Jordan: hemp, penalty tables, corrected drug-crime figures and 1947-2025 history

2026-0904-1527

Jordan's drug casescrimes fall by a third12.8 per cent in 2025

The annual report of Jordan's National Centre for Human Rights counted 25Public Security Directorate recorded 22,776031 drug casescrimes in 2025, down 12.8 per cent from 3825,782260 in 2024. Cases of possessionPossession and use fell by about 39%10 per cent to 15,720 and trafficking offences by about 22%19 per cent to 6,311. A separate human-rights report had compared 2025 crimes with 2024 arrests, producing a misleading 34 per cent drop.

Khaberni — Drug crimes in Jordan decline by 12.8% during 2025 1 unchanged

Under the current schedules, cannabis plant material is in table 3: possession for persona … d a JOD1,000–3,000 fine. A first offence creates no criminal precedent or security record.[@l23,schedules26]

label Personal possession of cannabis plant (table 3) · treatment criminal · term Personal possession · fine 500 · prison min 1 month · prison 6 months · note One to six months, JOD200–500 fine, or both; first offence leaves no record, label Personal possession of cannabis resin (table 1) · treatment criminal · term Personal possession · fine 3000 · prison min 1 year · prison 3 years · note One to three years and a JOD1,000–3,000 fine

Growing cannabis for personal use is a separate, lesser offence from growing for trafficking.[@l23] The current table-3 plant classification gives personal-use growing the same one-to-six-month prison term, JOD200–500 fine, or both as personal plant possession.[@l23,schedules26] Growing for trade carries at least fifteen years of temporary hard labour plus a JOD10,000–20,000 fine, and aggravated trade life imprisonment with hard labour and JOD20,000–30,000.[@l23] The law separately allows plant and seed handling under licences governed by regulation.[@l23]

Personal-use offences can lead to prison.[@l23] Courts may substitute inpatient or outpatient treatment, and a first offence leaves no criminal precedent or security record.[@l23] People who seek treatment themselves or through family before being caught are protected from prosecution.[@l23]

The law defines drug distribution to include giving drugs without payment.[@l23] The distribution offence carries at least five years of temporary hard labour and at least a JOD5,000 fine, with higher minimums where minors are involved.[@l23] Trafficking carries at least fifteen years plus a fine; specified international-gang cases carry mandatory death.[@l23]

Use and acts intended for personal use are criminal offences, with the punishment depending on the substance’s schedule.[@l23,schedules26] Courts may order treatment instead of punishment.[@l23] A person who seeks treatment before being caught, directly or through family, is protected from prosecution.[@l23]

Recreational supply remains prohibited.[@l23] Separate 2023 rules provide for approval of CBD natural medicines and preparations containing no more than 0.3% THC, dispensed on a valid medical prescription, with regulatory controls on imports and exports.[@cbd23]

Article 20 requires death for specified aggravated trafficking offences involving international drug gangs or links to other international crimes.[@l23] Ordinary personal use is dealt with separately under article 9.[@l23] The international-gang death clause also appeared in the law replaced in 2016.[@oldlaw]

Medical, scientific and industrial drug manufacture requires authorisation.[@l23] Controlled plants and seeds are prohibited except through the licensing authority provided by the amended law.[@l23] The 2023 CBD rules set manufacturing and raw-material requirements for medicines, external-use cosmetics and medical devices.[@cbd23]

The regulator’s schedules exclude CBD-dominant oils, extracts and preparations containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC from the controlled-drug tables. The 2023 instructions separately require product approval and prescriptions for CBD natural medicines and preparations. They also regulate external-use cosmetics and devices and permit specified hemp seed foods with THC and CBD limits.

schedules26, cbd23

A first personal-use offence leaves no criminal precedent or security record, while prosecution and a sentence remain possible.[@l23] Courts may substitute treatment; the law protects the identity and treatment information of people receiving it and penalises disclosure.[@l23]

The amended narcotics law prohibits controlled plants and their seeds throughout growth, with an exception for licensed handling under regulation.[@l23] Personal-use cultivation has a separate penalty from cultivation for trade.[@l23] The 2023 food rules concern hulled, nonviable hemp seeds and specified seed products.[@cbd23]

Collective recreational supply falls under offences against unauthorised distribution, including gifts.[@l23] Cultivation for trade carries at least fifteen years of temporary hard labour and a fine; the personal-use growing offence is separate.[@l23]

Recreational supply remains prohibited.[@l23] Personal cannabis plant possession carries one to six months, a JOD200–500 fine, or both; cannabis resin carries one to three years plus a JOD1,000–3,000 fine.[@l23,schedules26] A first offence leaves no criminal precedent or security record.[@l23]

The annual report of the National Centre for Human Rights counted 25Police recorded 22,776031 drug cases of all kindscrimes in 2025, down 12.8 per cent from 3825,782260 in 2024. Cases of, with possession and use fell by about 39%falling 10 per cent to 15,720 and trafficking offences by about 22%19 per cent to 6,311.[@psd26] The 2024 total covered 38,782 people and included 3,000 kg of hashish and 262 kg of marijuana; 744 people entered rehabilitation.[@petra25] The figures cover all drugs and are not broken down by drugcannabis.[@psd26]

nchr26psd26, petra25

Figures reported by the government to the UN drugs office record 263 kg of herbal cannabis seized in 2024, against 70.5 kg in 2023, and 6,243 kg of cannabis resin seized in 2023, against 7,313 kg in 2022.[@unodc_szr] The UN publishes them as kilogram equivalentsanti-narcotics department reported 3,000 kg of hashish and countries count seizures differently262 kg of marijuana seized in 2024, so thealongside 27.5 million Captagon pills.[@petra25] The figures use different categories and counting methods, so they are not directly comparable across borders.[@unodc_szr,petra25]

unodc_szr, petra25

The amended Traffic Law No. 18 of 2023, in force from 12 September 2023, punishes driving … , or both, as the judge decides; the judge may also confiscate the licence for two months.[@roya_traffic23,jn_traffic23] The law gives public security officers the power to test a detained driver for alcohol and drugs.[@roya_traffic23,jn_traffic23]

Khaberni — Drug crimes in Jordan decline by 12.8% during 2025 Roya News — Over 38,000 arrests: Anti-Narcotics Department in Jordan releases annual report (2025) 9 unchanged

JOD

label Growing for personal use (table 3) · treatment criminal · term Personal cultivation · prison min 1 month · prison 6 months · fine min 200 · fine 500 · note One to six months, JOD200–500, or both; first offence leaves no record, label Growing for trade · treatment criminal · term Cultivation for trade · prison min 15 years · fine min 10000 · fine 20000 · note Temporary hard labour and a fine, label Aggravated cultivation for trade · treatment criminal · term Aggravated cultivation · fine min 20000 · fine 30000 · note Life imprisonment with hard labour and a JOD20,000–30,000 fine

JOD

label Distribution or promotion, including gifts · treatment criminal · term Distribution · prison min 5 years · fine min 5000 · note Temporary hard labour and a fine, label Distribution involving a minor · treatment criminal · term Distribution · prison min 10 years · fine min 10000, label Trafficking · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 15 years · fine min 10000 · fine 20000 · note Temporary hard labour and a fine, label Aggravated trafficking · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · fine min 20000 · fine 30000 · note Life imprisonment with hard labour and a fine, label International drug gang or linked international crime · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · death true · note Mandatory death under Article 20

standard

No THC limit makes a cannabis plant legal hemp: controlled plants and their seeds remain prohibited except through the licensing authority.[@l23] The regulator's schedules do exclude CBD-dominant oils, extracts and preparations containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC from the controlled-drug tables; that line applies to products, not to a hemp crop.[@schedules26] The 2023 instructions require product approval and prescriptions for CBD medicines, regulate external-use cosmetics and devices, and permit specified hemp seed foods with THC and CBD limits; these are product rules, not a licence to grow hemp.[@cbd23]

l23, schedules26, cbd23