Cannabis Freedom Index

Changelog 4e85844

State Qatar's current personal-use sentence and the Philippine middle possession band.

Fixes #29 and #30. Article 37 is six months to three years and a fine. Section 11 sets 20 years and a day to life from 300 g of marijuana or 5 g of resin. Scores stay put.

1 history entry added2 history entries edited2 country profiles edited2 files of code, design or docs +118 −64 lines

History changes.yaml

Added 1

Edited 2

The Philippines adopts its present drug law

description

Republic Act 9165 replaced the 1972 law, created the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and lowered the life-or-death threshold from 750 g to 500 g of marijuana. Below 300 g, possession still carried 12 years and one day to 20 years; use. From 300 g up to but not including 500 g, or from 5 g up to but not including 10 g of resin, it carried 20 years and one day to life imprisonment. Use remained a separate offence.

Qatar passes its narcotics law

description

A study of Qatar's drug policy calls this the country's first law on narcotic drugs, altho … h or life imprisonment. Possession for personal use and use itself bring prison and a fine; the sources read give different terms. A court may send an addict to a clinic for three months to a year in place of the senten … forward for treatment, and a spouse or close relative may ask for a user to be committed.

Countries and states 2 files

Philippines countries/ph.yaml

summary

Prison is possible forapplies to any amount;. Life imprisonment can apply from 300 g of marijuana or 5 g of resin, and it is the sentence from 500 g of flowermarijuana or 10 g of resin carries life imprisonment. There is no medical-cannabis programme, only case-specific compassionate access to an imported medicine.

segments › possession › text

Under Section 11 of Republic Act 9165, possession of even the smallest amountless than 300 g of marijuana, or less than 5 g of resin or resin oil, carries 12 years and one day to 20 years in prison and a fine of ₱300,000– to ₱400,000. PossessingFrom 300 g up to but not including 500 g or more of marijuana, or from 5 g up to but not including 10 g of resin or moreresin oil, the sentence is 20 years and one day to life imprisonment and a fine of ₱400,000 to ₱500,000. At least 500 g of marijuana, or at least 10 g of resin or resin oil, carries life imprisonment and a fine of ₱500,000– to ₱10 million. There is no lesser tier for personal use.

context › visitors › text

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Under Section 11Possession of Republic Act 9165 possessionless than 300 g of even the smallest amount of marijuana, or less than 5 g of resin, carries 12 years and one day to 20 years in prison and a fine of ₱. From 300 g of marijuana or 5 g of resin,000 to 400,000, with no lesser tier for personal use the sentence can be life imprisonment.

context › visitors › sources

ra, pna, fdadeath

Qatar countries/qa.yaml

summary

Possession of any amount, seeds included, means prisonfor personal use carries six months to three years and heavy fines; nona fine. Non-residents are deported.

segments › possession › text

Article 37 of Law 9 of 1987 on narcotics, as amended in 2023, bans possessionby Law 3 of cannabis in any form2020, seeds included. Article 37punishes possessing, as quoted by a Qatari newspaperbuying, setsreceiving, transporting, producing or growing a listed plant for personal use with six months to three years in prison and a fine of QR10,000 to QR20,000 for possession for personal use. A legal site's copy of the law givescourt may instead send a heavier Article 37: twoproven addict to five years and QR50,000 to QR100,000a clinic for possessing or growing for personal usethree months to a year. Trace amounts are prosecutedArticle 29 bans the listed plants and their seeds.

segments › possession › sources

pen, cann, l9ml9

segments › cultivation › text

Growing thea listed plantsplant for tradepersonal use is punished like trafficking, with tenarticle 37: six months to twentythree years in prison and a fine of QR100QR10,000 to QR300QR20,000. Growing, importing or exporting a listed plant or its seeds for personal use falls under the sametrade is article as possession for personal use34: death or life imprisonment and a fine of QR300,000 to QR500,000.

segments › cultivation › sources

cann, l9ml9

segments › enforcement › sources

cann, ap22, dn21, l9ml9

segments › sharing › text

Selling,Possessing or possessing with intentselling in order to selltrade carries ten to twenty years and a fine of QR200,000 to QR400,000. Supplying a drug to a user, or preparing a place for use, carries seventhe same sentence when it is done for payment, and five to fifteenten years and a fine of QR100,000 to QR200,000; giving drugs to another person when it is done without payment three to seven years. Importing or producing for trade carries ten to twenty years, and repeat traffickers faceis article 34: death or life imprisonment or, and death on a repeat within five years.

segments › sharing › sources

cann, l9ml9

segments › consumption › text

Use is a crime. The copy of the law read gives onesame offence as possession for personal use: six months to three years and a fine of QR10,000 to QR20,000, or either, for use; in. A court may send a proven addict to a clinic instead. In 2016 a man was sentenced to one year and QR10,000 for using drugs.

segments › consumption › sources

l9ml9, pen16

context › death penalty › text

Article 34 of the 1987 law provides death or life imprisonment for, and a repeat offencefine of QR300,000 to QR500,000, for importing, producing or growing for trade. A repeat of that offence within five years is punished by death. Courts have passed death sentences for hashish: for 160 kg in 2008, in the defendant's abs … was found, and in 2013 Qatar had reported no execution of any kind for more than a decade.

context › death penalty › sources

cannl9, l9m, hoc08, dn13, pen16

context › visitors › text

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Law 9 of 1987 on narcotics, amended in 2023, bans possession of cannabis in any form, seeds included; ArticlePossessing a drug for personal use is article 37, as quotedamended by a Qatari newspaper, setsLaw 3 of 2020: six months to three years in prison and a fine of QR10,000 to QR20,000.

context › visitors › sources

pen, l9ml9

sources

Law No. 9 of 1987 on combating narcotic drugs and dangerous psychotropic substances, unofficial Arabic copy (Mohamah.net) The Peninsula — report quoting Article 37 of Law No. 9 of 1987 (28 June 2021) 13 unchanged

Code, design and documents 2 files

docs/research/profile-legal-qa-ph-2026-10-23.md +15 −0
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# Qatar personal-use sentence and Philippine possession bands, 23 October 2026
+
+Issues #29 and #30. Scores were left unchanged.
+
+## Qatar
+
+Al Meezan's Arabic consolidation of Law 9 of 1987 was read. Article 37 is marked as amended by Law 3 of 2020 and by Law 1 of 2006. It punishes personal-use possession, cultivation and use with six months to three years and a fine of QR10,000 to QR20,000. The court may instead commit a proven addict for three months to a year. The English consolidation still labels article 37 as amended only by Law 1 of 2006 and still prints two to five years and QR50,000 to QR100,000. That is the earlier text.
+
+Law 3 of 2020 is listed in Official Gazette issue 4, issued 18 February 2020. The amending law's own commencement sentence was not read, so the history date is that gazette date. The change is recorded as an easing that does not move the score: both ranges are still prison for any amount. Possession stays at 0 and enforcement stays at 1.
+
+Article 34, marked as amended by Law 7 of 1998, sets death or life imprisonment and a fine of QR300,000 to QR500,000 for import, production or cultivation for trade, and death for a repeat within five years. Article 35 sets ten to twenty years and QR200,000 to QR400,000 for possession or sale in order to trade, and for paid supply to a user. The same supply without payment is five to ten years and QR100,000 to QR200,000. Law 16 of 2023 amended article 18, on prescription forms, and is not the source of the personal-use sentence.
+
+## Philippines
+
+LawPhil's text of Republic Act 9165, section 11, was read. Less than 300 g of marijuana, or less than 5 g of resin or resin oil, is 12 years and one day to 20 years and a fine of ₱300,000 to ₱400,000. From 300 g up to but not including 500 g, or from 5 g up to but not including 10 g of resin or resin oil, the sentence is 20 years and one day to life imprisonment and a fine of ₱400,000 to ₱500,000. At least 500 g, or at least 10 g of resin or resin oil, was life imprisonment to death. Republic Act 9346 replaces that death penalty with life imprisonment. Possession stays at 0 and enforcement stays at 0. No new history event was added.
scripts/history-scope.test.cjs +21 −0
@@ -262,2 +262,23 @@ test("Oman's death penalty and unpaid supply follow the 2026 narcotics law", ()
   assert.equal(om.scores.sharing, 0);
 });
+
+test("Qatar's personal-use sentence and the Philippine middle band follow the statutes", () => {
+  const qa = y.load(fs.readFileSync("countries/qa.yaml", "utf8"));
+  const ph = y.load(fs.readFileSync("countries/ph.yaml", "utf8"));
+  const amended = byId["qatar-personal-use-penalty-2020"];
+  assert.match(qa.segments.possession.text, /six months to three years/);
+  assert.match(qa.segments.consumption.text, /six months to three years/);
+  assert.match(qa.context.visitors.text, /six months to three years/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(qa.segments.possession.text, /two to five years/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(qa.segments.consumption.text, /or either/);
+  assert.equal(amended.date, "2020-02-18");
+  assert.match(amended.unscored, /does not move/);
+  assert.equal(qa.scores.possession, 0);
+  assert.equal(qa.scores.enforcement, 1);
+  assert.match(ph.segments.possession.text, /300 g up to but not including 500 g/);
+  assert.match(ph.segments.possession.text, /20 years and one day to life/);
+  assert.match(ph.summary, /300 g of marijuana or 5 g of resin/);
+  assert.match(ph.context.visitors.text, /300 g/);
+  assert.equal(ph.scores.possession, 0);
+  assert.equal(ph.scores.enforcement, 0);
+});
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