Palau countries/pw.yaml
Marijuana is a Schedule II controlled substance under 34 PNC section 3106, not Schedule I.[@pnc34] Possession of two ounces or less is a citation: $500 for a first offence and $1,000 for each later one, with no prison — tiers set in 1997 that still define penalties.[@pnc34](/history/palau-drug-penalties-1997/) More than two ounces up to one pound is a first conviction of one year and up to $3,000, w … 00.[@pnc34] A positive blood or urine test is deemed possession of under one gram.[@pnc34]
Simple possession of two ounces or less is a citation, while cultivation, sale and larger … ses are mainly cultivation and trafficking raids plus simple-possession citations.[@it24] A 2007 strategy had called the marijuana possession penalties not stringent, recommending increases that did not change the citation tier.[@strategy07](/history/palau-substance-strategy-2007/) No aggregate cannabis-arrest count is published.[@yearbook23]
pnc34, it24, strategy07, yearbook23
No medical cannabis programme. A Medical Marijuana Act was introduced in 2015 and shelved, and a 2021 compassionate-use bill passed first reading without becoming law.[@pit17,pit21](/history/palau-compassionate-cannabis-bill-2021/) There is no licensed cannabis medicine, prescriber pathway or dispensary.[@pnc34]
pnc34, pit17, pit21
UNODC records 2.3 kg of herbal cannabis seized in 2024.[@unodc_szr] Palau's local market i … rough small outlets.[@ocindex25] In 2019 police seized and burned over a tonne in Peleliu;(/history/palau-peleliu-tonne-2019/) in 2021 they found 635 plants, 136 joints and about 250 lb;(/history/palau-peleliu-raid-2021/) in 2024 they seized 182 plants and $31,600 in cash.[@it19,it21,it24](/history/palau-peleliu-raid-2024/) In 2026 THC gummies hospitalised three women in Koror,(/history/palau-thc-gummies-2026/) and a Meyuns search found 11.52 g of marijuana alongside meth.[@it26a,it26b]
No aggregate cannabis-arrest count is published for 2024–2026. The 2023 statistical yearbo … 2 and 3 in 2023.[@yearbook23] Specific recent cases include 182 plants in Peleliu in 2024,(/history/palau-peleliu-raid-2024/) a 14-year-old selling marijuana at Palau High School in 2025, and the 2026 gummies and Meyuns cases.[@it24,it25,it26a,it26b](/history/palau-thc-gummies-2026/)
Pacific Island Times — It's high time to stop hiding, advocates say (3 May 2021) Palau — Substance Abuse Prevention Strategic Plan 2007–2011 13 unchanged