Zimbabwe countries/zw.yaml
Section 157 of the criminal code punishes unlawful acquisition or possession with a fine up to level ten, up to five years in prison, or both.[@code] Where addiction is established, a court may order treatment in addition to or instead of another sentence.[@code] In July 2026 prosecutors reported an effective four-year term for possession of 19.49 kg, as [that report](/history/zimbabwe-dagga-prison-report-2026/) records.[@npa2026]
Unlawful growing for personal consumption falls under section 157, with a fine up to level ten, up to five years in prison, or both.[@code] Growing for dealing falls under section 156, whose ordinary maximum is fifteen years, with a fine alone or alongside imprisonment also available.[@code] Medicinal production and industrial hemp have separate licence and permit routes.[@si62,hemp19,hemp20]
A National Prosecuting Authority bulletin dated 17 July 2026 reported that Clever Makwarimba received an effective four-year sentence for unlawful possession of 19.49 kg of cannabis after a roadside bag search.[@npa2026] It is a dated example of custody under the cannabis prohibition.[@npa2026] Courts may also order treatment where addiction is established.[@code]
npa2026, code
Unlawful supply, delivery or distribution falls under the criminal code’'s dealing offence, with a fine, up to fifteen years in prison, or both.[@code] The special aggravated-dealing tier expressly excludes cannabis plant, prepared cannabis and cannabis resin.[@code]
Section 157 expressly criminalises unlawfully ingesting, smoking or otherwise consuming a dangerous drug, including cannabis.[@code] It provides a fine up to level ten, up to five years in prison, or both, with a possible treatment order where addiction is established.[@code]
Recreational retail supply is prohibited.[@code] Medicinal and scientific production is licensed separately under the [2018 regulations](/history/zimbabwe-medical-2018/); the medicines regulator also opened applications for hemp-based CBD complementary medicines in 2022.[@si62,mcaz2022]
The 2018 regulations introduced five-year medicinal and scientific production licences.[@si62] The regulator’'s 2022 review recorded fifty-nine licences issued and cannabis growing witnessed at five inspected sites, alongside eighteen visited sites with no development.[@mcaz2022] Industrial hemp has a separate authorisation and permit system under the 2019 and 2020 rul … -controls-2026/) place administration and enforcement with the Medicines Control Authority, with.[@si108] They provide five-year licences, an inspectorate, accredited-laboratory contaminant tests and regulatory testing before export.[@si108] Indoor or greenhouse cultivation is the default; justified outdoor exemptions require separation and security conditions.[@si108] Unexported stock remaining twelve months after harvest triggers notification, inspection and destruction.[@si108]
The 2023 criminal-code amendment defines industrial hemp at no more than 1% delta-9 THC by dry weight, including seeds and derivatives, and excludes it from the cannabis-plant branch of the dangerous-drug definition. The original 2020 hemp permit rules use 0.3%. Hemp-based CBD medicines enter a separate product-registration route opened by the medicines regulator in 2022.
hemp23, hemp20, mcaz2022
Production for medicinal and scientific purposes is licensed.[@si62] In its 2022 report, t … and separately recorded acceptance of hemp-based CBD complementary-medicine applications.[@mcaz2022] No patient route to psychoactive cannabis was verified from these production licences or CBD application records.[@mcaz2022]
Unlawful possession, use and personal cultivation can bring a fine, imprisonment or both.[@code] Where addiction is established, the court may impose treatment in addition to or instead of another sentence.[@code] Prosecutors reported a four-year custodial sentence in a 19.49 kg possession case in July 2026.[@npa2026]
The criminal code excludes seeds processed so that they cannot germinate from its cannabis-plant definition; viable cannabis seed is otherwise covered.[@code] The medicinal-production regulations provide for licensed seed and plant supply with specified labels.[@si62] Industrial-hemp seeds and propagation are separately subject to the hemp definitions and permit rules.[@hemp20,hemp23]
Unlawful recreational cultivation and supply are criminal offences under the code.[@code] Medical-production licences and industrial-hemp permits authorise specified activities.[@si62,hemp20]
Recreational supply is prohibited.[@code] The criminal code makes unlawful possession and consumption punishable by a fine up to level ten, up to five years in prison, or both.[@code]
Road Traffic Act section 55(2) prohibits driving or attempting to drive on a road when drugs, alcohol or their combination prevent proper vehicle control.[@trafficact] The Ministry's published text provides a fine up to level twelve or up to ten years' imprisonment or both for ordinary vehicles.[@trafficact] For a commuter omnibus or heavy vehicle it specifies two to fifteen years, subject to section 88A's exception to mandatory penalties.[@trafficact] The published disqualification provisions normally require at least six months for an ordi … ion within the stated ten-year period, and a lifetime ban for a third or later conviction.[@trafficact] Commuter-omnibus and heavy-vehicle convictions carry additional lifetime restrictions on those vehicle classes.[@trafficact] Courts can decline the ban for recorded special circumstances surrounding the offence; personal circumstances of the offender do not qualify.[@trafficact] Licence cancellation follows for the affected vehicle classes.[@trafficact] No monetary conversion of the fine level, current roadside tariff or numerical THC limit is asserted here.[@trafficact]
Figures reported by the government to the UN drugs office record 627 kg of herbal cannabis seized 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 African Roots of Marijuana 10 unchanged
label Unlawful acquisition or possession (section 157) · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 5 years · note Fine up to level ten, or both. Treatment possible if addicted
label Growing for own consumption (section 157) · treatment criminal · term Personal cultivation · prison 5 years · note Fine up to level ten, or both. Treatment possible if addicted, label Growing for dealing (section 156) · treatment criminal · term Unlicensed cultivation for supply · prison 15 years · note Fine alone or alongside imprisonment also available
label Unlawful dealing (section 156) · treatment criminal · term Dealing · prison 15 years · note Fine, or both. Aggravated tier excludes cannabis
label Ingesting, smoking or consuming (section 157) · treatment criminal · term Drug use · prison 5 years · note Fine up to level ten, or both. Treatment possible if addicted
Cannabis is prohibited: unlawful acquisition, possession, use and personal growing carry a fine up to level ten, up to five years, or both, with treatment possible where addiction is established.[@code] Dealing carries up to fifteen years; the aggravated tier excludes cannabis.[@code] Enforcement bites: prosecutors reported an effective four-year term for 19.49 kg in July 2026.[@npa2026]
code, npa2026
high
The 2023 amendment defines industrial hemp at no more than 1% delta-9 THC by dry weight, including seed, parts and derivatives, and excludes it from the cannabis-plant branch of the dangerous-drug definition.[@hemp23] Separate hemp authorisations (2019) and permits (2020, one-year general and merchant permits, three-year research permits at original fees of US$200 and US$500) predate it; the 2020 rules use 0.3%, and the amendment is not evidence that every agricultural condition was rewritten to 1%.[@hemp19,hemp20] Hemp-based CBD medicines enter a separate product-registration route opened by the medicines regulator in 2022.[@mcaz2022]
hemp23, hemp19, hemp20, mcaz2022