Tonga countries/to.yaml
Cannabis is a Class B drug. Under 28 g carries a fine of up to T$5,000 or a year in prison; small cases usually end in fines28 g or more carries up to T$50,000 or seven years. There is no medical, hemp or CBD exemption.
Cannabis is a Class B drug under the Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003.[@idca] Possession of less than 28 g carries a maximum of a T$5,000 fine or one year in prison, or both; 28 g or more carries up to T$50,000 or seven years.[@idca] The Act grades cannabis by weight, not by plant count, and there is no mandatory minimum for Class B.[@idca]
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Cultivation is an offence under section 4 of the sameIllicit Drugs Control Act 2003.[@idca] The same weight bands apply: under 28 g carries up to one year or T$5, sentenced by number of plants000, and 28 g or more up to seven years or T$50,000; there is no plant-count tier.[@idca] In practice a single mature plant can exceed 28 g.[@havea25]
caseidca, havea25
Small cannabisCannabis remains the most common possession case, but enforcement is focused on methamphetamine.[@unodc25] Police recorded 327 drug-related arrests in FY2023–24, up from 179 the year before, and Class A seizures rose sharply.[@police24] Cannabis cases generallyusually end in fines or, suspended sentences or short prison terms; Tonga's enforcement effort is focused on methamphetaminea 2025 case involving 2.3 kg brought an aggregate two years.[@havea25]
caseunodc25, mtpolice24, havea25
Supply is punished more heavily. A 2020 amendment aimed at methamphetamine loweredand sale carry the quantity at whichsame Class B weight bands as possession: under 28 g up to one year or T$5,000, and 28 g or more up to seven years or T$50,000.[@idca] Possession of 7 g or more is deemed to be supply under section 4(2), but that presumption does not by itself add a higher maximum.[@idca] There is no separate sale tier above the 28 g band.[@idca]
mt, caseidca
Use is an offence under section 4, and the same weight bands apply.[@idca] Prosecutions are usually framed as possession; there is no separate use tariff.[@idca]
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None. The Act has no patient, hemp or CBD route; section 6 is a narrow international-traveller exemption for lawfully prescribed medicines, not a domestic cannabis scheme.[@idca]
mtidca
NoneNo lawful cannabis production. Cultivation is an offence under section 4, with no commercial or hemp permission.[@idca]
mtidca
None.
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No medical cannabis programme. Section 6 lets a traveller undergoing treatment possess a lawfully prescribed medicine for up to one month with written doctor authority, but cannabis is not a registered Tongan medicine and there is no prescribing route.[@idca]
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A conviction is a criminal record, which matters for seasonal-work visas abroad.[@abc26] Nearly 40% of prisoners were serving drug-related sentences in 2026, and the prison population rose from about 250 to 300 in three years.[@abc26]
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The Illicit Drugs Control Act lists cannabis seed, cannabis fruit and any part of any plant of the genus cannabis as illicit drugs in its schedule.[@idca] Possessing, growing or supplying any of them is an offence under section 4. The text read is the 2016 revised edition, before the 2020 amendments.[@idca]
No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibited.[@idca]
case, mtidca
There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. British travel advice says drug taking in all forms is illegalUnder 28 g carries up to one year or T$5, that importing000; 28 g or exporting illegal drugs carriesmore up to 30seven years' hard labour and very large fines, and that growing or distributing themT$50,000.[@idca] The only traveller exemption is likely to be punished severelyfor a lawfully prescribed medicine under section 6, which does not cover recreational cannabis.[@idca]
mt, fcdoidca
Tonga — Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003, Chapter 4.06, 2020 revised edition (Attorney General's Office, PDF)
Tonga — Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2012 (PDF)
Tonga — Traffic Act 2020, Chapter 24.03 (Attorney General's Office, PDF)
Tonga — Drugs and Poisons Act 1930, Chapter 79 (Attorney General's Office, PDF)
Tonga Police — Annual Report 2023–24
UNODC — Tonga's shifting transnational organised crime landscape (2025)
Tonga Supreme Court — R v Havea sentencing remarks (22 July 2025)
Matangi Tonga — 60-year-old jailed for unlawful firearms and cannabis (4 February 2026)
ABC Pacific — Drug convictions causing strain on Tonga's prison system (8 May 2026)
GOV.UK (FCDO) — Foreign travel advice: Tonga, safety and security
Illicit Drugs Control Act, Chapter 10.15, 2016 Revised Edition (Attorney General's Office, Tonga)
PacLII — Supreme Court of Tonga sentencing judgment (2021)
Matangi Tonga — House passes amendment to Illicit Drugs Control Act (2020)
TOP
label Under 28 g · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 1 year · fine 5000 · note Fine, prison, or both, label 28 g or more · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 7 years · fine 50000 · note Fine, prison, or both
TOP
label Under 28 g · treatment criminal · term Cultivation · prison 1 year · fine 5000 · note Fine, prison, or both, label 28 g or more · treatment criminal · term Cultivation · prison 7 years · fine 50000 · note Fine, prison, or both
TOP
label Supply or sale under 28 g · treatment criminal · term Supply · prison 1 year · fine 5000 · note Same band as possession, label Supply or sale 28 g or more · treatment criminal · term Supply · prison 7 years · fine 50000 · note Same band as possession; 7 g or more is deemed supply
TOP
label Use under 28 g · treatment criminal · term Use · prison 1 year · fine 5000, label Use 28 g or more · treatment criminal · term Use · prison 7 years · fine 50000
All recreational use is prohibited. Under 28 g carries up to one year or T$5,000; 28 g or more up to seven years or T$50,000, whether the charge is possession, use, cultivation or supply.[@idca] Sentences are often below the maximum: 117.55 g brought eight months in 2026, and 2.3 kg brought two years in 2025.[@matangi26,havea25]
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none
No legal hemp or CBD category. Schedule 1 covers cannabis and cannabis resin, fruit, plant, seed and oil, with no THC threshold or fibre exception.[@idca] No industrial-hemp licence was found.[@idca]
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unknown
The Traffic Act 2020 has an alcohol-only drug-driving regime: breath testing and offences for driving under the influence of drink, with no drug-specific offence, THC limit or roadside drug test for motor vehicles.[@traffic2020] Drug impairment can support a reckless-driving charge only if driving is proved reckless or dangerous.[@traffic2020] The Act's non-motor-vehicle provision covers riding or driving an animal or non-motor vehicle while impaired by drink or drugs.[@traffic2020]
traffic2020
Cannabis is locally cultivated in bush allotments and outer islands, including Vava'u, 'Eua, Matahau and Fua'amotu, and sold in small dealer packs.[@unodc25] UNODC records 250 kg of herbal cannabis seized in 2023 and 316 g in January–June 2024; the police yearbook separately reported 3,441 g of Class B drugs in FY2023–24, a category that includes cannabis, codeine, ketamine and spice.[@unodc25,police24] The two series use different periods and categories and are not directly comparable.[@unodc25,police24]
unodc25, police24
Police recorded 327 drug-related arrests in FY2023–24, up 83% from 179 the year before, and drug operations rose 54%.[@police24] Cannabis-specific data for 2019–2023 records 557 possession cases and 629 offenders, of whom 39 were women.[@unodc25] No current cannabis-only arrest series is published.[@police24]
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