Sri Lanka countries/lk.yaml
Illegal, but licensed Ayurvedic practitioners may legally dispense cannabis preparations. A separate export-only cultivation scheme began licensing foreign investors in 2025.
The Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance prohibitsbans possessing cannabis resin and preparations known as bhang, consuminghashish or using any part ganja without a licence, and section 54A adds quantity bands for possession as well as trafficking.[@ord2024] Under those bands, less than 1 kg brings a fine of LKR 20,000–50,000 and/or preparationone to two years in prison; 1 kg to under 5 kg brings LKR 50,000–100,000 and/or two to five years; 5 kg to under 100 kg brings LKR 100,000–200,000 and/or five to ten years; and 100 kg or more brings LKR 200,000–500,000 and/or ten to fifteen years.[@ord2024] Small possession can also be charged under the general penalty in section 78(5), which allows a magistrate's fine of LKR 1,000–10,000 and/or up to five years; the hemp plantsources read do not settle how often each route is used.[@ord2024] Cannabis (ganja) accounts for the majoritylargest share of drug arrests in Sri Lanka;, and small-quantity cases are usually dealt withend in magistrates' courts by a magistrate's fine, with prison possible.[@nddcb24]
laword2024, leapnddcb24
Section 27 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance forbids anyonesowing, without a licence from the Ministerplanting, to sowcultivating, plant, cultivate, obtainobtaining or possess thepossessing a hemp plant, or to collectcollecting or holdholding its seeds, pods, leaves, flowers or any other part, without the Minister's licence.[@ord2024] "Hemp plant" means Cannabis sativa L., with no THC threshold separating hemp from drug cannabis.[@ord2024] Cultivation is ordinarily punished under the general penalty in section 78(5): a magistrate may impose LKR 1,000–10,000 and/or up to five years, and the High Court LKR 10,000–25,000 and/or six months to seven years.[@ord2024] No quantity bands apply to cultivation itself.[@ord2024]
ordord2024
HighDrug enforcement is intense and built on arrest numbers and mostly finesrather than court outcomes. Police reported 228,450 drug arrests in 2024, of whom 75,602, or 33.1 per cent, were for small amounts; repeated amendmentscannabis, just ahead of heroin.[@nddcb24] Operation Yukthiya, launched in December 2023–2026 have focused on tougher enforcement against trafficking, had arrested more than 100,000 people by May 2024; Human Rights Watch reported many arrests without apparent evidence and hundreds of people sent to military-run rehabilitation centres.[@hrw25] The police narcotics bureau seized 8,359 kg of cannabis in 2024 and 17,189 kg in 2025.[@derana26]
leapnddcb24, lawhrw25, derana26
Sale, supply, transport and distribution are offences under sections 29 and 54, and section 54A treats trafficking by quantity.[@ord2024] The same bands as possession apply: under 1 kg brings one to two years and/or LKR 20,000–50,000, rising to ten to fifteen years and/or LKR 200,000–500,000 at 100 kg or more.[@ord2024] Import and export are absolutely prohibited by section 28, with heavier penaltiesno licence exception.[@ord2024]
laword2024
Section 29 of the Ordinance forbids anyone without the Minister's licence to consumebans consuming or use the resin of theusing hemp plantresin or its preparations known as bhang, hashish or ganja without a licence, and section 52(2) bans knowing consumption of a dangerous drug outside medical supply.[@ord2024] There is no quantity threshold, and the general penalty in section 78(5) applies: LKR 1,000–10,000 and/or up to five years before a magistrate.[@ord2024]
ordord2024
NoThere is no adult-use source. The Ordinance bans importing the plant and requires the Minister's licence to possess or use its preparations; it saves only galenical preparations of hemp (, extract and tincture), under its dangerous-drugs chapter, and hemp rope and fibre.[@ord2024] Registered Ayurvedic practitioners may obtain and dispense cannabis preparations within the Ayurvedic system, but there is no allopathic medical-cannabis registry or domestic CBD market.[@morning24]
ordord2024, morning24
All recreational use is prohibited: the Ordinance bans possessing, consuming or using any part or preparation of the hemp plant, though small-quantity cases usually end in a magistrate's fine.[@ord2024] Licensed Ayurvedic practitioners may dispense cannabis preparations within the medical system, and the 2025 export licences do not legalise domestic use.[@lawmorning24,leapdm25]
laword2024, leapmorning24, dm25
The state supplies cannabis to the Ayurvedic sector, largely from seized stock.[@morning24] In February 2024 the Cabinet approved cultivation and export for medicinal purposes, and in August 2025 seven foreign investors received six-month licences to grow cannabis on Board of Investment land64 acres at Mirigama, with a US$2 million bond and a US$5 million minimum investment, on condition that the whole crop is [exported](/history/sri-lanka-export-cultivation-2025/).[@economynext24,dm25] The government said in November 2025 that the next phase would be open to local investors, with cultivation expected in 2026; no confirmed planting or export was found by late October 2026.[@dm25b]
leapmorning24, economynext24, dm25, dm25b
AvailableTreatment is available only within the Ayurvedic system, through licensedregistered practitioners and the state Ayurvedic drugs corporationDrugs Corporation; traditional Ayurvedic preparations contain cannabis.[@morning24] Only registered Ayurvedic institutions and pharmacies may possess these medicines, prescriptions are required, and police can enforce illegal possession.[@morning24] There is no allopathic medical-cannabis registry, no domestic pharmacy flower or oil sales, and the 2025 export licences are export-only.[@dm25] The legal basis dates from the [Ayurveda Act of 1961](/history/sri-lanka-ayurveda-act-1961/).[@morning24]
lawmorning24, dm25
A conviction is a criminal record, and people arrested in the Yukthiya crackdown could be sent to rehabilitation centres rather than court.[@hrw25] Human Rights Watch reported hundreds of people held in military-run centres and allegations of torture and ill-treatment, while the government presented the campaign as a response to drug crime.[@hrw25]
lawhrw25
Section 27 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance forbids anyonesowing, without a licence from the Ministerplanting, to sowgrowing, plant, growobtaining or holdholding a hemp plant, or to collectcollecting or holdholding its seeds, pods, leaves, flowers or any other part, without the Minister's licence.[@ord2024] Section 28 bans bringing the plant or its seeds into or out of the country, with no licence exception. The copy read[@ord2024] There is an older consolidated textno separate seed or clone market.[@ord2024]
leap, ordord2024
No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another person are both prohibited.[@ord2024] The Ayurvedic channel is a practitioner-and-pharmacy route, not a members' club.[@morning24]
laword2024, morning24
There is no legal recreational supply for anyone. The Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance prohibits possessing, consuming or using any part or preparation of the hemp plant; small-quantity cases are usually dealt with in magistrates' courts by a fine, but a conviction can still bring prison.[@ord2024] The Ayurvedic route is for registered practitioners and patients, not visitors.[@morning24]
laword2024, leapmorning24
Motor Traffic Act section 151 prohibits driving on a road after consuming alcohol or any drug. Suspected drug use[@motortraffic] A suspected driver can lead to examinationbe examined by a Government medical officer; the officer's report or, and refusal of the examination creates a rebuttable evidential rule aboutpresumption of consumption. The; the Act permits regulations on drug concentrations, but no operative THC cutoff was established in this review. Under the 2019 amendment, the[@motortraffic] The ordinary section 151(1) offence carries LKR25LKR 25,000–30,000 and/or up to three months' imprisonment or both, plus licence suspension up to twelve months. Driving an omnibus or other vehicle; carrying passengers for payment after consumption carries the same fine range orbrings up to six months or both, plusand licence cancellation. Sri Lanka Police launched a mobile laboratory programme for bus drivers[@traffic2019] Causing death carries LKR 100,000–150,000 and conductors in January 2026/or two to ten years, and injury or grievous injury brings lower bands.[@motortraffic] Consumption, positive screening and demonstrated impairment mustare not be treated as interchangeable evidential standards.[@motortraffic]
motortraffic, traffic2019, mobiletesting
Figures reported by theThe government to the UN drugs office recordreported 8,360 kg of herbal cannabis seized in 2024, against 10,220 kg in 2023, and 292 kg of cannabis resin seized in 2024, against 274 kg in 2023.[@unodc_szr] The police narcotics bureau counted 8,359 kg in 2024 and 17,189 kg in 2025, while local reporting separates local cannabis from Kerala cannabis and gives a higher combined total for 2024.[@derana26,sunday24] The UN publishes them as kilogram equivalents, and countries count seizures differently, so the figures are not directly comparable across borders.[@unodc_szr] Cannabis is grown illicitly in several provinces and smuggled from India, and the record 2026 haul at Bandaranaike airport was kush brought from Thailand.[@scmp26]
unodc_szr, derana26, sunday24, scmp26
Cannabis accounts for the largest share of drug arrests. The National Dangerous Drugs Control Board counted 74228,444 people arrested for450 drug offencesarrests in 2024, of whom 75,602, or 33.1 per cent, were for cannabis, 75,097 for heroin and 68,132 for methamphetamine.[@nddcb24] In the first half of 2023 it had counted 74, of whom444 drug arrests, with 32,908, or 44 per cent, were arrested for cannabis and 30,804 for heroin.[@nddcb23] The police narcotics bureau reported seizingseized 8,359 kg of cannabis in 2024 and 17,189 kg in 2025.[@derana26] The figures cover all drugs unless stated, and the cannabis share is of arrests, not convictions.[@nddcb24]
nddcb24, nddcb23, derana26
Sri Lanka — Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 218, consolidated 2024 (Lanka Law, PDF)
National Dangerous Drugs Control Board — Analytical overview of drug-related arrests in Sri Lanka, 2024
The Sunday Times — Surge in drug-related arrests in 2024 (1 June 2025)
Human Rights Watch — World Report 2025: Sri Lanka
The Morning — Only registered Ayurvedic institutions may possess cannabis medicines (15 February 2024)
EconomyNext — Sri Lanka cannabis investment plan gets interest from 30 investors (23 August 2024)
Daily Mirror — Government to open cannabis cultivation project to local investors (4 November 2025)
SCMP (AFP) — Sri Lanka arrests 22 monks with $3.5 million worth of cannabis in record haul (27 April 2026)
Sri Lanka — Act No. 7 of 2026 (PDF)
Sri Lanka — Bill O 11/2026 to amend the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (PDF)
Sri Lanka — Ayurveda (Amendment) Act No. 19 of 2023 (PDF)
Sri Lanka Police — mobile laboratory service for drug-influenced drivers (January 2026)
Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 218 — text (FAOLEX PDF)
Wikipedia — Cannabis in Sri Lanka
Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 218 (UNEP LEAP)
6 unchanged
LKR
label Under 1 kg · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison min 1 year · prison 2 years · fine min 20000 · fine 50000 · note Section 54A quantity band; fine and/or prison, label 1 kg to under 5 kg · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison min 2 years · prison 5 years · fine min 50000 · fine 100000 · note Section 54A quantity band; fine and/or prison, label 5 kg to under 100 kg · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison min 5 years · prison 10 years · fine min 100000 · fine 200000 · note Section 54A quantity band; fine and/or prison, label 100 kg or more · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison min 10 years · prison 15 years · fine min 200000 · fine 500000 · note Section 54A quantity band; fine and/or prison, label General penalty, section 78(5) · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 5 years · fine min 1000 · fine 10000 · note Alternative charge before a magistrate; the High Court can impose six months to seven years and LKR 10,000–25,000
LKR
label Cultivation before a magistrate · treatment criminal · term Cultivation · prison 5 years · fine min 1000 · fine 10000 · note Fine and/or prison under section 78(5), label Cultivation before the High Court · treatment criminal · term Cultivation · prison min 6 months · prison 7 years · fine min 10000 · fine 25000 · note Fine and/or prison under section 78(5)
LKR
label Under 1 kg · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 1 year · prison 2 years · fine min 20000 · fine 50000 · note Section 54A quantity band; fine and/or prison, label 1 kg to under 5 kg · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 2 years · prison 5 years · fine min 50000 · fine 100000 · note Section 54A quantity band; fine and/or prison, label 5 kg to under 100 kg · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 5 years · prison 10 years · fine min 100000 · fine 200000 · note Section 54A quantity band; fine and/or prison, label 100 kg or more · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · prison min 10 years · prison 15 years · fine min 200000 · fine 500000 · note Section 54A quantity band; fine and/or prison
LKR
label Consumption · treatment criminal · term Consumption · prison 5 years · fine min 1000 · fine 10000 · note Magistrate's court; the High Court can impose six months to seven years and LKR 10,000–25,000
none
There is no separate industrial-hemp regime and no THC ceiling. "Hemp plant" means Cannabis sativa L., and growing it requires a section 27 Minister's licence.[@ord2024] Section 30 saves only galenical extract or tincture under the dangerous-drugs chapter, hemp rope and cordage, and hemp fibre; hemp flower, seed for planting, CBD extract and hemp food or cosmetics have no general exemption.[@ord2024] A 2023 Ayurveda amendment created registration for herbal cultivations and gardens but does not expressly name cannabis.[@ayurveda2023]
ord2024, ayurveda2023
Cannabis sits in Sri Lanka's medicinal rather than recreational culture. It is part of the Ayurvedic materia medica, and registered practitioners may prescribe preparations made from it, with the state Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation supplying them.[@morning24] The plant also travelled through the island's colonial opium and ganja trade, and possession became a criminal matter under the [1929 ordinance](/history/sri-lanka-dangerous-drugs-enactment-1929/).[@ord2024] Today there is little public cannabis culture: use is hidden, and most arrests are of small users.[@nddcb24]
morning24, ord2024, nddcb24