History
A history of cannabis
How people have grown, traded, used and fought over cannabis, country by country: the laws, court rulings and treaties, but also the raids and trials, campaigns, medicine, science, trade and culture around them. Every entry is dated and sourced; those that changed a country's score show by how much.
World average score and entries per decade
13.2 today, from 99.1 in 1860
World average score, every country counted the same Entries that moved a score Context only
No entries for the chosen countries here.
20271 entry0 score changes
2026149 entries2 score changes
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Missouri Hemp โ
Missouri lets cultivators bring in low-THC genetics
On 21 October the Division of Cannabis Regulation issued a variance, effective 12 November, so that a licensed cultivator may acquire plants, tissue culture, pollen and other genetic material of no more than 0.3 per cent total THC from outside the state's licensed cultivation system. Plants under two inches above the root are presumed to meet that limit; taller plants need a test. Marijuana sold in the state must still be grown in a Missouri-licensed facility. Seeds from a plant over 0.3 per cent total THC count as marijuana even if the seed itself is low in THC, and taking those seeds from an unlicensed source is unlawful. New material has to be entered in the tracking system on the day it arrives.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Nebraska Medical โ Article
Nebraska's medical cannabis growers face an unfinished route to patient sales
Nebraska Public Media reports that commissioners advised licensed growers to prepare for one to two years of storage while manufacturing, distribution and testing arrangements are developed. Manufacturers and dispensaries were still unlicensed. The discussion establishes an implementation bottleneck, not a newly enacted waiting period or a guaranteed sales date.
๐ช๐ธ Spain Medical โ Article
Spain's first cannabis extracts are lined up for fifty hospitals
On 17 October Curaleaf, the only company so far to register a cannabis extract with the medicines agency, said its two preparations would start going to about 50 hospitals and could be available by the end of the month. A hospital specialist may prescribe a standardised preparation only after authorised medicines have failed, and the hospital pharmacy makes it up. The formulary makes that preparation an oral solution for muscle stiffness from multiple sclerosis, severe epilepsy, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, or chronic pain. One extract is richer in THC and the other in CBD. Ordinary pharmacies cannot dispense it.
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina Hemp โ
Argentina sets horticultural hemp licences at 1% THC
ARICCAME Resolution 69/2026, adopted on 2 September and published on 3 September, creates four licences for horticultural hemp: growing it, making derivatives, related services, and foreign trade. A crop at or below 1 per cent total THC on a dry-weight basis meets the limit; between 1 and 2.5 per cent is an administrative margin, not an automatic breach. Article 12 puts the resolution into force 30 administrative working days after publication. The agency's own page says applications open during October, so the publication day was not a day on which anyone could already apply.
๐ธ๐ฝ Sint Maarten Debate โ
Sint Maartenโs health minister seeks regional advice on cannabis reform
Health minister Claret Connor said he had sought help from the Pan American Health Organization to assess cannabis policy and comparable Caribbean experiences. He stressed mental health, treatment capacity and protection of vulnerable residents alongside possible economic benefits. He called for a comprehensive review of advantages and disadvantages before decisions on legislation.
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria Debate โ
Nigeriaโs president proposes replacing its two main drug laws
President Bola Tinubu sent the Senate a bill to replace the NDLEA Act and Indian Hemp Act with a consolidated drug-enforcement law. The Senate referred the proposal for legislative work; the existing laws continued to apply.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Kentucky Medical โ
Kentucky's medical dispensaries reach all eleven licensing regions
Sunnyside Dispensary opened in Prestonsburg on 12 October, becoming the first dispensary in the Mountain Region. The governor's 16 October announcement counted 26 operating dispensaries across all eleven licensing regions. This is a geographic rollout milestone within the existing medical programme, not a new adult-use law.
๐ฏ๐ช Jersey Debate โ
Jersey plans new oversight of medical cannabis prescribers
A written ministerial answer announced plans for legislation regulating doctors who prescribe medicinal cannabis, with commencement expected in early 2027. The Jersey Care Commission's remit would not be extended while it prepared for other new responsibilities. This was a statement of intended reform, not confirmation that new prescribing rules had taken effect.
๐ฌ๐น Guatemala Enforcement โ
Guatemala reports destroying 34,563 cannabis plants in two areas
Anti-narcotics police destroyed 19,420 cannabis plants near Momostenango, Totonicapรกn, and 15,143 in Ixmucanรฉ, Las Cruces, Petรฉn, the Interior Ministry reported after weekend operations. Prosecutors supported the searches and eradication work. The operations applied the existing cultivation prohibition, which carries five to twenty years in prison plus a fine for unauthorised growing.
๐น๐น Trinidad and Tobago Tightening โ Article
Trinidad and Tobago's Senate votes to raise the cannabis age to 25
The Senate passed the Miscellaneous Provisions (Alcohol, Cannabis, Dangerous Drugs, Gambling and Tobacco) Bill by 15 votes to 12, with three abstentions and only government senators in favour. It raises the age for cannabis use and gambling to 25 and for alcohol and tobacco to 21. It still needed the President's assent.
๐ฎ๐ช Ireland Debate โ
Ireland expects its medical-cannabis access review to take about a year
In a written parliamentary answer, the Health Minister said the review was expected to take roughly twelve months from its first meeting on 27 May 2026. It will examine the Medical Cannabis Access Programme, possible additional conditions where evidence supports them, and individual ministerial licences. The answer reports a review timetable, not an adopted expansion of access.
๐จ๐ฆ Canada ยท Manitoba Debate โ
Manitoba proposes visibility and staffing changes for cannabis stores
Bill 56 would remove the provincial requirement that outsiders cannot see inside age-restricted cannabis stores and authorise regulations setting minimum staffing levels, including during specified hours. It does not remove the separate federal restriction on displaying cannabis products to people outside. The bill reached second reading on 6 October and committee hearings on 8 October; the reviewed legislature catalogue listed no enacted version. No operative staffing number or new consumer possession limit was established.
๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria Death penalty โ Article
An Algiers court hands down the first death sentences under the new drug law
The criminal court of Algiers sentenced nine people to death, six of them in their absence, for trafficking 113 kg of cocaine and 225,030 pregabalin tablets as an organised group. The justice minister had said on 22 September that the death penalty would be activated against traffickers. No cannabis case was involved.
๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji Other law โ Article
Fiji signs a drug rewrite separating personal use from supply
Fiji signed a new drug law with a separate personal-use offence and diversion into support programmes. For cannabis plant material it sets a maximum FJ$500 fine or three months in prison, or both, with custody restricted to prior-conviction or exceptional cases; at 28 g a rebuttable presumption of supply begins. The law also creates a Counter Narcotics Bureau and replaces the older drug Acts, with commencement dependent on a ministerial Gazette notice.
๐ฐ๐พ Cayman Islands Debate โ
Cayman expects cannabis reform proposals in November or December
Premier Andrรฉ Ebanks told Parliament that the final cannabis-reform report and supporting legislation were expected to reach the Attorney General for government consideration in November or December 2026. The July consultation had asked about possession limits, home growing, administrative penalties and clearing old minor convictions, following the 2025 referendum. Adults remained subject to the existing criminal law while the review and preparation of legislation continued.
๐จ๐ฆ Canada Other law โ
Canada brings cannabis-drug and test-kit regulatory amendments into force
SOR/2025-244, published in December 2025, came into force on 1 October 2026. It aligns cannabis-drug administration with the new Controlled Substances Regulations, including dispensing, destruction records and cannabis test-kit registration. These are sector-specific regulatory amendments; the entry does not record a change to adult recreational possession or home-growing limits.
๐บ๐ธ United States Debate โ Article
A DEA judge pauses the broader cannabis-rescheduling case
The chief administrative law judge stayed the post-hearing proceedings while the federal government answers a request to add a new Government Accountability Office report to the record. The pause delays his non-binding recommendation on moving cannabis generally from Schedule I to Schedule III; the April order covering state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved products remains in force.
๐จ๐ฆ Canada Debate โ
Canada proposes simpler cannabis tracking reports
Health Canada opened consultation on a proposed order that would remove capacity and book-value reporting, consolidate inventory categories, and repeal federal tracking-report obligations for provincially or territorially authorised distributors, retailers and public bodies. Provincial and territorial oversight would continue. Comments close on 10 November 2026; the proposal is not an operative reporting exemption.
๐ป๐ฎ US Virgin Islands Other law โ
US Virgin Islands report their first approved commercial cannabis grow
Regulator Joanne Moorehead reported a certificate to operate for a Tier 1 commercial cannabis grower on St. Croix, saying official cultivation had begun. She also said the testing laboratory was operational and awaiting plants, a change from the laboratory bottleneck described in August. An October market update still reported no dispensary open for sales.
๐ฆ๐บ Australia ยท New South Wales Easing โ
NSW assents to a registered-patient cannabis-driving reform
Act 33 of 2026 received assent after passing Parliament on 17 September. The announced scheme would require a prescription, registration and education, and would be limited to unrestricted non-commercial drivers. A positive roadside test would still bring a 24-hour driving ban; laboratory THC below 50 ng/ml would bring no further action, while the first two detections at or above that threshold within two years would bring warnings. Implementation was expected in late 2026 or early 2027, and commencement was not established in this review.
๐น๐ญ Thailand Tightening โ Article
Thailand's cabinet approves a medical-only cannabis bill
The draft Cannabis and Hemp Act would write the 2025 prescription rule into law, make growers register their plantations and raise penalties. It still has to pass parliament.
๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina Medical โ Article
Bosnia's medical-cannabis prescribing rules slip into 2027
At a second follow-up meeting, the Federation health ministry said it had drafted the changes needed for cannabis-based prescriptions but would not adopt them during 2026. It instead plans a new prescribing and dispensing rulebook in the first quarter of 2027. Republika Srpska said its corresponding amendments were in their final stage, so patients still had no country-wide route to treatment.
๐ฆ๐บ Australia ยท Queensland Tightening โ
Queensland assents to driving-penalty changes scheduled for December
Act 23/2026 received assent on 21 September. Part 10 Division 3 commences on 1 December 2026 and adds a 7.5-penalty-unit minimum for the relevant-drug presence offence when the court chooses a fine-only sentence, subject to section 78E exceptions. It also creates a combined drug-presence/alcohol-limit offence. Other testing and immediate-suspension amendments in Division 4 still awaited proclamation in the reviewed legislative history; assent alone did not activate the whole package.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Virginia Debate โ
Virginia releases its initial retail cannabis regulation draft
The Cannabis Control Authority's implementation timeline records release of an initial regulation draft in September. It schedules final rules for December, their effectiveness for January 2027, and retail sales for 1 July 2027. The draft and timetable do not establish that adult-use shops were already operating.
๐ฏ๐ด Jordan Enforcement โ
Jordan's drug cases fall by a third
The annual report of Jordan's National Centre for Human Rights counted 25,776 drug cases in 2025, down from 38,782 in 2024. Cases of possession and use fell by about 39% and trafficking offences by about 22%.
๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica Other law โ
Jamaica widens fee-free routes for traditional growers
Jamaica expanded its programmes for bringing traditional ganja growers into the regulated industry. The programmes carry no government application or authorisation fees, give individual farmers a two-year transition period to meet full licensing requirements, and let registered community groups cultivate up to ten acres collectively.
๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius Debate โ
Mauritius receives a national cannabis-policy reform report
The National Agency for Drug Control presented its cannabis-policy reform report to the Prime Minister after consultation involving around 1,800 contributors, including patients and people affected by drug use. The official announcement confirms delivery of recommendations; it does not establish adoption, a new possession allowance or legal recreational sales.
๐ด๐ฒ Oman Tightening โ Article
Oman replaces its drug law
Royal Decree 67/2026, signed on 3 September and published on 6 September, repealed the 1999 law. Possessing, buying or growing a drug plant for personal use, or using, carries one to three years in prison and a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 rials, and a court may send a dependent user to treatment instead. Importing, exporting, producing or manufacturing a scheduled drug for trafficking, or growing a listed plant for trafficking, can bring death or life imprisonment. Smuggling those things for trafficking is punished by death. Supplying a drug to a user without payment carries seven to fifteen years. Viable cannabis seeds are banned along with the plant.
๐บ๐ธ United States Easing โ
Congress delays part of the federal hemp-product ban
On 2 September Congress passed a continuing resolution, Public Law 119-103, that moves part of the new hemp definition from 12 November to 11 December 2026. The exclusion of cannabinoids that a cannabis plant cannot produce naturally stays on 12 November, and from that day those products are marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. The rest of the definition, including the total-THC cap and the 0.4 milligram limit on a finished product, waits until 11 December. The 2025 law that wrote the definition is unchanged apart from those dates.
๐น๐ฟ Tanzania Debate โ Article
Tanzania moves to make holding cannabis seeds a crime
The Attorney General presented a bill amending the Drugs Control and Enforcement Act. It would make it an offence to hold or distribute seeds of prohibited plants, cannabis among them, whatever they are meant for, and would extend the law to drugs in liquid form. The report gave no penalties and no vote.
๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra Debate โ Article
Andorra prepares a licence for growing medicinal cannabis
The government presented a reform of the Agriculture and Livestock Farming Act that it called the most important step towards allowing cannabis to be grown for medicinal purposes, creating the legal structure for a single cultivation licence.
๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait Other law โ Article
Kuwait sets seed records and secure sites for licensed research growers
Newly published Health Ministry rules limited controlled-plant cultivation permits to eligible government and research or educational institutions for medical or scientific purposes, Al-Jarida reported. They required a responsible pharmacist, seed and crop records, secure premises and official supervision of destruction when the licensed purpose ended. The rules implemented the institutional cultivation route in the 2025 drug law.
๐น๐ญ Thailand Tightening โ
Thailand lets foreigners be deported without a conviction
An Office of the Prime Minister regulation on deportation took effect, allowing foreigners to be deported for conduct considered contrary to public order, good morals or the wellbeing of the public, without a criminal conviction, and introducing the possibility of re-entry bans. The regulation is not specific to drugs.
๐ณ๏ธ Abkhazia Other law โ Article
Abkhazia sets a ten-plant threshold for serious cannabis-growing cases
The cabinet announced a ten-plant threshold for the large-scale cultivation offence, expressly including plants of the Cannabis genus, in an amendment to the 2013 quantity rules. The decision was to take effect upon official publication. Ordinary unauthorised cultivation remained a separate offence carrying six to eight years in prison, while the large-scale tier carried ten to twelve years.
๐ธ๐ฝ Sint Maarten Debate โ
Sint Maartenโs prime minister warns against rushing cannabis sales
Prime minister Luc Mercelina told parliament that cannabis legislation should follow a settled policy choice and the capacity to supervise it, rather than a deadline within his governmentโs term. He distinguished legalisation from a commercial market and called for health services, youth safeguards, legal and treaty review, and coordination across the islandโs French border. He left options ranging from continued prohibition to medical or broader regulated models open.
๐ซ๐ท France Tightening โ
France raises the on-the-spot drug-use fine to โฌ500
From 20 August 2026 the fixed fine for illicit use of a scheduled drug is โฌ500, or โฌ400 if paid within 15 days and โฌ1,000 if the fine is increased. A court that convicts someone of that offence, or of the offence in article L3421-6, may also suspend a driving licence or a powered-boat licence for up to three years. The one-year prison sentence and the โฌ3,750 fine remain available. Law 2026-798 was published on 19 August 2026, and the code article is in force from the next day.
๐ฒ๐ด Macau Tightening โ
Macau adds HHC to its controlled drugs
HHC, or hexahydrocannabinol, entered Macauโs controlled-drug Table II-B on 18 August 2026. The amendment also added other substances and replaced the daily-reference annex used in drug cases. Cannabis, resin and oil remained controlled under the existing law.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Virginia Tightening โ
Virginia ends its CBD-ratio exception to the hemp THC cap
According to the Cannabis Control Authority's implementation notice, products containing more than two milligrams of total THC per package could no longer be produced or sold as hemp products from 15 August. The change removed the exception based on a CBD-to-THC ratio of 25 to one. It concerns the hemp-product market, not a new adult-use flower possession limit.
๐ต๐ซ French Polynesia Medical โ
Nine growers are chosen for French Polynesia's cannabis pilot
Nine producers were selected for a one-year pilot under the 2024 law, with plants below 0.3% THC and first harvests expected in April 2027. A last arrรชtรฉ designating the plots was still due.
๐ฉ๐ฏ Djibouti Enforcement โ
Djibouti gendarmes seize 12 kg of cannabis in Balbala
The Einguella gendarmerie brigade broke up what it called a cannabis distribution network in the Balbala district of Djibouti City, finding 88 packages weighing 12 kg at a storage site, with an estimated street value of 1.76 million Djiboutian francs. Several people were arrested, held in police custody before presentation to the justice authorities.
๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea Tightening โ Article
A court sets a K30,000 fine or 20 years for marijuana
The Tari District Court convicted a man after police and soldiers found about 4.7 kg in 60 rolls. It ordered him to pay K30,000 or serve 20 years, illustrating the severe sentences courts continued to impose under the 2021 regime.
๐ป๐ฎ US Virgin Islands Debate โ Article
US Virgin Islands say cannabis sales must wait for a testing laboratory
Cannabis regulator Joanne Moorehead told lawmakers that commercial sales needed a working product-testing laboratory, with stakeholders targeting October readiness. Her office had conditionally approved growers, manufacturers and dispensaries, and hoped at least two dispensaries could open before year-end. By September, she reported that the laboratory was operational and the first St. Croix commercial grow had a certificate to operate.
๐ง๐ท Brazil Medical โ Article
Brazil's first legal cannabis cultivation rules take effect
Companies may grow low-THC cannabis for medicines and research under special authorisation, and patient associations may grow for their members in a supervised trial scheme.
๐ณ๐ต Nepal Medical โ Article
Gandaki authenticates a cannabis cultivation law
On 3 August 2026 the province chief authenticated Gandaki's Medicinal and Industrial Cannabis Cultivation Act, after first sending the bill back over a conflict with federal law. The gazetted text, section 1(2), starts the Act on a date fixed by a further gazette notice. A review on 13 October had not found that notice. No licence can be issued until the province makes rules under section 31. Licensed growing would be for medicinal and industrial use in designated zones, with THC capped at 0.3%, and growing without a licence stays a crime under the national narcotics law.
๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana Hemp โ
Ghana issues its first two low-THC cultivation licences
On 31 July the Narcotics Control Commission presented the first cannabis cultivation licences to MG Adom Limited and Juliopta Limited. Director-General Maxwell Obuba Mantey said the licences are only for cannabis of no more than 0.3 per cent THC, for industrial, medicinal and research purposes that the licence allows. He told the companies to keep to those conditions, and said that growing without a licence, or above that THC limit, would be dealt with under the law. Recreational cannabis remains illegal.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท District of Columbia Medical โ
Washington, DC temporarily changes medical-cannabis licensing and enforcement
Emergency Act 26-391 took effect on 30 July. It extends conditional medical-cannabis licences to up to three years and permits a zoning certificate instead of a certificate of occupancy in a permanent-licence application. A conditional licence still does not authorise cannabis trading or production. The Act also extends specified enforcement and summary-closure powers, with notice and hearing procedures. The regulatorโs 31 August announcement says the emergency measure lasts until 28 October 2026; continued operation beyond that date requires a successor measure.
๐ฉ๐ช Germany Medical โ Article
German health insurers stop paying for cannabis flower
From 30 July 2026 statutory health insurance no longer pays for dried cannabis flower. The health ministry's FAQ dates the same statute's entry into force as 29 July. Extracts in standardised quality, and medicines containing dronabinol or nabilone, can still be covered. A first insured prescription starts with a six-month trial of an authorised cannabis finished medicine. A patient already on an extract or a compounded preparation before 30 July can continue without that trial. A doctor can still prescribe flower as a private prescription.
๐ฆ๐บ Australia Debate โ
A Victorian bill asks for a vote on legalising cannabis
David Ettershank of Legalise Cannabis Victoria moved the second reading of the Cannabis Legalisation Plebiscite Bill 2026 in the state's Legislative Council. It would require a non-binding plebiscite, held within two years, on legalising cannabis for personal use. Debate was adjourned for two weeks without a vote.
๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia Death penalty โ Article
Saudi Arabia executes ten Ethiopians in hashish cases
Five Ethiopian migrants were executed for allegedly smuggling hashish, after five others on 23 June. Human Rights Watch reported that the latest group had no lawyers and only limited interpretation during extremely short court hearings.
๐ฌ๐ท Greece Tightening โ Article
Greece bans smokable products with added cannabinoids
Article 84 of Law 5322/2026 banned making, selling or buying any product meant for smoking, vaping or inhaling that consists of plant material to which natural or synthetic cannabinoids have been added, for example by spraying. Offenders face the trafficking penalties of the drug law. Licensed pharmaceutical cannabis is exempt.
๐ง๐ฒ Bermuda Debate โ
Bermuda prioritises hemp and medical cannabis reform
National Security minister Ryan Robinson Perinchief said drafting instructions had been issued for hemp and medical cannabis reforms, with initial implementation targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The hemp changes were intended to clarify compliance for products already being sold, while the medical work aimed to improve patient access. He said a wider regulated adult-use regime would take longer because of Bermudaโs constitutional relationship with the UK and the need for further coordination.
๐ช๐ธ Spain Debate โ Article
Spain's cabinet backs a tobacco law that would hit cannabis clubs
The Council of Ministers approved a draft overhaul of the 2005 tobacco law that would remove the exemption for private smokers' clubs, one of the legal props the cannabis clubs rely on. It had not completed its passage by October.
๐ฐ๐ฌ Kyrgyzstan Enforcement โ
Kyrgyzstan reports three arrests over cannabis teas and oils
Police reported detaining three suspects after investigating cannabis products prepared for a festival in Tuura-Suu and searching homes and a shop. The Interior Ministry said laboratory tests found marijuana in two sample packages; searches also recovered cannabis oil, marijuana, seeds and products marketed as teas and other goods. A supply investigation was continuing when the arrests were reported.
๐จ๐ด Colombia Debate โ
A Colombian bill would put adult-use cannabis in the constitution
On 20 July members of the House filed Proyecto de Acto Legislativo 017/2026, a constitutional amendment to Article 49. It would let adults use cannabis and put production, processing, distribution and sale under public licences, health controls and local taxes. The Chamber lists it as still in committee. The Supreme Court's July digest of congressional gazettes records it as Gazette 863 of 2026. It is a proposal.
๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe Enforcement โ Article
Zimbabwe reports a four-year prison term for 19.49 kg of cannabis
Prosecutors reported that Clever Makwarimba, a fifty-three-year-old man from Zvishavane, received an effective four-year prison sentence for unlawful possession of 19.49 kg of cannabis. Detectives acting on a tip searched his travelling bag and satchel on the BeitbridgeโMasvingo Highway on 11 July and found eight large packages. The report came after separate medical-production and industrial-hemp licensing routes had been introduced.
๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro Debate โ
Montenegroโs cabinet proposes early drug warnings and wider advertising bans
The cabinet approved proposed drug-law amendments creating an early-warning system for new psychoactive substances and closer information sharing with the EU drugs agency. The draft also widened the drug-advertising ban and added an individual advertising offence to the existing โฌ100โโฌ2,000 fine band. The Official Gazette later recorded a drug-law amendment taking effect on 7 August 2026.
๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh Death penalty โ
Bangladesh adds a digital drug offence that can carry death
The Narcotics Control (Amendment) Act 2026, Act No. 101 of 2026, is dated 16 July 2026. Section 36A makes it an offence to use a website, social media, an app, another digital medium, or a digital payment, e-wallet, virtual asset or cryptocurrency to buy, sell, supply, offer, advertise, broker or communicate about a narcotic. Recovery of the drug is not required. The sentence is any term of imprisonment or death, and a fine of up to 2 million taka. An international or organised case under the next subsection is any term of imprisonment, a fine of up to 5 million taka, or both, and that subsection does not itself state the death penalty. This is not the penalty for ordinary possession. On 16 August 2026 the narcotics department filed its first case under the section, over THC and CBD products it said had been sold on Daraz.
๐ฐ๐ช Kenya Other law โ
Kenya's High Court upholds the cannabis ban against a Rastafari challenge
Justice Bahati Mwamuye dismissed in its entirety a petition by the Rastafari Society of Kenya against the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act that criminalise possessing, using and growing cannabis. The society had asked only for an exemption for private use in worship. The court found that the petitioners had not proved a violation of their rights, that any limit was justified by public health and safety, and that they had not first used other legal and administrative routes. The judge added that cannabis use is now widespread, questioned whether scarce enforcement resources should go on small amounts, and called for a full and frank conversation, while saying that a change of policy belongs to other institutions and not the courts.
๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh Enforcement โ
Bangladesh counts 105 border points used by traffickers
A report in July 2026 counted at least 105 border points in 18 districts used to bring in narcotics of all kinds. Authorities seized 96,358 kg of cannabis in 2025, down from 114,345 kg in 2024.
๐ง๐ธ Bahamas Medical โ Article
The Bahamas still has not opened cannabis licensing
Two years after the cannabis legislation passed, the chairman of the Bahamas Cannabis Authority said the licence application portal had not opened; an earlier target of late June or early July had slipped. Applications will go through compliance checks and police vetting before the board decides, and every dispensary will need a registered pharmacist.
๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra Other law โ
Andorra passes a new Criminal Code that keeps cannabis use a minor offence
The General Council passed a new Criminal Code, to take effect four months after its publication. It carries over unchanged the minor offence of using, growing, bringing in or possessing cannabis for one's own use, with arrest and a fine of 500 to 1,200 euros, as article 545.
๐ธ๐ช Sweden Tightening โ
Sweden bans THCA
The government classified a group of substances as narcotics, among them THCA, the acid form of THC sold mostly in vapes. The poison information centre had logged eleven calls about it since 2024.
๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia Other law โ Article
Namibia's High Court declines to rule on the cannabis ban
Judge Claudia Claasen upheld the government's special plea and ended, at this stage, the challenge filed in 2021. She held that cannabis policy is primarily for the executive and the legislature, that the dispute involves public health, law enforcement and social policy together, and that a court should not interfere while the government is reviewing the legislation. She did not decide whether the ban is constitutional.
๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina Medical โ Article
Bosnia sets a deadline for its stalled medical cannabis rules
Six months after cannabis-based medicines were approved, a meeting called by the Ministry of Civil Affairs found that nothing had been done to amend the prescribing rulebook. The Federation's health ministry was given until 1 August to draft the changes; without them the medicines agency cannot file the estimate needed before imports are approved.
๐ซ๐ท France Medical โ Article
France sends its medical cannabis decree to the Conseil d'รtat
The decree sets out how the health authority will assess cannabis medicines and at what rate they are reimbursed. About 700 patients left in the pilot are covered until 31 December 2026; first prescriptions under a permanent regime are possible in 2027.
๐ป๐ณ Vietnam Other law โ Article
Vietnam's new drug law takes effect
Law 120/2025/QH15, passed on 10 December 2025, replaced the 2021 drug law. It names the cannabis plant as a narcotic plant, bans growing it or teaching others to grow it, and leaves cultivation out of the activities that can be licensed.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Georgia Medical โ
Georgia lets registered patients buy cannabis flower for vaporization
Georgia widened its medical programme beyond low-THC oil to tinctures, patches, capsules and other approved products, including flower for vaporization. Registered patients and caregivers may possess up to 12,000 mg THC in labelled pharmaceutical packaging, with a 1,200 mg limit per package; smoking remains prohibited. The law took effect on 1 July after the governor signed it on 12 May. Vaporization remains prohibited for patients aged 21 or younger.
๐ฐ๐พ Cayman Islands Debate โ
Cayman consults on 30 grams, four plants and clearing old convictions
Caymanโs Law Reform Commission opened consultation on replacing criminal penalties for personal cannabis possession and use, asking about limits of 30 grams of dried cannabis, 150 grams of wet cannabis and four plants per household. It also asked whether old minor convictions should be cleared, arguing that criminal records can limit peopleโs economic opportunities. The review followed the 2025 referendum and invited comments by 1 September 2026; in October the premier expected the final report and supporting legislation in November or December.
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina Medical โ
Argentina publishes a licence for medicinal cannabis seeds and cuttings
ARICCAME Resolution 41/2026, adopted on 26 June and published on 30 June, opens a special adaptation licence for seeds, seedlings and cuttings of cannabis for medicinal use. The window runs until 1 March 2027. The recitals tie it to people and companies that already held authorisations from the health ministry, the seed institute or the agricultural health service. Selling flowers, or making derivatives, is outside the licence, and any flowers that appear while plants are multiplied for propagation cannot be sold. The resolution takes effect on the tenth administrative working day after publication.
๐น๐ฌ Togo Enforcement โ
Togo reports over 50 tonnes of drugs seized, mainly cannabis
Togo reported that security forces had seized more than 50 tonnes of drugs in 2025, mainly cannabis, alongside 52 kg of cocaine and psychotropic drugs. Security minister Calixte Madjoulba pointed to the seizures as evidence of anti-trafficking work. The report described Togoโs port and position on the AbidjanโLagos corridor as routes used by traffickers, following the January destruction of cannabis seized in 2024.
๐น๐ณ Tunisia Debate โ
Tunisia's parliament hears the interior ministry on amending Law 52
The general legislation committee of parliament heard representatives of the interior ministry on a members' bill to amend Law 52 of 18 May 1992 on narcotics. The ministry reported about 15,253 drug cases in 2025 involving about 27,338 people, nearly 89% of them aged 19 to 40. It said a commission drawn from all the ministries and bodies concerned would prepare a text for an overall revision of the law, and proposed updating the schedules of substances annexed to it.
๐จ๐ฆ Canada ยท Nova Scotia Tightening โ
Nova Scotia raises fines for buying and selling outside its legal cannabis market
Provincial amendments and supporting regulations came into force. Buying outside the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation carries a C$600โ5,000 fine; unlawful individual sales carry C$5,000โ25,000 and business sales C$15,000โ50,000. New offences target advertising illegal sales and landlords allowing sales on their property. The changes do not prohibit lawful adult possession or home cultivation.
๐ฌ๐บ Guam Other law โ Article
Guam clears its first commercial cannabis grower to operate
The Cannabis Control Board unanimously approved an operating permit for Deep Green Guam after inspections and agency clearances. The grower had received conditional licence approval in February, seven years after adult use became legal. The tax department said further steps were required before production and sales could begin, while home cultivation continued to supply residents.
๐ฌ๐ช Georgia Easing โ
Georgiaโs top court bars prison in a tiny cannabis-resin case
Paata Cherkezishvili challenged punishment for buying or possessing 0.1315 g of cannabis resin for personal use. The Constitutional Court struck down imprisonment under the code as it stood before May 2025, including for someone with a prior drug conviction, while leaving criminal liability in place. The judgment followed a 2022 ruling on repeat possession of the same resin amount and took effect on publication. It concerns resin; the separate restrictions on dried cannabis remain in the countryโs possession rules.
๐ง๐พ Belarus Enforcement โ
Belarus reports more drug sentences served under restriction of liberty
The Prosecutor Generalโs Office reported that restriction of liberty made up 48% of drug sentences in the previous year, with personal-use offences its most frequent application. Short custodial sentences rose from 0.14% to 3.4% of sentences. The figures covered drug offences generally and followed the 2025 expansion of sentencing options.
๐ฎ๐ช Ireland Debate โ Article
An Irish parliamentary committee recommends decriminalising possession
The Oireachtas committee on drugs use, chaired by Gary Gannon, published a final report with 161 recommendations. It called for repealing Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, so that possessing any drug for personal use would no longer be a crime. The government had committed to a health-led approach but had shown little sign of preparing such a law.
๐ฎ๐ณ India Enforcement โ
India's narcotics bureau reports 634 tonnes of cannabis seized
The Narcotics Control Bureau's annual report for 2025 counted 633.59 tonnes of cannabis seized, about half of all drugs by weight, up from 540.8 tonnes in 2024 but below the 816.9 tonnes of 2021. The bureau pointed to a new trend of potent hydroponic ganja reaching the big cities from abroad: cases rose from 102 in 2021 to 687 in 2025 and seizures from 303 kg to 4,862 kg, nearly all of it caught at airports.
๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius Debate โ
Mauritius consults the public on cannabis reform
The National Agency for Drug Control held public consultations from 8 to 12 June 2026 and was to report at the end of July on the legal framework, medical use, industrial hemp and support for users. L'Express reported that the recommendations were expected to centre on changes to the Drug Users Administrative Panel, the diversion scheme created in 2022, not on wider legalisation. Critics said the law sets no quantity separating a user from a trafficker. The report was delivered in September.
๐จ๐ฟ Czechia Debate โ Article
Czechia's new government announces a tougher drug policy
Prime Minister Andrej Babiลก said after a cabinet meeting that he would not run a liberal drug policy and announced 18 measures across four laws. As reported by ฤTK they include cutting the THC limit for hemp from 1% to 0.3%, banning CBD products, taking kratom off sale and making some conduct a crime again. The former drug coordinator Jindลich Voboลil called it a return to before 1989. None of it had been adopted.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Alabama Medical โ
Alabama opens its first medical cannabis dispensary
Registered Alabama patients could buy licensed medical cannabis when Callieโs Apothecary opened in Montgomery on 4 June. Patients need Alabama residency, a qualifying condition, a certified physicianโs recommendation and a registry card; the approved products exclude raw plant material and products that can be smoked or vaped. The commission later listed openings in Talladega on 28 August and Athens on 14 September.
๐ฌ๐ฑ Greenland Debate โ
Greenland's government puts customs and prevention first on hash
Greenlandโs government backed stronger customs controls and prevention in its response to a parliamentary debate on reducing hash use. It pointed to funding for three to five additional customs officers in the 2025 budget and Allorfikโs expanding cannabis treatment and counselling since 2016. Its response linked action to children and families and the national public-health strategy.
๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand Hemp ?
New Zealand lets hemp be grown on notice instead of under licence
Amendment regulations replaced the hemp licensing scheme of 2006. Hemp, cannabis of at most 1% THC by dry weight and the seed of such plants, may now be grown, processed, held and supplied within New Zealand without a licence for specified purposes, among them breeding, making hemp products and supplying the medicinal cannabis scheme. A grower must first notify both Police and the Ministry for Primary Industries; a notification is valid for a year. Importing and exporting hemp plants and seed still needs a licence. Hemp remains a controlled drug outside these rules, and growing any other cannabis is still a crime.
๐จ๐ฉ DR Congo Tightening โ
A Congolese province announces a formal ban on selling and using cannabis
The interior and security minister of Kasaรฏ Oriental province, Patrick Mukendi Makanda, announced in a communiquรฉ the formal prohibition of the sale and consumption of cannabis across the province, together with a 22:00 closing time for drinking places. The communiquรฉ said cannabis smoking houses and late-night alcohol sellers had become meeting places where criminals planned their crimes, and threatened severe sanctions under the laws in force, without naming them. A year earlier, on 9 June 2025, 191 sacks of seized cannabis were burned at Mwene-Ditu in neighbouring Lomami in front of the city authorities.
๐จ๐ฑ Chile Tightening โ Article
Chile lets trafficking penalties reach small amounts
Law 21.817, passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 23 March by 130 votes to 12 and published on 23 May, adds a rule to Law 20.000: small quantities of substances that a regulation lists as capable of serious harm are punished as trafficking. The ministry has six months to write that list. Cannabis is not named, but the existing decree classes it with the most harmful drugs, and 37 deputies challenged the rule at the Constitutional Court for that reason.
๐ฌ๐ท Greece Tightening โ Article
Greece bans retail sale of hemp flower
Article 43 of Law 5302/2026 raised the THC limit for hemp from 0.2% to 0.3%, but at the same time banned selling dried hemp flower to consumers, and consumers buying or using it. Import and wholesale for industrial processing, such as cosmetics, stay legal. The medicines agency said the ban applied at once and announced shop inspections.
๐ฎ๐ฒ Isle of Man Debate โ
Tynwald turns down a citizens' jury on a regulated cannabis market
Tynwald rejected Dr Alex Allinson's motion for a citizens' jury to consider timelines for a regulated recreational cannabis market. An amendment reaffirming the 2024 policy principles on drug harm passed instead, and the government said an action plan would be published that summer.
๐ซ๐ฒ Micronesia Debate โ Article
A bill in Micronesia's Congress would set minimum fines for trafficking
Congressional Bill 24-153 would amend the trafficking section of the national code to add a minimum fine of 5,000 dollars for Schedule I and II narcotics, alongside up to ten years in prison. It keeps the rule that giving away an ounce or less of marihuana for no payment is treated as simple possession.
๐จ๐ด Colombia Debate โ Article
A Colombian House committee backs a legal cannabis market
The First Committee of the House of Representatives approved in first debate a bill to regulate adult use: sales to adults through dispensaries, clubs of 10 to 350 members, up to 20 plants per adult at home, a 20% tax, and most cultivation licences reserved for peasant and ethnic growers. It was the ninth such bill since 2020; the earlier ones were all shelved. It still needed the full House and the Senate.
๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria Other law โ Article
Algeria's replacement Road Code sets out drug-driving offences
Law 26-09 was promulgated on 12 May and published in Official Gazette 36 on 17 May. Article 137 provides one to two years in prison and DZD100,000โ200,000 for driving, or accompanying a learner, under the influence of narcotics or psychotropic substances. Refusing prescribed examinations attracts the relevant intoxication penalties under article 143. Courts may additionally withdraw or suspend a licence for up to five years. The code repeals Law 01-14 while retaining its implementing texts pending replacement. Professional transport drivers also face employment-related drug examinations.
๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia Debate โ
An Armenian bill would double the fine for a small amount
Hayk Sargsyan, of the governing Civil Contract party, presented amendments in second reading to a parliamentary committee. The fine for making, acquiring or keeping a small quantity for personal use would rise from 200,000โ400,000 drams to 400,000โ800,000, and to as much as 1.6 million for a repeat within a year. Selling through Telegram would bring five to ten years where it now brings three to six, and selling to minors eight to fifteen.
๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon Enforcement โ
Gabon prosecutors burn seized cannabis and other drugs in Libreville
Libreville prosecutors destroyed three truckloads of seized drugs, including cannabis, in the presence of Justice Minister Augustin Emane. The ministry valued the combined haul at nearly five billion CFA francs and said the operation aimed to prevent seized drugs from returning to sale. The Penal Code requires confiscation and destruction of drugs seized in the offences covered by its drug provisions.
๐จ๐ญ Switzerland Debate โ Article
Swiss committee continues work on the cannabis market bill
The National Council health committee voted 16โ8, with one abstention, to continue work on its cannabis-market bill despite divided consultation responses. It asked a subcommittee to revise the draft's most disputed points during 2026 and rejected, by 17โ8, a proposal to suspend the work pending full results from the pilot trials.
๐ต๐ผ Palau Tightening โ Article
Palau toughens its drug law
President Surangel Whipps Jr. signed RPPL 12-5, which the legislature had passed in April. It raises penalties for drug crimes, requires drug tests at least twice a year for police, health workers and other designated employees, and treats a positive test for an illegal drug as possession of a small amount; driving under the influence of an illegal drug, marijuana included, can be charged the same way. The reports read deal mainly with methamphetamine and do not say how marijuana penalties changed.
๐ญ๐น Haiti Enforcement โ
The US Coast Guard hands Haiti a boat carrying 1.5 tonnes of marijuana
The United States Coast Guard stopped a vessel about eight nautical miles off Mรดle- Saint-Nicolas carrying about 3,200 pounds of marijuana, valued at 3.8 million dollars, and detained one person. The cargo and the suspect were handed to the Haitian authorities for prosecution.
๐บ๐ธ United States Medical โ Article
The US moves state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III
A DEA final rule, announced by the acting attorney general on 23 April and in force on publication, placed cannabis in FDA-approved medicines and cannabis held under a state medical licence in Schedule III. It relied on treaty obligations, which let it skip the usual comment period. Unlicensed and adult-use cannabis stayed in Schedule I, and a hearing on moving all cannabis opened on 29 June.
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore Death penalty โ Article
Singapore carries out another cannabis execution
Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj was executed for importing 1,009.1 g of cannabis, about twice the 500 g capital threshold. His conviction dated from 2021 and had been upheld on appeal.
๐บ๐พ Uruguay Debate โ
Uruguay publishes its second evaluation of legal cannabis
The government's second evaluation of Law 19,172 found that classic trafficking of pressed cannabis, the main source in 2014, supplied only 6.7% of users in 2024. Pharmacies had 74,583 registered buyers at the end of 2024, but only 20 to 40% of them bought in any month, and the report said supply and distribution problems keep the legal market at about half its potential. It also said the law had reduced police and court action over minor cannabis conduct.
๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania Enforcement โ
Three years after Albania's cannabis law, no licence has been issued
A review at the end of April found that Albania had still not issued a licence under the law of July 2023 that permits growing for medical and industrial use and created a National Cannabis Control Agency. About a year after the law the government had approved the zones where cultivation would be allowed.
๐จ๐ฑ Chile Debate โ Article
Chilean deputies ask the Constitutional Court to stop a tougher drug law
Thirty-seven opposition deputies challenged a reform of Law 20.000 that Congress had passed. It would let trafficking penalties apply to small amounts when a substance is judged capable of serious harm, weighing potential harm and not only quantity. The deputies argued it would treat users and medical growers as traffickers. The law had not yet been promulgated.
๐ฌ๐บ Guam Easing โ
Guam extends its cannabis testing exemption from two years to five
Guam extended the temporary cannabis laboratory-testing exemption from two years to five years after enactment of the original law. Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said no licensed laboratory had opened and the exemption was otherwise due to expire that July. Lawmakers also cited problems obtaining agency clearances; Deep Green Guam received the first cultivation operating permit in June.
๐ช๐จ Ecuador Debate โ Article
Ecuador's Assembly admits a citizens' cannabis bill
With 142 of 151 votes the National Assembly admitted a proposal from cannabis organisations to allow growing for personal use and sales in state-regulated shops. Its backers must now collect at least 35,000 signatures for the electoral council to verify; the Assembly then has three months to debate it.
๐ง๐ด Bolivia Debate โ Article
Bolivia considers medical cannabis prescriptions and licensed supply
A bill from deputy Sandra Hinojosa Nรบรฑez would let registered patients obtain prescribed cannabis derivatives through authorised pharmacies, supplied by licensed growers and manufacturers. It also proposes closing prosecutions for proven medicinal cannabis-oil possession where there is no indication of illicit selling. Parliament received the proposal in April and still listed it among pending bills in October 2026; recreational use would remain prohibited.
๐จ๐ฆ Canada Medical โ
Canada lowers veterans' medical cannabis reimbursement ceiling
Veterans Affairs Canada reduced its maximum reimbursement from C$8.50 to C$6 per dried gram or equivalent for products ordered on or after 1 April. Existing authorised quantities and eligible product forms remained unchanged; patients buying above the ceiling pay the difference. This is a change to a specific federal benefit, not a general cannabis price cap.
๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein Tightening โ
Liechtenstein puts a whole class of cannabinoid derivatives under control
A government regulation of 31 March 2026 amending the Narcotics Regulation, published in the Law Gazette on 3 April, replaced two individual entries with a generic one headed Cannabinoids. It covers any substance whose structure derives from the benzo[c]chromen-1-ol skeleton with alkyl groups at positions 3, 6 and 9, whatever its degree of hydrogenation, unless it is already listed elsewhere. Industrial and scientific use is exempt from control; private use is expressly not.
๐ต๐ฑ Poland Debate โ Article
A bill to stop punishing 15 grams and one plant is filed in Poland's Sejm
The bill came out of a cross-party parliamentary team on decriminalisation led by Ryszard Petru and Klaudia Jachira, and was filed by the Centrum club. It would add an exception to article 62 of the drug act so that possessing up to 15 grams of cannabis for personal use is not punished, and change article 63 so that growing one plant is not either; selling would stay a crime. It received print number 2672 on 11 June and was moved from the health committee to the justice committee on 1 July. By early September 2026 it had not had a first reading.
๐ป๐ฎ US Virgin Islands Easing โ
US Virgin Islands replace a hemp inventory freeze with a sales window
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. approved a replacement rule telling retailers to report their intoxicating-cannabinoid inventory within 60 days and sell or otherwise dispose of it within 75 days of the actโs effective date. The cannabis regulator was then to plan the lawful disposal of remaining stock. This replaced the January lawโs ban on selling or distributing existing inventory until regulations and retail licences were in place.
๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand Enforcement โ
New Zealand's cannabis possession charges reach an eight-year high
Ministry of Justice figures reported in March 2026 showed 3,438 people charged with possessing cannabis in 2025, up from 2,881 in 2024 and 2,287 in 2023, the highest number since a 2019 law change told police to consider a health-based response first. Of all convictions for cannabis offences, 82% came alongside charges unrelated to cannabis; 506 people were convicted of cannabis offences alone in 2025, against 387 in 2023.
๐บ๐ธ United States ยท Ohio Tightening โ
Ohio limits cannabis gifts to a private home or farm
Senate Bill 56 took effect on 20 March. An adult may possess up to 2.5 ounces of plant material, or 15 grams of extract, when it comes from a licensed Ohio dispensary or was grown at that adult's primary residence. A gift to another adult, with no payment, may be that same amount to the same person on the same day, and only on privately owned land used mainly as a home or a farm, including the buildings on it. A transfer outside those conditions is trafficking. Medical marijuana is outside the gift rule.
๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana Hemp โ Article
Ghana opens licensing for low-THC cannabis
The interior minister launched the programme for growing low-THC cannabis for medical and industrial use, under the 2023 amendment act and regulations. Applicants must be Ghanaian citizens or permanent residents aged 18 or over, and companies at least half Ghanaian-owned.
๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic Debate โ
A Dominican senator proposes ending prison for drug users
The Senate took up a bill by Senator Edward Espiritusanto of La Romana to amend Article 75 of Law 50-88. Under the law in force, simple possession carries six months to two years in prison and a fine of 1,500 to 2,500 pesos. The bill would remove prison for possession or consumption and have the authorities refer the person to evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation or harm-reduction programmes under health ministry protocols. Penalties for distributors (3 to 10 years), traffickers (5 to 20 years) and financiers (30 years) would stay as they are.
๐ธ๐ฝ Sint Maarten Debate โ
Sint Maartenโs MPs hear a proposal for a regulated cannabis industry
Native Nations SXM presented its proposed cannabis framework to a parliamentary committee, including an independent oversight commission, licensing and product-safety controls. Its promoters argued that regulation would support local economic development and protect health and young people. Parliament later announced a continuation of the meeting after the March hearing was adjourned.
๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro Enforcement โ
Montenegro police file complaints against two more Trnovo suspects
Police filed supplementary criminal complaints against two men from Zeta, aged 42 and 49, on suspicion of drug production and supply linked to the Trnovo cannabis plantation. Investigators cited forensic examinations, analysis of traces and other collected evidence; three earlier suspects had already been processed. The case began with the discovery of about 13,100 plants near Bar in August 2025.
๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova Other law โ Article
Moldova's new drug law takes effect
Law 201/2025, passed on 10 July 2025 and published on 28 August, replaced the 1999 law six months after publication. It bans growing cannabis for drugs, lets hemp with up to 0.3% THC be grown under an authorisation from the food safety agency, and allows seed for sowing to be supplied only to authorised growers.
๐ฌ๐บ Guam Other law โ
Guam approves its first two commercial cannabis growing licences
The Cannabis Control Board approved a cultivation licence for Pacific Root LLC, trading as Pacific Cultivation, and conditionally approved one for Guam Real Deal LLC, trading as Deep Green Guam. The businesses could then seek operating permits after years of delays implementing the 2019 adult-use law. Board chair Vanessa Williams Cruz described a learning curve for both applicants and government agencies.
๐ง๐ผ Botswana Debate โ
Botswana plans to ban driving under the influence of drugs
The assistant minister of transport, Keoagile Atamelang, announced proposed Road Traffic Act amendments at a consultative meeting in Kgomokasitwa, describing existing provisions as targeting drunk drivers while leaving drug impairment largely unaddressed. That is the announcement's characterisation, not an accurate statement that drug driving was lawful: published section 46(2) already prohibits driving while unfit through drugs, with penalties under section 46(4). No commencement date or enacted replacement was established by this report.
๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan Enforcement โ
Juba's authorities raid drug-selling spots
Security forces of Central Equatoria State, led by the deputy governor with the Juba City Council, raided the Suk Sita and Hai Amarat areas of Juba and seized marijuana, known locally as bangi, with tramadol and codeine syrups. The council warned that anyone trafficking in illegal substances would face the full force of the law.
๐ต๐ญ Philippines Medical โ
Philippine House panels revive medical-cannabis legislation
The joint House committees on dangerous drugs and health approved a consolidated bill to legalise medical cannabis, ABS-CBN reported on 24 February 2026. The sources read do not show it becoming law.
๐ธ๐ง Solomon Islands Debate โ Article
Solomon Islands MPs examine tougher general drug-offence penalties
A parliamentary committee examined the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2025, No. 9 of 2025. Its official call for submissions set a deadline and announced an inquiry start of 17 February 2026; contemporary reporting on 20 February described proposed life sentences and larger fines. The proposal is not counted as enacted law. Existing section 8 already expressly criminalises cannabis possession, growing and giving; reports of wider gaps in drug legislation should not be read as an absence of cannabis offences.
๐ฌ๐ฉ Grenada Legalisation โ Article
Grenada legalises possession and home growing
From February 2026 adults aged 21 and over may possess 56 g of cannabis, and four plants at a household are outside the growing offence. The agriculture ministry says a grower registers with the Cannabis Secretariat before planting, and that the rules for signing up would follow. Parliament passed the bill with support from both sides. Past convictions for those amounts are wiped, and sale remains an offence.
1139+28 points
๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan Enforcement โ
Tajikistan reports 2.7 tonnes of drugs seized on the Afghan border
The head of Tajikistan's Drug Control Agency said about 2,742 kg of narcotics were seized along the border with Afghanistan in 2025, and the authorities said trafficking from Afghanistan had risen by nearly half over 2024. In a case reported the same week, the security service seized 19 kg of hashish with 30 kg of opium and 9 kg of heroin in Shamsiddin Shohin district; the two men arrested face up to 20 years in prison.
๐ซ๐ฎ Finland Debate โ
Finland's parliament rejects a citizens' initiative to legalise cannabis
Parliament voted 145 to 18 against an initiative that would have legalised the use, possession, home growing, production and sale of cannabis with age limits. The Legal Affairs Committee had advised rejection, saying a legal market could raise consumption and harm across the population. Two members, from the Greens and the Left Alliance, dissented.
๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan Other law โ
Tajikistan revises permits for controlled-drug imports and exports
Tajikistan amended its drug law to require authorising documents under national legislation for controlled-drug and precursor imports and exports. It also revised precursor licensing and the police-law powers applied to Drug Control Agency staff. These amendments revised the licensing and enforcement statute adopted in 1999.
๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia Tightening โ
Police seize 40 tonnes of cannabis in North Macedonia
In late January and early February police in North Macedonia and Serbia seized 45 tonnes of cannabis, the largest drug bust in the region's history, about 40 tonnes of it in North Macedonia and about five in Serbia. The raids also found weapons caches. Between 2018 and 2024 North Macedonia had authorised 75 companies for the medical cannabis market and revoked 26 of the licences between 2021 and 2024. The authorities pledged to eliminate grey zones in the oversight of medical cannabis.
๐ณ๐ต Nepal Culture & science โ
Cannabis smoking continues at Nepal's Shivaratri gathering
Associated Press documented holy men and other devotees smoking cannabis at the Shivaratri gathering near Pashupatinath, despite the national prohibition.
๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico Debate โ
Mexico's Supreme Court falls one vote short of ending the 5 g limit
Five of nine justices voted to strike the 5 g limit from the health law with general effect, one fewer than the six needed. The man in the case, a homeless person held in Ciudad Juรกrez in 2021 with 14 g, won individual protection: the judge must weigh whether the cannabis was for his own use. The limit stays in force for everyone else.
๐ฏ๐ช Jersey Debate โ
Jersey puts off its cannabis reform debate until after the election
The States Assembly debate on three cannabis reform options from the health minister, set for 3 February 2026, was cancelled and deferred until at least after the June election. The options ranged from ending prosecution for small amounts to a state-run sales pilot; none would have changed the law immediately.
๐ธ๐ณ Senegal Enforcement โ
Senegal reports more than five tonnes of cannabis seized in a year
Figures presented in Dakar in February 2026 put seizures of Indian hemp in 2025 at 5,238 kg, with 1,302 people arrested in anti-drug operations, most of them tied to distribution networks in the informal sector. In October 2025 the gendarmerie's spokesman had said cannabis was the largest drug seized by weight that year, while cocaine seizures had doubled compared with 2024.
๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia Enforcement โ
Zambia's drug agency seizes over three tonnes of cannabis in one operation
The Drug Enforcement Commission said its Operation Kufeza had seized about 3.3 tonnes of cannabis: 1,751.6 kg of fresh plants and 4.8 kg of seeds in Central Province, 1,478 kg from cultivation in Nkeyema District in Western Province, and 68.42 kg of packed cannabis in Senanga District. Twelve suspects were arrested and were to appear in court.
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa Debate โ
South Africa publishes draft limits for private cannabis
The justice department gazetted draft regulations under the 2024 Cannabis for Private Purposes Act and invited comments until 5 March 2026. They would cap an adult's possession at 750 grams, in private or in public, and private growing at five plants of any size or strain, and set rules for carrying cannabis in a vehicle out of sight and for expunging old convictions. Until they are made final the Act is not in force.
๐น๐ท Tรผrkiye Hemp โ
Tรผrkiye rewrites its hemp cultivation rules
A new regulation on growing and controlling hemp allows fibre, seed and stalk production in 21 provinces with a permit from the local administrative authority. Growing for medicines and health products is confined to the state alkaloid factory site, organised agricultural zones or secure indoor facilities approved by the health ministry, with applications to the state grain board.
๐พ๐ช Yemen Enforcement โ
Yemen's government counts nearly three tonnes of hashish seized
The drug control administration of the interior ministry of Yemen's internationally recognised government reported 2,986 kg of hashish seized in 2025 in the governorates it controls, beside 1,530 kg of crystal methamphetamine, 169 kg of heroin and 482,596 Captagon pills. It counted 704 drug cases, 488 of them for use, and 1,260 suspects, of whom 827 were users.
๐ง๐ญ Bahrain Enforcement โ Article
Bahrain appeal court cuts a cannabis-seed sentence to ten years
An appeal court reduced a manโs sentence from fifteen years to ten and retained a 5,000-dinar fine and confiscation in a cannabis-seed and multiple-drug case, The Daily Tribune reported. Prosecutors said he held cannabis seeds for trafficking and hashish and pregabalin for personal use; investigators described a home-growing operation. Laboratory tests identified viable cannabis seeds and several drugs.
๐ป๐ฎ US Virgin Islands Tightening โ Article
US Virgin Islands require cannabis licences for intoxicating hemp products
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. approved a law requiring cannabis-regulator licences or permits for selling, possessing or manufacturing intoxicating hemp and artificially derived cannabinoids. It covered THCA products and specified altered or intoxicating cannabinoids, set civil fines starting at $2,500, and required age checks, independent testing and child-resistant packaging for licensed retail. Its original inventory freeze was replaced by reporting and sell-or-dispose deadlines in March.
๐ต๐ฆ Panama Medical โ
Panama's first medical cannabis pharmacy opens
The health ministry confirmed that seven licences to sell cannabis-derived products had been issued. All products are imported during a two-year transition.
๐ป๐บ Vanuatu Other law โ
Vanuatu keeps cannabis illegal outside its export licences
Agriculture Director General Timothy Tumukon told the public that cannabis and hemp activity required strict licensing, secure management and export, with no local sales. His comments followed public confusion in late 2025; he said the government had changed legislation to help approved firms obtain bank accounts. The export industry followed the licensing law and February 2023 rules.
๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia Other law โ
Zambia's controlled-substances law takes effect
The Controlled Substances Act came into force on 16 January 2026. It licences manufacture, import, export and dealing in controlled substances, and it repeals the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1967. Cannabis and cannabis resin are listed among the narcotic drugs. Possession of a listed substance without authorisation is an offence of up to fifteen years. The Cannabis Act's own licences for growing cannabis for medicine and research are still not in force.
๐ป๐ฎ US Virgin Islands Other law โ
US Virgin Islands publish conditional cannabis dispensary approvals
The Office of Cannabis Regulation published applicants approved for conditional dispensary licences as of 15 January. The rules describe conditional licences as contingent awards that reserve a place while applicants meet requirements, with buying and selling dependent on further authorisation. Later that year, regulators identified product testing as a condition for commercial sales.
๐น๐ฌ Togo Enforcement โ
Togo burns over five tonnes of cannabis seized in 2024
Togo reported burning more than 5,291 kg of cannabis seized across the country in 2024, within a total of 5,729.05 kg of drugs destroyed at Agoรจ in Lomรฉ. The anti-drug office and national anti-drug committee supervised the operation. Security minister Calixte Batossie Madjoulba presented the destruction as part of the governmentโs effort to protect public health and young people.
๐ง๐ผ Botswana Hemp โ
Botswana publishes rules for industrial cannabis with a 0.7% THC limit
Regulations published in January allow licensed farming, processing, transport, research and trade in what the government calls industrial cannabis, with a THC limit of 0.7 per cent. Cultivation licences run for three years and manufacturing licences for five. Applicants must supply site maps, security clearance, crop plans, THC testing protocols and proof of financial capacity, which some politicians called elitist. Marijuana and CBD remain illegal. In February the second licence went to a company linked to a Swedish hemp firm, and the finance minister said trials would begin at the agricultural university.
๐ช๐ช Estonia Debate โ
Estonia's justice minister proposes easing punishment for drug users
The ministry proposed raising the threshold for a large quantity of a narcotic from 10 doses to 30, so that holding less would be a misdemeanour and not a crime, while making it easier to convict dealers. The minister said possession of any narcotic would still be a misdemeanour with a fine of 2,400 euros.
๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon Enforcement โ
Gabon's police say cannabis seizures more than doubled in 2025
The commander of the National Police Forces, General Serge Hervรฉ Ngoma, reported that cannabis was the drug most often intercepted by the police: seizures rose from 433 kg in 2024 to 975 kg in 2025. The anti-drug office OCLAD took part in operations that seized nearly one tonne. He presented the rise as a sign of growing use and trafficking.
๐ธ๐ป El Salvador Enforcement โ
El Salvador reports 395 kg of marijuana among 25 tonnes of drugs
Defence minister Renรฉ Merino Monroy presented the security cabinet's figures for 2025: 25,011.05 kg of drugs seized, against 17,224.8 kg in 2024. Cocaine made up 24,612.59 kg of the total; marijuana accounted for 394.52 kg, valued at about 1.39 million dollars.
๐ท๐ธ Serbia Enforcement โ
Serbia's police report 5.43 tonnes of marijuana seized in a year
The interior ministry said police seized more than 6.1 tonnes of drugs in 2025, of which 5.43 tonnes were marijuana, and found 130 drug-growing and production sites: 37 indoor, 92 outdoor and one synthetic drug laboratory.
๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia Easing โ
Indonesia removes minimum prison terms for cannabis offences
People prosecuted for planting or possessing cannabis no longer face a special four-year minimum prison term: the basic maximum remains twelve years, with prison and/or a fine. The reform also removes minimum terms for sale and giving drugs to another person, while retaining life and death alternatives for specified serious offences. It took effect alongside the new Criminal Code, whose production and import offence replaces the old Article 113.
๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates Hemp โ
The UAE's industrial-hemp law takes effect
The federal decree regulating industrial and medical uses of industrial hemp, issued on 1 October 2025, took effect on 1 January 2026. It allows licensed cultivation at or below 0.3% THC in secured zones, licensed import and export of approved seeds by agricultural companies, and authorised medical products that contain hemp compounds. Personal and recreational use stay prohibited, as do hemp foods, supplements, veterinary products and smoking products. An emirate may prohibit or restrict an activity. Whether any cultivation licence has been issued, or any product is in a pharmacy, was not verified.
๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark Medical โ
Denmark makes its medical cannabis scheme permanent
The prescription scheme that began as a four-year trial in 2018 became permanent. Doctors may continue prescribing the scheme's cannabis products, pharmacies dispense them, and the licensed cultivation and production framework continues.
๐จ๐ฟ Czechia Legalisation โ Article
Czechia legalises possession and home growing
Act No. 270/2025, a reform of the criminal code, took effect on 1 January. Adults 21 and over may grow three plants and keep 100 g at home or 25 g in public; before, small amounts were only an administrative offence. Four or five plants, or up to twice those amounts, is an administrative offence, and more is a crime. Shops and clubs are still not allowed.
2944+15 points
๐จ๐ณ China Easing โ
China seals records of drug-use penalties
The revised Public Security Administration Punishments Law, passed on 27 June 2025, took effect. Article 136 seals records of public-security violations, drug use included: they may not be given out or published, except to state organs handling a case or bodies entitled to check under national rules. After a public outcry in late 2025 the legislature's legal commission said that sealing does not delete a record, and that drug use remains an offence punished under the same law.