South Sudan countries/ss.yaml
label Statutory maximum · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 5 years · note Up to five years, a fine, or both, label Bor bhang case in 2022 · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 1 year · fine 50000 · note One jailed a year, four six months; five others fined SSP 50,000 each
label Dealing, ordinary maximum · treatment criminal · term Dealing · prison 14 years · note Up to fourteen years, a fine, or both; death-or-life tier requires a non-cannabis drug
None: no lawful cannabis supply route operates.[@law]
A conviction is a criminal record, as the Bor bhang sentences show: prison terms and SSP 50,000 fines for possession.[@eye]
Section 382 of the Penal Code Act 2008 defines cannabis as the flowering or fruiting tops of the plant, "excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops", so loose seed is not a dangerous drug.[@law] The cannabis plant itself, defined as any plant of the genus, is a dangerous drug.[@law]
No cannabis clubs are known, and the law leaves no room for them. Supplying a dangerous drug is dealing under section 383, punished with up to fourteen years, a fine, or both.[@law]
Eye Radio — report on the Juba drug raids (25 February 2026) Government of the Sudan — Hashish and Opium Ordinance 1924 2 unchanged
word Bangi · lang South Sudanese English · meaning cannabis; the local name used in Bor and Juba seizure reports · sources eye
SSP
label Growing for personal consumption · treatment criminal · term Cultivation · prison 5 years · note Up to five years, a fine, or both, label Growing for dealing · treatment criminal · term Dealing · prison 14 years · note Ordinary maximum; death-or-life tier requires a non-cannabis drug
none
No industrial-hemp exception was verified: the Penal Code defines cannabis and the cannabis plant as dangerous drugs with no low-THC distinction, and no hemp production is documented.[@law]
law
The local name is [bangi](/culture/language/bangi/): seized marijuana in Juba is known locally as bangi, and the Bor cases were bhang cases.[@eyeradio26,eye] The colonial ban arrived early — Sudan's replacement hashish law of 1924 covered the south and kept only medical use (see the [1924 ban](/history/south-sudan-ban-1924/), also traced for the north in [Sudan's article](/history/sudan-ban-1924/)).[@sudanord24] A century on, Juba's authorities still raid drug-selling spots: the [2026 Juba raids](/history/south-sudan-juba-raids-2026/) seized bangi with tramadol and codeine syrups.[@eyeradio26]
eye, eyeradio26, sudanord24