Cook Islands
12/100
Not ranked: Self-governing state in free association with New Zealand
would rank #73 among countries
Cannabis is illegal under the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act 2004, with up to 20 years for growing it, twice New Zealand's maximum. Since 2 July 2024 patients with a prescription may bring in up to a month's supply of medicinal cannabis, and licensed pharmacies may import it.
Self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. The Cook Islands govern themselves in free association with New Zealand and make their own laws; cannabis is controlled by the Cook Islands' own Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act 2004, not by New Zealand's. See also 🇳🇿 New Zealand.
In short all countries →
- Can I carry it?NoIt is a crime
- Can I grow it?NoIt is a crime
- Can I buy it?LimitedOn prescription only
- Can I use it in public?NoNot in public, and even at home the law does not protect it
- What if I'm caught?Fine or prisonUsually a fine; prison is possible
A rough guide read from the scores and the rules below, not legal advice. The details and the exceptions are in each segment: select an answer to jump to it.
Cannabis in Cook Islands not part of the score · all 3 datasets ↓
Who uses it
Perhaps 1 in 9
people aged 15–64 (assumed) in Cook Islands used cannabis in the past year.
- Past year
- 11.5%
- Oceania median
- 11.5%
This site’s estimate: there is no national survey.
Source Past-year cannabis use among people aged 15–64 (assumed). This site's figure: there is no national survey, so the median rate of surveyed countries in Oceania is applied to people aged 15–64.Survey ages and years vary, and some surveys include children. Rates are not age-standardised; do not compare countries directly.
A median computed on this site from surveyed countries in Oceania, using UNODC World Drug Report 2026 figures. The whole dataset →
Score breakdown 12/100 · how the scores are made
Possessing cannabis is an offence under the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act 2004, which the High Court describes as carrying up to two years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.[1] Possessing a utensil such as a bong carries up to five years or a $5,000 fine.[1]
| Amount | What happens | Punishment | Fine |
| Possession of cannabis | CriminalPossession | Up to 2 years | Up to NZ$5,000 |
| Possession of a utensil (pipe, bong) | CriminalUtensils | Up to 5 years | Up to NZ$5,000 |
Cultivating cannabis carries up to 20 years in prison, raised from 14 years in 2004; judges note that the New Zealand maximum for the same offence is seven years.[2][3] Police regularly seize small plots, such as more than 30 plants in Arorangi in October 2021.[4]
| Amount | What happens | Punishment | Fine |
| Cultivating cannabisThe High Court describes custodial starting points outside the least serious cases | CriminalCultivation | Up to 20 years | — |
Since 2 July 2024 the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2023 and the Narcotics Amendment Regulations 2024 let anyone with a prescription, resident or visitor, bring in up to a month's supply of medicinal cannabis, and eligible pharmacies may import it.[5][6] There is no local production.[5]
Context not part of the score · every country, by topic →
The Ministry of Health brought medicinal cannabis into force on 2 July 2024: a patient prescribed it, including by an overseas practitioner, may import and possess up to a month's supply, and pharmacies such as the TMO Pharmacy may import it.[5][6]
No lawful cultivation exists: medicinal cannabis must be imported on prescription or by an eligible pharmacy, and growing cannabis carries up to 20 years.[5][3]
There is no legal recreational supply; visitors may bring in only prescribed medicinal cannabis, up to a month's supply.[5]
Police seized more than 30 cannabis plants in Arorangi, Rarotonga, in late October 2021.[4]
Convictions can bring prison; the High Court has said a custodial sentence is the usual starting point outside the least serious cultivation and dealing cases.[3]
Taking cannabis into or out of Cook Islands is a separate offence from possessing it, normally charged as smuggling or trafficking, with far heavier penalties. That holds almost everywhere, including between two places where cannabis is legal.
A prescription or medical card from another country is generally not recognised. Travellers who need a cannabis-based medicine should ask Cook Islands's embassy before travelling.[7]
General guidance that applies to almost every country, not a check of Cook Islands's customs rules.
Datasets not part of the score
What other organisations publish about Cook Islands, and where it stands among the countries each one covers. Each dataset has a page of its own, with a world map and every country's figure.
Use
UNODC
Cannabis use
11.5%of people aged 15–64 (assumed)
computed here: the median of surveyed countries in the region, or the figure of the country a territory is part of
Source Survey ages and years vary, and some surveys include children. Rates are not age-standardised; do not compare countries directly.
Society
Our World in Data, World Bank · 2021
Population
15,040people in 2021
Higher than 1% of 196 countriesLowestHighestCEPII
Former colonial rulers
Once ruled by United Kingdom; New Zealand
Sources hover a number in the text to see its source
- Cited
- 7
- Websites
- 6
- Last reviewed
Most cited
- pacliirms.austlii.edu.au2
- cookislandsnews.com1
- health.gov.ck1
- incb.org1
- islandsbusiness.com1
- pacliirms.paclii.org1
All 7 sources
- High Court of the Cook Islands — sentencing decision on possession of cannabis (2016)Possession of cannabis carries up to 2 years or a $5,000 fine or both; a utensil up to 5 years or $5,000.
- High Court of the Cook Islands — [2018] CKHC 8, sentencing for cultivating 15 cannabis plantsCultivation under the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act carries a maximum of 20 years.
- High Court of the Cook Islands — [2022] CKHC 4, sentencing decision"At the present time, the law is that cultivation of cannabis carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail."
- Cook Islands News — Opinion: The debate surrounding cannabis use (23 November 2021)Cannabis, products, seeds and paraphernalia illegal; more than 30 plants seized in Arorangi in late October 2021.
- Cook Islands Ministry of Health — Minister's media release on medicinal cannabis (2 July 2024)The Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2023 and the Narcotics Amendment Regulations 2024 in effect from 2 July 2024; up to one month's supply on prescription; pharmacies may import.
- Islands Business — Medicinal cannabis now permitted in Cook Islands with prescription (July 2024)
- International Narcotics Control Board — Travellers carrying medicines containing controlled substances