Bangladesh: 1987 article, production/access fixes and 4 history entries

label Herbal cannabis up to 5 kg · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison min 6 mon … THC over 50 g · treatment criminal · term Class A possession · death true · note Death or life imprisonment plus a fine · life possible

label Hashish, resin or THC supply up to 10 g · treatment criminal · term Class A supply · … supply over 50 g · treatment criminal · term Class A supply · death true · note Death or life imprisonment plus a fine · life possible, label Digital buying or selling, Section 36A · treatment criminal · term Digital dealing · death true · fine 2000000 · note Any term of imprisonment or death, plus up to 2 million taka; recovery not required

None: the Narcotics Control Act 2018 makes growingNo legal supply. Growing cannabis requires a crime whatever the number of plants.[@nca18] A legallicence under section 9(3), and no cannabis licence or patient route was found; the old state-licensed ganja trade existed untilended in 1989.[@nca18,wiki]

nonemedical

NoSection 9(3) allows licensed cultivation, production and supply for approved medicine, industry, treatment, scientific research or a Director-General-approved lawful activity, but no cannabis licence or operating production was found.[@nca18] A state-runlicensed ganja trade existed until 1989.[@nca18]

No medicalapproved cannabis medicine or patient programme was found. Cannabis is not on the list of approved medicines, and theThe 2018 Act controls the plant and its preparations; section 9(3) would allow licensed medical production, but no product or patient route was verified.[@nca18,netra] Medical status stays none.[@nca18]

Bangladesh'’s cannabis culture is bound up with [ganja](/culture/language/ganja/), the herbal preparation, and with the springautumn [Bijoya](/culture/traditions/bhang-at-bijoya/) festival, where bhang iswas traditionally consumed.[@wiki,netra] A state-runlicensed ganja trade existed until 1989, and the plant remains part of rural and festival life despite prohibition.[@wiki,netra]

A Daily Star headlinePolice headquarters reported 320,152 people held in anti-439 narcotics drives in 2025arrests and 14, but157 drug cases in a divisional report also claimed more than 372-day operation from 1 May to 12 July 2026,100 arrests in Rangpur alone with 5, so the national scope is uncertain.[@ds26] The narcotics department reports 96,358 kg336 packets of cannabis seized in 2025alongside yaba, down from 114heroin,345 kg in 2024, phensedyl and aliquor.[@pa26] The figures cover all drugs and do not separate cannabis arrests.[@pa26] A 2018 anti-drug drive was accompanied by hundreds of alleged extrajudicial killings.[@ds26,netra] The sources read do not separate cannabis arrests from other drugs.

ds26pa26, netra

Prothom Alo — 20,439 narcotics arrests in 72 days (13 July 2026) Wiktionary — গাঁজা (Bengali) Wiktionary — ভাং (Bengali) Wiktionary — চরস (Bengali) Wiktionary — সিদ্ধি (Bengali) Wiktionary — হাশিশ (Bengali) Prothom Alo — Online cannabis sales around private universities (18 October 2026) 9 unchanged

word গাঁজা · lang Bengali · say ganja · meaning herbal cannabis; the law’s usual word for the plant and prepared drug · atlas ganja · sources nca18, wikt_ganja, word ভাং · lang Bengali · say bhang · meaning cannabis leaves or preparation; also the festival drink · atlas bhang · sources nca18, wikt_bhang, word চরস · lang Bengali · say charas · meaning hand-rubbed cannabis resin · atlas charas · sources wikt_charas, word সিদ্ধি · lang Bengali · say siddhi · meaning a cannabis preparation, more common in rural areas · sources wikt_siddhi, word হাশিশ · lang Bengali · say hashish · meaning cannabis resin · atlas hashish · sources wikt_hashish, word কুশ · lang Bengali · say kush · meaning high-potency cannabis; recent slang · atlas kush · sources pa_kush26

Until the end of the 1980s a person in Bangladesh could buy ganja in a shop approved by t … eme The [Narcotics Control Act of 2018](/history/bangladesh-narcotics-control-act-2018/) gave courtsset ten years as the power to impose a death sentencemaximum for possessing more than two kilograms ofherbal cannabis, while hashish, as a Class A drug, can reach life imprisonment or death. Harm Reduction International condemned itthe law that October. | | Rule | |---|---| | Before 1987 | Licensed growing, government-approved shops | | 1987 | Growing banned | | 1989 | Sale banned | | 2018 | DeathTen years for herbal cannabis; life or death possible above two kilogramsfor hashish | In the index the 1989 ban ended legal access for [Bangladesh](/country/bd/) and cut its other scores to the level of an ordinary prohibition; the 2018 Act lowered them again.