UAE: port and visitor corrections, life tiers and 5 history entries

Abu Dhabi issued the first locally made Dangerous Drugs Act in what is now the United Arab Emirates, covering most drugs available at the time but leaving qat out.[@1] It allowed up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10,000 Bahraini dinars, and; qat was brought under itadded on 16 July 1973.[@1] The law applied only in Abu Dhabi; Dubai passed its own version the next yearin 1971.[@1]

label First personal-use offence · treatment criminal · term Personal use · prison min 3 m … Possession · fine min 500000 · note Life imprisonment and a fine of at least AED 500,000 · life mandatory, label Possession with intent to traffic or promote · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · death true · note Article 57; no quantity threshold

label Fewer than five plants · treatment criminal · term Cultivation · fine min 100000 · n … Cultivation · fine min 500000 · note Life imprisonment and a fine of at least AED 500,000 · life mandatory, label Cultivation with intent to traffic or promote · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · death true · note Article 57; no plant threshold

label Trafficking or promotion · treatment criminal · term Trafficking · death true · note … erson's use · treatment criminal · term Facilitation · prison min 5 years · fine min 50000, label Managing or preparing a place for drug use, Article 53 · treatment criminal · term Drug den · prison min 10 years · fine min 100000

None. HighNo high-THC medical cannabis medicine is not legal; theregistered or available on a normal prescription. The only verified medical route is an authorised hemp-derived product under the 2026 law, and no product or pharmacy stock was verified.[@dl30,national26] CBD has no open consumer route.[@national26]

Federal Decree-Law 30 of 2021 provides the death penalty for trafficking or promotion invo … ing is mandatory where intent is proved, but no reliable public data on cannabis-specific death sentences or executions in 2024–2026 was found; the three UAE executions in 2025 were all for murder.[@dl30,lexai,amnesty25] Articles 49–51 also provide death or life for fatal administration or forcing drugs on another person.[@dl30]

dl30, lexai, amnesty25

No high-THC medical cannabis medicine is legalregistered or available on a normal prescription. The 2026 hemp law permits only authorised medical products that containcontaining industrial-hemp compounds or raw materials, under the medical-products law; no authorised product or pharmacy stock was verified.[@hemp26n,national26] A compound that can produce a narcotic or psychoactive effect stays under the narcotics law.[@ly]

Since 1 January 2026, courts must deport any foreign national convicted under the narcotic … mber of a resident family where deportation would seriously harm family stability or care and the family has the financial capacity to provide treatment.[@decree14_2025,zaa] Before that, deportation for first-time personal use was discretionary.[@mondaq] A conviction can also bring a criminal record and, for repeat addiction offences, licence revocation.[@dl30]

No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them: growing cannabis and supplying it to another personcannabis are both prohibited, and managing or preparing a place for drug use carries at least ten years and AED 100,000.[@dl30,mondaq]

mondaq, dl30

There is no legal recreational supply for anyone.[@dl30] A first personalnon-use offence carriesresident arriving at least three months or AED 10,000–100,000,a port with longer terms for repeats.[@lexai] Non-residents entering with under 100 g of cannabis for personal use can paypays AED 5,000–20,000 on a first entry, rising to AED 10,000–30,000 plus a three-year ban on a second and AED 50,000–100,000 plus a permanent ban on a third.[@res43] A visitor caught after entry faces the article 42 personal-use penalties and mandatory deportation on conviction.[@dl30,decree14_2025]

dl30, lexai, res43, decree14_2025

Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2024 on traffic regulation, in force from 29 March 2025, make … ychotropic substances.[@gn_traffic24,trafficlaw24] The penalty is imprisonment, a fine of AED 30,000 to –200,000 dirhams, or botheither, heavier than for alcohol.[@gn_traffic24,trafficlaw24] The licence is suspended for six m … [@gn_traffic24] Causing a death while under the influence brings at least a year in prison and, a fine of at least AED 100,000 dirhams, or both.[@gn_traffic24,trafficlaw24]

The national police reported 12,340 kg of narcotics and psychotropics seized in 2024, 9,774 drug-crime reports and 13,513 suspects; the figures cover all drugs, not cannabis alone.[@gulfstats24] UNODC records 414 kg of herbal cannabis and 3,352 kg of cannabis resin seized in 2022; the series has no 2023–2025 update.[@unodc_szr] The Emirates produce little cannabis but have long served as a transshipment point for hashish from Afghanistan and Pakistan, helped by free ports and a heterogeneous population.[@incsr09] No cannabis-only seizure series was found.[@gulfstats24]

gulfstats24, unodc_szr, incsr09

UNODC Data Portal — Drug seizures, reported seizures in kilogram equivalents Amnesty International — Death Sentences and Executions 2025 OpenAlex — Cannabis papers affiliated with the United Arab Emirates (repository extract) 15 unchanged

licensed

Articles 10(2) and 16 allow licensed government bodies and scientific institutes to use controlled drugs and plants for research, and the 2026 hemp law permits research use with approval.[@dl30,hemp26n] The OpenAlex extract has one UAE-affiliated cannabis paper from 1999 and no clinical trials.[@openalex]

dl30, hemp26n, openalex