Cannabis Freedom IndexTurks and Caicos Islands11
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Turks and Caicos Islands

North America

11/100

Prohibition

Not ranked: British Overseas Territory
would rank #78 among countries

Cannabis is a Class B drug under the Control of Drugs Ordinance, with up to seven years for possession on indictment and fifteen for possession with intent to supply. There is no medical route; seizures from migrant boats and at the Providenciales transit shed are frequent.

Recreational: IllegalMedical: None verified
Industry: NoneVisitors: No legal access

British Overseas Territory. The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory with their own legislature and laws; cannabis is controlled by the territory's Control of Drugs Ordinance, not by UK law. See also 🇬🇧 United Kingdom.

In short all countries →

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 Turks and Caicos Islands not part of the score · all 3 datasets ↓

Who uses it

Perhaps 1 in 14

people aged 15–64 (assumed) in Turks and Caicos Islands used cannabis in the past year.

Past year
7.1%
North America median
6.9%

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 North America 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 North America, using UNODC World Drug Report 2026 figures. The whole dataset →

Score breakdown 11/100 · how the scores are made

Possession 11.5Personal cultivation 11.1Punishment & enforcement 22.1Sharing & gifting 10.8Consumption 11.3Legal access 00.5
Turks and Caicos IslandsWorld average
Possession · 25%1/10
adds 2.5 of 25 points · world average 1.5

Cannabis and cannabis resin are Class B drugs under the Control of Drugs Ordinance, revised laws chapter 03.14.[1][2] Possession carries up to three years in prison or a $40,000 fine, or both, on summary conviction, and up to seven years or an unlimited fine before the Supreme Court.[2]

AmountWhat happensPunishmentFine
Possession, summary convictionCriminalPossessionUp to 3 yearsUp to US$40,000
Possession, on indictmentUnlimited fineCriminalPossessionUp to 7 years—
Personal cultivation · 25%1/10
adds 2.5 of 25 points · world average 1.1

Growing cannabis is a production offence under the same ordinance, with no licensing route for medical or industrial cultivation.[1][2]

Punishment & enforcement · 20%2/10
adds 4.0 of 20 points · world average 2.1

Police and the Border Force make regular cannabis seizures, many from Haitian migrant boats and air cargo: in August 2024 a string of migrant-boat landings at Providenciales led to marijuana seizures worth about $2 million, and in July 2025 Border Force officers found more than 21 kg in a parcel at the Providenciales transit shed.[3][4]

Sharing & gifting · 10%1/10
adds 1.0 of 10 points · world average 0.8

Possession with intent to supply carries up to four years or a $50,000 fine on summary conviction and up to fifteen years or an unlimited fine before the Supreme Court.[2]

AmountWhat happensPunishmentFine
Possession with intent to supply, summary convictionCriminalSupplyUp to 4 yearsUp to US$50,000
Possession with intent to supply, on indictmentUnlimited fineCriminalSupplyUp to 15 years—
Consumption · 10%1/10
adds 1.0 of 10 points · world average 1.3

There is no lawful use: any possession of cannabis is an offence under the Control of Drugs Ordinance, and no decriminalisation or medical exemption has been adopted.[2][5]

Legal access · 10%0/10
adds 0.0 of 10 points · world average 0.5

No medical cannabis route exists; cannabis remains a Class B controlled drug.[2]

Context not part of the score · every country, by topic →

Medical cannabisWhat this covers How patients get cannabis as medicine: who qualifies, who prescribes, what forms there are and what it costsSelect for every country
Medical: None verified

There is no medical cannabis programme or exemption in the Control of Drugs Ordinance.[2]

Cannabis industryWhat this covers The legal commercial sector: who may grow, process and sell for profit, and on what termsSelect for every country
Industry: None

No legal production exists; seized cannabis arrives by sea, often on migrant boats from Haiti, and by air cargo.[3][4]

Visitors and foreignersWhat this covers Whether someone who does not live here can get cannabis legally, and what happens to a foreigner who is caughtSelect for every country
Visitors: No legal access

There is no legal supply for anyone; the UK travel advice warns that possession of drugs leads to heavy fines or imprisonment.[5]

Arrests and prisonersWhat this covers Published counts of arrests, offences, convictions and prisonersSelect for every country

In August 2024 a string of Haitian migrant landings led to marijuana seizures worth about $2 million around Providenciales; on 16 and 17 July 2025 the Border Force seized more than 21 kg of cannabis worth about $264,000 at the Providenciales transit shed.[3][4]

Beyond the penaltyWhat this covers What follows a person beyond the punishment itself: records, drug registers, lost licences, jobs, deportationSelect for every country

Possession can bring up to seven years in prison before the Supreme Court; the UK government warns visitors that drug offences carry heavy fines and prison.[2][5]

Crossing the border

Taking cannabis into or out of Turks and Caicos 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 Turks and Caicos Islands's embassy before travelling.[6]

General guidance that applies to almost every country, not a check of Turks and Caicos Islands's customs rules.

Datasets not part of the score

What other organisations publish about Turks and Caicos 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

  1. UNODC

    Cannabis use

    7.1%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

  1. Our World in Data, World Bank · 2023

    Population

    46,220people in 2023

    Higher than 4% of 196 countriesLowestHighest

Sources hover a number in the text to see its source

Cited
6
Websites
6
Last reviewed

Most cited

  1. aol.com1
  2. en.wikipedia.org1
  3. gov.tc1
  4. gov.uk1
  5. incb.org1
  6. magneticmediatv.com1
All 6 sources
  1. Turks and Caicos Islands Attorney General's Chambers — 2021 Revised Laws, 03.14 Control of Drugs Ordinance
  2. Wikipedia — Cannabis in the Turks and Caicos IslandsClass B under Part II of the Control of Drugs Ordinance 1976; Schedule 4 penalties for possession and possession with intent to supply.
  3. Miami Herald via AOL — String of Haitian migrant landings in Turks & Caicos lead to $2 million marijuana busts (August 2024)
  4. Magnetic Media — Weed bust: over a quarter-million in cannabis seized at Providenciales transit shed (July 2025)
  5. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — Turks and Caicos Islands travel advice, local laws and customs
  6. International Narcotics Control Board — Travellers carrying medicines containing controlled substances
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