Ethiopia countries/et.yaml
Article 525(4) of the 2004 Criminal Code punishes planting, buying, receiving, making, pos … wful use, with rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of up to 50,000 Birr.[@et525,et525wipo] Those figures are the statutory ceilings. The 2005 code's separation of personal use from trafficking is traced in the [2005 code](/history/ethiopia-criminal-code-2005/).
label Personal use (Article 525(4)) · treatment criminal · term Personal use · prison 7 years · fine 50000 · note Rigorous imprisonment up to seven years and fine up to 50,000 Birr; statutory ceilings
Growing for one's own use falls under the same ceiling of seven years. Growing with the in … irr. The aggravated trafficking cases start at ten years and a fine of up to 200,000 Birr.[@et525,et525wipo] The article states those minimums and does not set a maximum term for them.
label Growing for own use · treatment criminal · term Personal use · prison 7 years · note Same seven-year ceiling as personal use, label Growing with intent to traffic · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 5 years · fine 100000 · note At least five years and fine up to 100,000 Birr; no maximum term stated, label Aggravated trafficking · treatment criminal · term Aggravated trafficking · prison min 10 years · fine 200000 · note At least ten years and fine up to 200,000 Birr; no maximum term stated
The personal-use offence is rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years. Trafficking-intent offences start at five years, and the aggravated cases at ten.[@et525] No account of how often ordinary users are jailed was found.
Delivering or selling a narcotic for private use by another person is the personal-use offence, with up to seven years. Supply with the intent to traffic starts at five years, and the aggravated cases at ten.[@et525,et525wipo]
label Supply for another person's private use · treatment criminal · term Personal use · prison 7 years · note Personal-use offence ceiling, label Supply with intent to traffic · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 5 years · note At least five years; no maximum term stated, label Aggravated supply · treatment criminal · term Aggravated trafficking · prison min 10 years · note At least ten years; no maximum term stated
Use is an offence. This applies equally in Shashamane, the Rastafari settlement, despite its reputation.[@leaf]
None.[@leaf]
In the 1960s Rastafari from the Caribbean [settled on land set aside for them near Shasham … me known for growing cannabis, mostly for local use, with no exception in the law.[@leaf] The settlers' use belongs to the wider [Rastafari sacrament](/culture/traditions/rastafari-sacrament/) tradition, which Ethiopian law does not recognise.
NoneNo licensed cannabis production exists; what is grown, including around Shashamane, is unlicensed and falls under the cultivation offences.[@leaf,et525]
leaf, et525
No medical cannabis. In March 2019 the health minister said growing cannabis for medical p … e no permit to grow it, after a proposed farm in the Amhara region caused a public outcry.[@rep19,fort19] The code draws no hemp distinction either: all forms, including CBD and hemp, count as illicit.[@zennjet]
leaf, rep19, fort19, zennjet
There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. Possession for personal use can bring rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of up to 50,000 Birr.[@et525] Bringing medical cannabis into the country, whatever the prescription, is equally prohibited.[@zennjet]
et525, zennjet
Article 75 of the 2024 Road Transport Traffic Control Regulation prohibits driving or attempting to drive under the influence of drugs or while taking them. It also covers, including medication or substances that may diminish physical or mental driving competence. The rule extends beyond a requirement to prove impaired control; it does not establish asets no numerical THC allowance.[@traffic2024] Drivers involved in a fatal crash may be requiredhave to take a drug test, with refusal treated as a positive result. Traffic, and traffic controllers may hold a drug-influenced driver's vehicle for twelve hours unless another fit person drives it.[@traffic2024] Article 98 repealed Regulation 208/2011 as amended by 395/2017, while preserving compatible earlier directives., and Article 95 refers penalties to Schedule B, but that schedule is absent from the Ministry of Justice PDF reviewed;, so no current fine or fixed licence-ban duration is asserted here from the repealed regulation.[@traffic2024]
No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibited.[@et525,leaf]
et525, leaf
New Business Ethiopia — Customs Commission seizes contraband goods, including narcotics (30 March 2026) ZennJet — Ethiopia RED travel guide (2025) 6 unchanged
none
No hemp regime was found: no THC threshold, licence, or fibre exemption was located, and the 2019 outcry ended the only proposed legal grow. All forms, including CBD and hemp-derived items, count as illicit.[@rep19,fort19,zennjet]
rep19, fort19, zennjet
illegal
banned
illegal
banned
No seed or cutting exception was found: planting for private use falls under the personal-use offence, with up to seven years' rigorous imprisonment.[@et525] Shashamane is known for growing cannabis, mostly for local use, with no exception in the law.[@leaf]
et525, leaf
Ethiopia sits on a transit route: a March 2026 customs operation seized narcotics both smuggled in through border towns and destined for neighbouring countries, alongside 17 suspects and 10 vehicles.[@etcustoms26] With no legal supply, all domestic cannabis moves through this illegal market.[@et525]
etcustoms26, et525
In a single March 2026 surveillance week, joint customs and police operations arrested 17 suspects moving contraband that included narcotics.[@etcustoms26] No account of how often ordinary users are arrested was found.
etcustoms26