British Virgin Islands
North America
11/100
Not ranked: British Overseas Territory
would rank #80 among countries
Cannabis possession, supply, cultivation and use are offences. The House passed medical-licensing and record-clearing bills in 2020, but an official July 2026 review still reported both awaiting assent. In 2023 the premier proposed a route for doctors under existing legislation.
British Overseas Territory. The British Virgin Islands are a British Overseas Territory with their own House of Assembly and drug laws. The Governor must reserve a bill for the UK's decision if it appears inconsistent with international obligations, and the UK answers for the territory 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?NoThere is no legal source
- 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 2,100
- Share aged 15–64
- about 7.1%
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.
Source A median computed on this site from surveyed countries in North America, 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
Possessing cannabis is an offence, and more than 50 g of cannabis or resin creates a rebuttable presumption of possession for supply.[1] The ordinary possession offence also applies below that threshold.[1] In a reported June 2015 case, a visitor was fined $5,000 for 15.2 g, payable immediately or six months in prison.[2]
Personal cultivation · 25%1/10adds 2.5 of 25 points
Punishment & enforcement · 20%2/10adds 4.0 of 20 points
Sharing & gifting · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Consumption · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Legal access · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
The Act provides powers for ministerial licences and regulations authorising specified activities.[1] In January 2023 Premier Wheatley proposed using existing legislation to arrange medical administration by doctors.[5] The broader 2020 licensing bill still lacked assent in the July 2026 official review.[4]
References
- Virgin Islands — Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, revised to 1 January 2020Commencement and amendment table; sections 5–11, 24, 28–30 and 34; Schedules 2–3; later amended text, not original 1988 penalties
- Virgin Islands News Online — USVI man brings weed into VI to help him relax (2015)
- BVI Government — Published Cannabis Licensing Bill 2020Published proposal, especially clauses 1, 6, 8, 22–26 and 49; archived original PDF read at Wayback snapshot 20221019035539
- Cayman Islands Law Reform Commission — Discussion paper, cannabis reform (1 July 2026), section 5.4
- Virgin Islands News Online — VI gov't, UK found a way forward on medicinal cannabis, Premier Wheatley (23 January 2023)
More context not part of the score
Cannabis cultivation and production require authorisation under the drug law.[1] The published 2020 bill proposed a licensing authority covering cultivation, processing, testing, import, export and distribution.[2] The July 2026 review recorded that bill as still unassented.[3]
Cannabis and resin are listed as Class B controlled drugs.[1] The published 2020 bill proposed dispensary sales with different requirements for proof of age, a declaration of therapeutic use or a medical document.[2] The July 2026 review still reported the bill awaiting assent.[3]
The Act gives the minister powers to regulate authorised controlled-drug activities, including professional medical and pharmacy handling, subject to specified restrictions.[1] Premier Wheatley said in 2023 that work remained on arrangements for doctors to administer medical cannabis.[4] The 2020 licensing bill still lacked assent in the July 2026 review.[3]
Supplying cannabis is controlled by the drug law, and occupiers or managers can commit an offence by knowingly permitting specified production, supply or smoking activities.[1]
Importing controlled drugs requires an applicable exception or a ministerial licence.[1] A visitor arriving from the US Virgin Islands in 2015 admitted possessing cannabis found by customs officers in his luggage and received a $5,000 fine.[5]
The law permits forfeiture of drugs and property connected with offences, with special rules for conveyances used or intended for drug trafficking and procedures for owners to seek restoration.[1] A 2020 bill proposed clearing some historic cannabis convictions, but it remained unassented in the July 2026 review.[3]
Taking cannabis into or out of British Virgin 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 British Virgin Islands's embassy before travelling.[6]
General guidance that applies to almost every country, not a check of British Virgin Islands's customs rules.
References
- Virgin Islands — Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, revised to 1 January 2020Commencement and amendment table; sections 5–11, 24, 28–30 and 34; Schedules 2–3; later amended text, not original 1988 penalties
- BVI Government — Published Cannabis Licensing Bill 2020Published proposal, especially clauses 1, 6, 8, 22–26 and 49; archived original PDF read at Wayback snapshot 20221019035539
- Cayman Islands Law Reform Commission — Discussion paper, cannabis reform (1 July 2026), section 5.4
- Virgin Islands News Online — VI gov't, UK found a way forward on medicinal cannabis, Premier Wheatley (23 January 2023)
- Virgin Islands News Online — USVI man brings weed into VI to help him relax (2015)
- International Narcotics Control Board — Travellers carrying medicines containing controlled substances
History 9 of 9 checked against a source
Score and entries per decade
11 today, from 100 before its first recorded change
This country's score Entries that moved the score Context only
Debate ✓
BVI’s premier proposes a route for doctors to administer cannabis
Premier Natalio Wheatley said talks with the UK had identified a route towards licensing local doctors to administer medical cannabis. He proposed considering regulations under existing legislation while reconsidering the unassented 2020 licensing bill. Work on the approval arrangements was still to be completed.
Debate ✓
BVI’s governor sets conditions before cannabis bills can receive assent
Governor Augustus Jaspert said a BVI cannabis licensing authority required preparatory work and an agreement with the UK Home Office before the licensing bill could receive assent. The UK Foreign Secretary also requested the separate record-clearing bill for further consideration, citing trafficking and security concerns. A July 2026 legal review still recorded both bills as unassented.
Debate ✓ Article
BVI lawmakers approve a bill to clear some old cannabis convictions
The BVI House of Assembly passed a companion bill offering removal of some historic cannabis convictions involving up to 50 g of cannabis or 10 g of resin. Health minister Carvin Malone had argued that old records could block police certificates and employment as medical reform moved forward. The bill required assent, and a July 2026 official legal review still reported it awaiting that step.
Debate ✓ Article
BVI lawmakers approve a medical cannabis licensing bill
The BVI House of Assembly passed a bill to create a cannabis licensing authority and a regulated cultivation, processing and distribution system. The published proposal included dispensaries and different routes for medical documents and declarations of therapeutic use. Assent then depended on further BVI–UK work over licensing responsibilities and international obligations.
Other law ✓
BVI court fines a visitor $5,000 for possessing 15.2 grams of cannabis
A Road Town magistrate fined a visitor $5,000 for possessing 15.2 g of cannabis brought from the US Virgin Islands, with six months in prison if he failed to pay immediately. He admitted the offence after customs officers found two packets in his luggage at the West End ferry dock. The magistrate considered his cooperation, guilty plea and lack of previous convictions.
Tightening ✓
BVI adds forfeiture of vehicles used for drug trafficking
A new rule required courts to order forfeiture of a conveyance connected with drug trafficking when the convicted person possessed or controlled it and the court found it was used, or intended for use, in the offence. The rule also incorporated procedures for owners to seek restoration. It extended the drug law’s existing property-forfeiture rules.
Other law ✓
BVI rewrites possession rules with a supply presumption above 50 grams
A 1995 amendment rewrote the BVI’s possession section, including a rule presuming possession for supply when someone holds more than 50 g of cannabis or cannabis resin. The accused can rebut that presumption; possession below it remains an offence under the ordinary possession rule. The same amendment is recorded in the later consolidated law’s cannabis-related definitions and penalty table.
Other law ✓
BVI brings its modern drug-control law into force
The British Virgin Islands’ modern drug-control Act took effect on 30 September 1988. Its later consolidated text is the basis for cannabis possession, supply and cultivation offences, with medical and other activities dependent on specified authorisations. A 1995 rewrite of the possession section is recorded in that consolidation.
Ban ✓
The Leeward Islands' Dangerous Drugs Act covers the British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands were part of the Leeward Islands federal colony, whose Dangerous Drugs Act of 1937 was still the law its government applied to new drugs in 1951, as in Antigua and St Kitts.
10011−89 points
Datasets not part of the score
What other organisations publish about British Virgin Islands, and where it stands among the countries each one covers. Every file is published in full on the sources page.
Use
UNODC
Cannabis use
7.1%of adults
LowestHigher than 76% of 196 countriesHighest2,100 people · median of surveyed countries in the region, computed here
Society
CEPII
Former colonial rulers
Once ruled by United Kingdom
World Bank · 2017
Development indicators
77.7%use the internet
0% · 199018.9% · 200236% · 200937% · 201037.4% · 201137.6% · 201277.7% · 201677.7% · 201719902017 LowestHigher than 47% of 195 countriesHighest50.9% live in towns · 7.6% aged 65+ · life expectancy 75.7 · 2017 · 37% in 2010
Context
GBIF · 1996
Records of the cannabis plant
2dated records
LowestHigher than 12% of 128 countriesHighest0 more without a date · 2 in 1996
Our World in Data, World Bank · 2023
Population
38,985people in 2023
LowestHigher than 3% of 196 countriesHighest
All sources 5 cited in this profile
- Virgin Islands — Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, revised to 1 January 2020Commencement and amendment table; sections 5–11, 24, 28–30 and 34; Schedules 2–3; later amended text, not original 1988 penalties
- Virgin Islands News Online — USVI man brings weed into VI to help him relax (2015)
- BVI Government — Published Cannabis Licensing Bill 2020Published proposal, especially clauses 1, 6, 8, 22–26 and 49; archived original PDF read at Wayback snapshot 20221019035539
- Cayman Islands Law Reform Commission — Discussion paper, cannabis reform (1 July 2026), section 5.4
- Virgin Islands News Online — VI gov't, UK found a way forward on medicinal cannabis, Premier Wheatley (23 January 2023)
Last updated: · 5 sources · history: 9 of 9 entries checked