Gibraltar
Europe
12/100
Not ranked: British Overseas Territory
would rank #72 among countries
Cannabis possession and home growing are crimes, with fines or imprisonment available. Medical access is limited to controlled medicines: trained public-health doctors may authorise approved cannabis-based products for specified conditions, with smoking prohibited.
British Overseas Territory. Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory with its own parliament and drug laws. The United Kingdom answers for it internationally, including under the UN drug conventions. See also 🇬🇧 United Kingdom.
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?NoUse itself is an offence
- What if I'm caught?Fine or prisonUsually a fine; prison is possible
A rough guide read from the scores below, not legal advice. The details and the exceptions are in each segment: select an answer to jump to it.
- Cannabis users
- about 1,500
- Share aged 15–64
- about 5.75%
This site's figure: there is no national survey, so the median rate of surveyed countries in Europe is applied to people aged 15–64.
Source A median computed on this site from surveyed countries in Europe, using UNODC World Drug Report 2026 figures. Population from the World Bank, aged 15–64. The whole dataset →Score breakdown ▏world average
Select a segment to show or hide the exact rules and sources. How the scores are made →
Possession · 25%1/10adds 2.5 of 25 points
Personal cultivation · 25%1/10adds 2.5 of 25 points
Cultivating any cannabis plant is an offence, subject to authorised exceptions. The cultivation offence carries up to nine months in lower-court proceedings or fourteen years in a higher-court trial, with fines also available.[1] The wider medicinal-cannabis industry Act remains awaiting commencement.[3]
Punishment & enforcement · 20%2/10adds 4.0 of 20 points
Sharing & gifting · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Supplying or offering to supply cannabis is an offence, with no payment requirement in the prohibition. Class B supply or possession with intent to supply can carry up to life imprisonment in a higher-court trial; fines are also available.[1]
Consumption · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Legal access · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Adult-use supply is prohibited.[1] The medical route requires trained GHA doctors and approved products for specified conditions; the government designated St Bernard’s Hospital pharmacy for public dispensing.[6] In September 2023 it announced completed training and a Cantourage UK supply agreement, subject to final detail.[7]
References
- Crimes Act 2011 — current consolidated editionVersion 23 July 2026; sections 500, 503–508, 518, 524–526; Schedule 5 Part II and Schedule 8
- Local man fined for possession of a controlled drugRoyal Gibraltar Police · 2025 · Report dated 22 December; arrest 18 December and Magistrates’ Court sentence 19 December 2025
- Medicinal Cannabis Act 20212021 · Assent 24 September 2021; status Not In Force checked 24 October 2026; sections 2, 8 and 14
- Man sentenced for drug offencesRoyal Gibraltar Police · Sean Macmichael, 19; possession and possession with intent to supply; 200 hours community work; cannabis resin in sofa
- Drugs (Misuse) Regulations 2005 — current consolidated editionVersion including LN 354/2026, 15 October 2026; regulations 2, 5, 10A, 12A, 27 and 31; Schedules 1, 2, 2A–2B
- Medicinal Cannabis — 756/2019Government of Gibraltar · 2019 · 22 October 2019; trained GHA doctors, four conditions, hospital pharmacy, product approval and smoking restriction
- Medicinal cannabis products to be available to GHA patients — 614/2023Government of Gibraltar · 2023 · 8 September 2023; completed training and Cantourage UK agreement subject to final detail
More context not part of the score
Unauthorised production is criminal, and cultivating cannabis has its own offence.[1] The 2021 medicinal-cannabis Act provides for a wider industry licensing system but is still marked Not In Force; commencement requires a ministerial notice.[2]
The rules distinguish the specifically defined cannabis-extract mouth spray in Schedule 2 from GHA-approved cannabis-based medicines in Schedule 2A. The latter require medical-practitioner involvement and product approval.[3] Public dispensing under the GHA route was assigned to St Bernard’s Hospital pharmacy.[4]
GHA doctors must complete training before authorising cannabis medicines. Eligible conditions are treatment-resistant multiple-sclerosis spasticity, severe refractory epilepsy, severe life-altering pain, and intractable chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting. Products require GHA approval, and smoking is prohibited.[3] The government reported completed doctor training and a supply agreement in September 2023.[5]
Supplying cannabis to another person and cultivating it are offences, subject to authorised exceptions. The criminal code provides no personal-use club exemption.[1]
Adult-use cannabis imports are prohibited; authorised imports depend on a licence or a regulatory exception.[1] The medicines regulations allow personal prescribed controlled drugs to be carried to or from a Schengen state with a valid Article 75 certificate, limited to thirty days’ supply.[3]
Possession can lead to a fine, imprisonment or both, depending on the proceedings and sentence.[1] Courts can order forfeiture and destruction or disposal of items connected with drug offences.[1]
Taking cannabis into or out of Gibraltar 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 Gibraltar's embassy before travelling.[6]
General guidance that applies to almost every country, not a check of Gibraltar's customs rules.
References
- Crimes Act 2011 — current consolidated editionVersion 23 July 2026; sections 500, 503–508, 518, 524–526; Schedule 5 Part II and Schedule 8
- Medicinal Cannabis Act 20212021 · Assent 24 September 2021; status Not In Force checked 24 October 2026; sections 2, 8 and 14
- Drugs (Misuse) Regulations 2005 — current consolidated editionVersion including LN 354/2026, 15 October 2026; regulations 2, 5, 10A, 12A, 27 and 31; Schedules 1, 2, 2A–2B
- Medicinal Cannabis — 756/2019Government of Gibraltar · 2019 · 22 October 2019; trained GHA doctors, four conditions, hospital pharmacy, product approval and smoking restriction
- Medicinal cannabis products to be available to GHA patients — 614/2023Government of Gibraltar · 2023 · 8 September 2023; completed training and Cantourage UK agreement subject to final detail
- International Narcotics Control Board — Travellers carrying medicines containing controlled substances
History 13 of 14 checked against a source
Score and entries per decade
12 today, from 11 before its first recorded change
This country's score Entries that moved the score Context only
Enforcement ✓
Gibraltar fines a man £800 for possessing 127 grams of cannabis resin
A 42-year-old man received an £800 fine after police found about 127 grams of cannabis resin during a foot patrol. He appeared in the Magistrates’ Court the morning after his arrest and was charged with possession of a Class B drug. The case came under the current criminal code, which allows fines or imprisonment for possession.
Medical ✓
Gibraltar announces trained cannabis doctors and a supply agreement
GHA doctors had completed the necessary training and the government had reached an agreement with Cantourage UK, subject to final detail, to enable cannabis prescribing for eligible patients. The September 2023 announcement followed the 2019 rules requiring trained public doctors and specifically approved products. Health minister John Cortes said the government had been working to make these medicines available for some time.
Medical ✓
Gibraltar approves a medicinal cannabis industry licensing law
Gibraltar approved a law for a commission and licences covering medicinal cannabis production, import, export, marketing and supply on 24 September 2021. Starting the law requires a ministerial notice, and the official text remained marked Not In Force on 24 October 2026. The existing GHA patient rules continued separately, followed by a 2023 supply announcement.
Medical ✓ Article
Gibraltar lets public health doctors supply cannabis-based medicines
Trained Gibraltar Health Authority doctors could authorise approved cannabis-based medicines from 16 October 2019 for four groups of conditions that had resisted standard treatment. Patients could lawfully hold medicines supplied through that route, with smoking prohibited; the government designated St Bernard’s Hospital pharmacy for public dispensing. In September 2023 the government announced completed doctor training and a supply agreement with Cantourage UK, subject to final detail.
1112+1 point
Medical ✓
Gibraltar creates a controlled medicines route for Sativex
A precisely defined cannabis-extract mouth spray moved from the most restricted drug schedule into the controlled-medicines schedule on 15 February 2017. The government’s explanatory memorandum identified Sativex and the medicines route through which it could be supplied. Wider rules for GHA-approved cannabis medicines followed in 2019.
Other law ✓ Article
Gibraltar drops a supply presumption and raises the possession prison limit
Gibraltar’s replacement criminal code omitted the old presumption that 20 grams of cannabis or resin was held for supply, while keeping possession and supply as separate crimes. The lower-court prison maximum for Class B possession rose from six months to twelve months, with a fine available; the maximum on indictment remained five years. The code also required courts to treat adult drug supply near schools at relevant times, or using couriers under eighteen, as more serious.
Easing ✓ Article
Gibraltar’s appeal court rejects a charge for intended cannabis supply abroad
A man who carried 737 grams of cannabis resin through Gibraltar for supply in England defeated the prosecution’s appeal against the removal of his possession-with-intent-to-supply charge. The court held that the intended act of supply had to take place in Gibraltar, even after the 1985 amendment concerning recipients abroad. He had admitted possession, importation and exportation; the ruling concerned the separate intent-to-supply count.
Tightening ✓
Gibraltar gives officers wider powers against drug smuggling at sea
Gibraltar extended drug offences to its registered ships and created offences involving controlled drugs on ships registered in other states party to the 1988 UN trafficking convention. Officers gained powers to stop, board, divert and search ships, arrest suspects and seize evidence. Action against another convention state’s ship outside Gibraltar waters required that state’s request or authorisation through the Collector of Customs; operations in another state’s waters required its consent.
Tightening ✓ Article
Gibraltar presumes 20 grams of cannabis is held for supply
Possessing 20 grams of cannabis or cannabis resin triggered a presumption that the drug was intended for supply, unless the defendant proved otherwise. The 1989 amendment treated the listed weight as a commercial quantity and also covered drugs in mixtures or preparations. The presumption remained in the final consolidated old drug Act, but was omitted from its 2012 replacement.
Tightening ✓
Gibraltar extends drug-supply wording to recipients abroad
Gibraltar amended its drug law to say that supply included supplying a person who was outside Gibraltar. The change followed a cannabis case involving drugs intended for England, according to the later appeal court’s account. In 1995 that court ruled that the amendment still required the intended act of supply to take place in Gibraltar.
Other law ✓
Gibraltar brings cannabis growing, possession and supply under a new drug law
Gibraltar’s new drug law took effect on 1 June 1973, providing separate offences for unauthorised possession, possession with intent to supply, production and cannabis cultivation. Its later amendments extended the supply wording to recipients abroad and introduced a quantity-based presumption of intent to supply. The Act remained the main drug statute until the Crimes Act replaced it in November 2012.
Other law ✓
Gibraltar removes the penalty ceiling for cannabis-control rules
Gibraltar published an amendment removing the one-month imprisonment or £150 fine ceiling on penalties that the Governor in Council could set through cannabis-control rules. The power covered production, possession, sale and distribution of Indian hemp, raw opium and coca leaves. The 1951 possession rule had used that ceiling; the amendment widened the rule-making power.
Ban ✓ Article
Gibraltar makes cannabis possession punishable by a fine or a month in jail
Rules made on 18 October 1951 made possessing Indian hemp an offence punishable by up to a £150 fine or one month in prison. Possession included cannabis held by another person under the defendant’s control or on their behalf. The Governor in Council used powers granted earlier that year to regulate cannabis production, possession, sale and distribution.
Ban ≈
Gibraltar first restricts cannabis
Britain brought cannabis under its dangerous drugs law in 1928. By 1951 Gibraltar's Dangerous Drugs Ordinance made possessing Indian hemp an offence; when the ordinance first covered it is not recorded here.
10011−89 points
Datasets not part of the score
What other organisations publish about Gibraltar, and where it stands among the countries each one covers. Every file is published in full on the sources page.
Use
UNODC
Cannabis use
5.75%of adults
LowestHigher than 68% of 196 countriesHighest1,500 people · median of surveyed countries in the region, computed here
UNODC · 2019
Cannabis use at 15 and 16
3.54%in the past year
LowestHigher than 20% of 49 countriesHighest2.36% in the past month · 2019 · ages 15–16, school survey
Law
UNODC · 2024
Police contact for drug use or possession
458per 100,000 people
1510 · 2020491 · 2021453 · 2022409 · 2023458 · 202420202024 FewerHigher than 98% of 101 countriesMore180 people in 2024 · all drugs together
UNODC · 2024
Cannabis seized
2kg in 2024
3,043 · 20194,881 · 20209,224 · 202144 · 20224 · 20232 · 202420192024 Less seizedHigher than 1% of 163 countriesMore seized0 kg of herb · 2 kg of resin · 4,881 kg in 2020
Society
OpenAlex · 2022
Research on cannabis
51papers per million people
25 · 196751 · 202219672022 LowestHigher than 99% of 176 countriesHighest2 papers in 2022
CEPII
Former colonial rulers
Once ruled by United Kingdom
World Bank · 2016
Development indicators
94.4%use the internet
0% · 19902.7% · 19974.2% · 19985.9% · 199919.1% · 200021.2% · 200123.7% · 200228.3% · 200332.9% · 200439.1% · 200545.3% · 200651.6% · 200758% · 200865.1% · 200965% · 201065% · 201165% · 201294.4% · 201619902016 LowestHigher than 84% of 195 countriesHighest100% live in towns · 17.5% aged 65+ · life expectancy 82.7 · 2016 · 19.1% in 2000 · 65% in 2010
Context
Our World in Data, World Bank · 2024
Population
39,329people in 2024
LowestHigher than 3% of 196 countriesHighest
All sources 7 cited in this profile
- Crimes Act 2011 — current consolidated editionVersion 23 July 2026; sections 500, 503–508, 518, 524–526; Schedule 5 Part II and Schedule 8
- Drugs (Misuse) Regulations 2005 — current consolidated editionVersion including LN 354/2026, 15 October 2026; regulations 2, 5, 10A, 12A, 27 and 31; Schedules 1, 2, 2A–2B
- Medicinal Cannabis Act 20212021 · Assent 24 September 2021; status Not In Force checked 24 October 2026; sections 2, 8 and 14
- Medicinal Cannabis — 756/2019Government of Gibraltar · 2019 · 22 October 2019; trained GHA doctors, four conditions, hospital pharmacy, product approval and smoking restriction
- Medicinal cannabis products to be available to GHA patients — 614/2023Government of Gibraltar · 2023 · 8 September 2023; completed training and Cantourage UK agreement subject to final detail
- Local man fined for possession of a controlled drugRoyal Gibraltar Police · 2025 · Report dated 22 December; arrest 18 December and Magistrates’ Court sentence 19 December 2025
- Man sentenced for drug offencesRoyal Gibraltar Police · Sean Macmichael, 19; possession and possession with intent to supply; 200 hours community work; cannabis resin in sofa
Last updated: · 7 sources · history: 13 of 14 entries checked