article 358, more than 5 g and less than 20 g brings six months to three years in prison, and more than 20 g three to eight years.[@cp641] [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/) [The 1999 law rewrote narcotics penalties.](/history/nicaragua-ley-285-1999/)
upto 5 g · treatment criminal · term Minor possession · note Minor offence: 70–100 day-fines (income-based) and 30–60 days of community service, no prison, over 5 g · upto 20 g · treatment criminal · term Possession over 5 g · prison min 6 months · prison 3 years, over 20 g · treatment criminal · term Possession over 20 g · prison min 3 years · prison 8 years
Growing drug plants for exploitation or trade carries five to ten years in prison and a fine under Article 349 of the Penal Code.[@cp641] [The 1999 law set 5 to 15 years for cultivation.](/history/nicaragua-ley-285-1999/) [Marihuana was criminalised in 1964.](/history/nicaragua-marihuana-law-1964/)
label Growing for exploitation or trade (Article 349) · treatment criminal · term Unlawful cultivation · prison min 5 years · prison 10 years · note Plus a fine of unstated amount
A fine and community service under 5 g, described by one analysis as de facto decriminalisation, then prison in two steps: up to three years below 20 g and up to eight above it.[@clr,cp641] [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/)
Selling or distributing drugs carries five to fifteen years under Article 359 of the Penal Code, and ten to twenty when it is international; transporting them carries five to fifteen under Article 352.[@cp641] Penalties rise by a third when minors are involved or the offence is near a school.[@cp641] [The 1964 law punished bringing in and distributing marihuana.](/history/nicaragua-marihuana-law-1964/) [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/)
label Selling or distributing drugs (Article 359) · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 5 years · prison 15 years · note Rises by a third with minors involved or near a school, label International selling or distributing · treatment criminal · term International trafficking · prison min 10 years · prison 20 years, label Transporting drugs (Article 352) · treatment criminal · term Drug transport · prison min 5 years · prison 15 years
Use is not separately punished beyond the minor-possession offence.[@clr] [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/)
No legal source.[@clr,cp641] [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/)
There is no legal way to get cannabis. Under 5 g is a minor offence punished with day-fines and community service but no prison, though it is still recorded; larger amounts bring prison in two steps.[@clr,cp641] [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/) [Marihuana was criminalised in 1964.](/history/nicaragua-marihuana-law-1964/)
No licensed production. Growing drug plants for exploitation or trade carries five to ten years.[@cp641] [The 1999 law set 5 to 15 years for cultivation.](/history/nicaragua-ley-285-1999/)
No patient programme is documented. Law 735 criminalises cannabis and the code sets no medical route.[@clr,cp641] [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/)
The minor offence is still recorded.[@clr] [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/)
Article 349 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who, "for the purpose of exploitation or tra … seeds from which controlled substances can be obtained, with five to ten years in prison.[@cp641] Financing the growing or sale of such seeds or plants carries ten to twenty-five years under Article 348.[@cp641] The code does not make growing for one's own use a separate offence.[@cp641] [The 1964 law punished bringing in and distributing marihuana.](/history/nicaragua-marihuana-law-1964/)
There is no legal recreational supply for anyone.[@clr,cp641] The Penal Code treats possession of less than 5 g of marijuana as a minor offence, with 70 to 100 day-fines and 30 to 60 days of community service and no prison; larger amounts are crimes.[@clr,cp641] [Organised-crime law passed in 2010.](/history/nicaragua-organised-crime-law-2010/)
No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibited.[@cp641] [Marihuana was criminalised in 1964.](/history/nicaragua-marihuana-law-1964/)
Figures reported by the government to the UN drugs office record 1,980 kg of herbal cannabis seized in 2024, against 2,640 kg in 2022.[@unodc_szr] The UN publishes them as kilogram equivalents, and countries count seizures differently, so the figures are not comparable across borders.[@unodc_szr]
none
No hemp exception operates. Growing for exploitation or trade draws five to ten years, and the sources read give no low-THC carve-out.[@cp641] Marihuana of any Cannabis species has been criminalised since 1964.[@cp641] [Marihuana was criminalised in 1964.](/history/nicaragua-marihuana-law-1964/)
cp641