history: Gulf recreational/hemp/research contexts, KW/QA ladders

KWD

label Personal consumption, possession or purchase · treatment criminal · fine 5000 · prison 5 years · note Up to five years and KD5,000; rehabilitation instead of prosecution possible, label Personal-use offence in specified places · treatment criminal · fine 10000 · prison 10 years · note Up to ten years and KD10,000 in prisons, schools, treatment centres and other specified places, label Providing a controlled drug for consumption without payment · treatment criminal · fine 10000 · prison min 5 years · prison 10 years · note Five to ten years and KD5,000–10,000

KWD

label Personal-use cultivation of a prohibited-plant-table plant · treatment criminal · fine 5000 · prison 3 years · note Up to three years and KD5,000, label Cultivation for trafficking · treatment criminal · fine 2000000 · note Death or life imprisonment and KD100,000–2 million, or the seized substances' value if higher

There is no legal recreational supply. Personal consumption, possession and purchase carry up to five years and KD5,000, rising to ten years and KD10,000 in prisons, schools and treatment centres.[@law25] Prosecutors may order up to three months in rehabilitation instead of prosecution, and courts have a treatment route.[@law25] Providing for consumption without payment brings five to ten years.[@law25]

law25

The retained sources establish no separate low-THC hemp or CBD retail regime: cannabis plants and seeds sit in the prohibited-plant table, and licensing runs through the institutional medical-or-scientific route, with seed records, a responsible pharmacist, secure sites and supervised destruction.[@law25,research26]

law25, research26

Institutional research is the only lawful route to the plant: Health Ministry Decision 289/2026 grants eligible institutions two-year permits for controlled-plant medical and scientific research, with seed records, a responsible pharmacist, secure growing sites and supervised destruction when the purpose or licence ends.[@research26] No separate research programme, trial or published study was established by the retained sources.

research26

There is no legal recreational supply. Personal possession, growing and use carry one to three years and a fine of 1,000–5,000 rials, with treatment alternatives for established dependence.[@rd67] Refusing a drug-test sample in specified circumstances brings six months to three years and 100–1,000 rials.[@rd67] Supply without payment brings seven to fifteen years; trading starts at fifteen years.[@rd67]

rd67

There is no general low-THC cultivation exception: schedule 5 expressly names male and female cannabis, while schedule 6 exempts only stalk fibres and seeds treated so they cannot germinate.[@rd67] Growing licences are confined to specified public bodies, colleges and research institutions for medical or scientific purposes.[@rd67]

rd67

The only lawful growing route doubles as the research route: article 7 permits growing licences for specified public bodies, colleges and research institutions for medical or scientific purposes.[@rd67] No separate research programme, trial or published study was established by the retained sources.

rd67

QAR

label Personal-use possession or growing (article 37) · treatment criminal · fine 20000 · prison min 6 months · prison 3 years · note Six months to three years and QR10,000–20,000; clinic substitution for proven addicts, label Possessing or selling in order to trade · treatment criminal · fine 400000 · prison min 10 years · prison 20 years · note Ten to twenty years and QR200,000–400,000, label Supplying to a user or preparing a place for use, without payment · treatment criminal · fine 200000 · prison min 5 years · prison 10 years · note Five to ten years and QR100,000–200,000; same trade sentence as above when done for payment

There is no legal recreational supply. Personal possession or growing brings six months to three years and QR10,000–20,000, though a court may send a proven addict to a clinic instead and self-seekers are not prosecuted.[@l9] Zero tolerance applies at the airport, where travellers have been arrested with tiny amounts.[@cann,dn21] Trading brings ten to twenty years; growing for trade can bring death.[@l9]

l9, cann, dn21

No general low-THC rule was established: article 29 bans the listed plants at every stage of growth as well as their seeds, exempting only plant parts named in a separate schedule.[@l9] Licences to grow or import seeds go only to government bodies and recognised research institutes.[@l9]

l9

The only institutional route doubles as the research route: the health minister may license government bodies and recognised research institutes to grow the listed plants or import seeds.[@l9] No separate research programme, trial or published study was established by the retained sources.

l9