Ghana countries/gh.yaml
Holding a narcotic drug or plant for personal use is an offence under sections 37(2)(a) and 41(2)(a) of the [2020 Narcotics Control Commission Act](/history/ghana-narcotics-commission-act-2020/).[@acttext,ghalii] The Second Schedule sets a fine of 200 to 500 penalty units (roughly GH¢2,400–6,000), and up to fifteen months in prison if that fine is not paid.[@acttext] Buying a narcotic drug or plant for personal use is section 45(2). The Schedule sets that … approved by the Commission. The earlier law imposed a minimum of ten years for possession.[@acttext,idpc]
Illegal. Growers of 'wee' are still arrested and remanded. The Act allows licences only for cannabis with no more than 0.3% THC for industrial and medicinal purposes; that provision was struck down by the [Supreme Court in 2022](/history/ghana-supreme-court-section-43-2022/) on procedural grounds and re-enacted by Parliament in 2023.[@act, graphic] On 31 July 2026 the commission issued the first two of those licences, to MG Adom Limited and Juliopta Limited.[@ncc2631]
Possession for personal use is punished with a fine. Buying for personal use can be punished with four to ten years in prison or with a fine of 2,000 to 10,000 penalty units.[@acttext] Cultivation and trafficking still carry long sentences. The Act was the first in West Africa to replace prison with a fine for simple possession.[@acttext,idpc]
Supply is trafficking, with long prison sentences.[@act]
Drug use is treated as a public-health matter, with treatment as an alternative to punishment, but it has not been legalised.[@idpc,graphic]
No legal source for THC cannabis. Buying it without lawful authority is an offence under section 45.[@graphic,acttext]
No legal THC products.
graphic
A conviction for possession for personal use is a fine, and the record remains. A conviction for buying for personal use can be a prison sentence of four to ten years.[@acttext]
Only cannabis with no more than 0.3% THC may be grown, and only under a licence from the Narcotics Control Commission; the regulator repeated in April 2026 that anything above that limit falls outside the law.[@act,nacoc26] Seed and planting material therefore exist legally only inside the licensed industrial and medicinal scheme.[@nacoc26]
All cannabis on sale is illegal. The Narcotics Control Commission burned about 50 tonnes o … nd Eastern regions, and the commission called it one of its biggest hauls in recent years.[@gr23] It warned drivers and vehicle owners against being used as couriers.[@gr23] The interior minister later said officers had seized 840 kilogrammes of cannabis and 341 of cocaine over the past year, with December 2025–January 2026 festive-season patrols disrupting networks in Accra hotspots.[@gtimes26]
gr23, gtimes26
No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibited.[@act,graphic]
There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Possession for personal use is a fine of 200 to 500 penalty units, with up to fifteen months in prison if the fine is not paid.[@acttext] Buying cannabis for personal use is a separate offence and can bring four to ten years in prison or a fine of 2,000 to 10,000 penalty units.[@acttext,ghalii]
acttext, ghalii, graphic
Ghanaian Times — Government boosts NACOC with 10 new operational vehicles (4 February 2026) Citi Newsroom Online — How cannabis ice cream landed 10 KTU students in custody (4 August 2026) GhanaLegal — Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683), Section 4: driving under influence of alcohol or drugs 8 unchanged
label Holding for personal use · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 15 months · note Fine of 200–500 penalty units (roughly GH¢2,400–6,000); up to fifteen months if the fine is not paid, label Buying for personal use · treatment criminal · term Purchase · prison min 4 years · prison 10 years · note Fine of 2,000–10,000 penalty units or four to ten years; court may order treatment
label Unlicensed cultivation · treatment criminal · term Cultivation · note Offence; growers of 'wee' are arrested and remanded; tariff not stated in the retained sources, label Licensed low-THC cultivation · treatment legal · term Licensed cultivation · note Licences only for cannabis up to 0.3% THC, industrial, medicinal and research; first two issued 31 July 2026
There is no legal recreational supply. Holding cannabis for personal use brings a fine of 200 to 500 penalty units, but buying it for personal use is a separate offence that can bring four to ten years in prison or a 2,000 to 10,000 penalty-unit fine under the [2020 Act](/history/ghana-narcotics-commission-act-2020/).[@acttext] No THC product is lawfully available; only licensed low-THC cultivation exists.[@ncc2631]
acttext, ncc2631
high
Industrial and medicinal cannabis with no more than 0.3% THC may be grown under licence from the Narcotics Control Commission; the licensing clause was [re-enacted in 2023](/history/ghana-licences-reinstated-2023/) after the Supreme Court struck it down, and the first two licences went to MG Adom Limited and Juliopta Limited on 31 July 2026.[@act,ncc2631] Anything above that limit falls outside the law.[@nacoc26]
act, ncc2631, nacoc26
impairment
Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 2004 makes driving or attempting to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to the point of being incapable of proper control, an offence; with no or minor bodily injury to another person it brings a fine of up to 100 penalty units or up to six months in prison or both.[@ghanalegal] No cannabis-specific cutoff is set.[@ghanalegal]
ghanalegal
NACOC confirmed the arrest of ten Koforidua Technical University students, including 23-year-old suspected ringleader Priscilla Tetteh, for trafficking cannabis-infused drinks and ice cream in an operation spanning 31 July to 1 August 2026.[@ktu26] No account of routine user-level arrests was found.
ktu26