Cannabis Freedom Index

Changelog 95f7afdtree

Qatar: correct the 2006 sentence cut, add tables and 13 history entries

Attribute the six-month-to-three-year personal-use range to Law 1 of 2006, not Law 3 of 2020, and add cultivation and sharing tables. Add Schedule 5 hemp exemptions, the customs hemp-seed ban, the May 2020 murder execution, and 2024–2026 customs cases. Replace the old 2020 and 2023 entries, add 13 entries from 1916 to 2026, and update the Qatar test to the corrected 2006 entry.

13 history entries added1 history entry edited2 history entries removed1 country profile edited2 files of code, design or docs +458 −89 lines

History changes.yaml

Added 13

Edited 1

Qatar passes its narcotics law

description

A study of Qatar's drug policy calls this the country's first law on narcotic drugs, altho … rison, and a repeat offender with death or life imprisonment. Possession for personal use and use itself bringbrings prison and a fine; consumption became a separate offence only in 2003. 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.

Removed 2

Countries and states 1 file

Qatar countries/qa.yaml

segments › possession › text

Article 37 of Law 9 of 1987, as amended by Law 31 of 20202006, punishes possessing, buying, receiving, 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; there is no quantity threshold, and the law distinguishes personal use from trafficking by intent rather than weight. A court may instead send a proven addict to a clinic for three months to a year. Article 29 bans the listed plants and their seeds.[@l9,law2006]

segments › possession › sources

l9, law2006

segments › possession › penalties

label Personal-use possession or growing (article 37) · treatment criminal · term Personal use · fine 20000 · prison min 6 months · prison 3 years · note Six months to three years and QR10,000–20,000No quantity threshold; clinic substitution for proven addicts, label Possessing or selling in order to trade · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · 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 · term Supply · 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

segments › cultivation › text

Growing a listed plant for personal use is article 37: six months to three years and a fin … for trade is article 34: death or life imprisonment and a fine of QR300,000 to QR500,000.[@l9] There is no plant-count threshold: the distinction is intent.[@l9]

segments › enforcement › text

Zero tolerance, with bags and passengers scanned at the airport; travellers have been arrested with very small quantities.[@cann] A courier caught there with hashish in 2021 received five years, a fine of QR300,000 and deportation.[@dn21] A court may send an addict to a clinic for three months to a year in place of the sentence, and a user who comes forward for treatment is not prosecuted.[@l9]

segments › enforcement › sources

cann, ap22, dn21, l9

segments › sharing › text

Possessing or selling in order to trade carries ten to twenty years and a fine of QR200,000 to QR400,000; life is available on a repeat.[@l9] Supplying a drug to a user, or preparing a place for use, carries the same sentence when it is done for payment, and five to ten years and a fine of QR100,000 to QR200,000 when it is done without payment.[@l9] Importing or producing for trade is article 34: death or life imprisonment, and death on a repeat within five years.[@l9] No quantity threshold applies; intent is the dividing line.[@l9]

segments › consumption › text

Use is the same offence as possession for personal use: six months to three years and a fine of QR10,000 to QR20,000.[@l9] A court may send a proven addict to a clinic instead.[@l9] In 2016 a man was sentenced to one year and QR10,000 for using drugs.[@pen16]

segments › access › text

NoneNo legal source for personal use. The only licensed route is research cultivation or seed import for government bodies and recognised institutes under article 30.[@l9,cann]

segments › access › sources

l9, cann

context › death penalty › text

Article 34 provides death or life imprisonment, and a fine of QR300,000 to QR500,000, for importing, producing or growing for trade.[@l9] A repeat of that offence within five years is punished by death. Courts have passed death … efendant's absence, for about 600 kg of hashish and opium in 2013, and for 120 kg in 2016.[@hoc08,dn13,pen16] No execution for drugs was found, and in 2013 Qatar hada drug offence has been reported no; Qatar's last known execution of any kind, in May 2020, was for more than a decademurder.[@amnesty20]

context › death penalty › sources

l9, hoc08, dn13, pen16, amnesty20

context › production › text

NoneNo lawful cannabis production. Article 34 bans importing, producing or growing for trade, and the only exception in article 30 is research by government bodies and recognised scientific institutes.[@l9] No commercial or patient-production route exists.[@l9]

context › production › sources

cannl9

context › products › text

Reliable national information about legally available cannabis products was not established by the retained sources.

context › medical › text

No medical cannabis programme. Cannabis is a Schedule 1 narcotic, and the only licensed route is article 30 research cultivation or seed import for government bodies and recognised institutes.[@l9] No registered cannabis medicine or patient prescription route was found.[@l9]

context › medical › sources

cannl9

context › consequences › text

NonA court may order a non-residents convicted of drug offences areresident deported after sentence under Penal Code article 77; courts commonly do so in drug cases, but deportation is discretionary rather than automatic.[@l9,penal]

context › consequences › sources

cannl9, penal

context › planting › text

Law 9 of 1987 bans growing the listed plants (Article 28) and, in Article 29, importing, owning, holding, buying or selling them at any stage of growth, as well as their seeds; plant parts named in a separate schedule are exemptSchedule 5 exempts only stalk fibre and seeds roasted enough to prevent germination.[@l9] The Minister of Public Health may license only government bodies and recognised research institutes to grow them or import seeds.[@l9]

context › hemp › text

No general low-hemp or CBD regime and no THC rule was established: articlethreshold. Article 29 bans the listed plants at every stage of growth as well as their seeds, exemptingand Schedule 5 exempts only plant parts named in a separate schedulestalk fibre and cannabis seeds roasted enough to prevent germination.[@l9] The customs prohibited-goods list also bans hemp seed and Cannabis sativa.[@customs] Licences to grow or import seedsseed go only to government bodies and recognised research institutes.[@l9]

context › hemp › sources

l9, customs

context › clubs › text

No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibited, and the law provides for the death penalty for the most serious drug offences.[@l9,cann]

context › clubs › sources

l9, cann

context › visitors › text

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Possessing a drug for personal use is article 37, as amended by Law 31 of 20202006: six months to three years and a fine of QR10,000 to QR20,000.[@l9,law2006]

context › visitors › sources

l9, law2006

context › driving › text

Traffic Law article 57(2) prohibits driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other psychotropic substances.[@trafficdrug] Its published English penalty provision, article 94, sets one month to three years' imprisonment or a QR10,000–50,000 fine for that offence, without prejudice to more severe penalties in other laws.[@trafficpenalty] Drug-influenced driving carries six traffic points.[@trafficpoints] The Traffic Department can suspend a licence, vehicle licence and number plates, or both, for up to ninety days under article 87; this administrative power is separate from the court penalty.[@trafficadmin] Article 32 also bars public-vehicle licence applicants previously convicted of drug-influenced driving.[@trafficpublic] The provisions reviewed do not specify a numeric THC allowance or a medical-cannabis defence.

context › black market › text

Figures reported by the government to the UN drugs office record 195 kg of herbal cannabis seized in 2024, against 29 kg in 2022, and 489 kg of cannabis resin seized in 2024, against 774 kg in 2022.[@unodc_szr] The UN publishes them as kilogram equivalents, and countries count seizures differently, so the figures are not comparable across borders.[@unodc_szr]

sources

Qatar — Law No. 1 of 2006 amending Law No. 9 of 1987 (Al Meezan) Qatar — Penal Code No. 11 of 2004, article 77 (Al Meezan, English) Amnesty International — Death sentences and executions 2020 Qatar Customs — Prohibited goods list The Peninsula — Two men arrested for drug trafficking (11 April 2024) Qatar Living — Customs foil attempt to smuggle 1 kg heroin and 6 kg hashish (23 May 2025) The Peninsula — Qatar customs foils hashish and shabu hidden in candy wrappers (3 September 2026) Qatar Tribune — Customs foil drug smuggling attempt at Hamad International Airport (3 September 2026) 13 unchanged

segments › cultivation › currency

QAR

segments › cultivation › penalties

label Growing for personal use (article 37) · treatment criminal · term Personal growing · prison min 6 months · prison 3 years · fine min 10000 · fine 20000, label Growing or trading plants or seeds for trade (article 34) · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · death true · fine min 300000 · fine 500000 · note Death or life imprisonment; death on a repeat within five years

segments › sharing › currency

QAR

segments › sharing › penalties

label Possession or sale for trade · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 10 years · prison 20 years · fine min 200000 · fine 400000 · note Life on a repeat, label Supply without payment or managing a drug place · treatment criminal · term Supply · prison min 5 years · prison 10 years · fine min 100000 · fine 200000, label Import, production or cultivation for trade · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · death true · fine min 300000 · fine 500000 · note Death or life; death on a repeat within five years

context › arrests › text

No annual cannabis arrest or prosecution count is published.[@pen24] Customs reported 6 kg of hashish in car parts at Hamad International Airport in May 2025, 1.984 kg in an electric oven in December 2025, 24.39 g at the Abu Samra crossing in August 2026, and 1.5 kg hidden in candy wrappers at the airport in September 2026.[@ql25,pen26c,qt26] Police announced two arrests in a trafficking raid in April 2024 without giving quantities.[@pen24]

context › arrests › sources

pen24, ql25, pen26c, qt26

Code, design and documents 2 files

docs/research/expansion-2026-10-28-asia-1.md +16 −0
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Expansion batch, 28 October 2026 — Asia 1 (Middle East)
+
+Chosen from `country-gaps.cjs --rank 40 --region Asia`. The batch is Syria, Palestine, Yemen,
+Qatar and Bahrain: five Arabic-speaking jurisdictions sharing Ottoman and mandate-era drug law,
+Gulf narcotics statutes and, in Syria, Palestine and Yemen, current conflict and transitional
+authority. None was marked busy.
+
+| Country | Done | Left | Commit |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Syria | in progress | | |
+| Palestine | in progress | | |
+| Yemen | in progress | | |
+| Qatar | 1987/2006 penalty tables, hemp and arrest sections, 13 history entries | no annual arrest count; no drug execution found | this commit |
+| Bahrain | in progress | | |
+
+Qatar validation: `profile-audit qa` zero errors/warnings; `country-gaps qa` has no missing sections, tables or citations. The profile now attributes the six-month-to-three-year personal-use range to Law 1 of 2006, not Law 3 of 2020, and adds cultivation and sharing tables, Schedule 5 hemp exemptions, the customs ban on hemp seed, the May 2020 murder execution (no drug execution), and 2024–2026 customs cases. Thirteen history entries cover 1916–2026, including the 1998 capital-trafficking law, the 2003 use offence and the 2006 sentence cut. The old 2020 and 2023 entries were replaced after the research showed the first lowered the sentence and the second was technical.
scripts/history-scope.test.cjs +3 −3
@@ -271,5 +271,5 @@ test("Qatar's personal-use sentence and the Philippine middle band follow the st
   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"];
+  const amended = byId["qatar-personal-use-sentence-cut-2006"];
   assert.match(qa.segments.possession.text, /six months to three years/);
   assert.match(qa.segments.consumption.text, /six months to three years/);
@@ -277,6 +277,6 @@ test("Qatar's personal-use sentence and the Philippine middle band follow the st
   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(amended.date, "2006-04-06");
+  assert.match(amended.unscored, /stay at the floor/);
   assert.equal(qa.scores.possession, 0);
   assert.equal(qa.scores.enforcement, 1);
esc

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