Macau gives personal possession a fine-only alternative to prison

Macau’s 1991 drug law gave people caught acquiring or holding cannabis for themselves a chance to receive a fine alone. The penalty became up to three months in prison or a 500–10,000 pataca fine, replacing an older system that combined a six-month prison term with a fine.^[1][2]

The old law required custody

Under Portuguese administration, Macau had long regulated drugs through a combination of criminal penalties and controls on lawful medical supply. The 1969 amendment set the personal-use prison term at six months, accompanied by a fine. It also kept separate punishments for supplying other people.^[2]

The government’s explanation for the 1991 replacement said the earlier legislation needed updating in light of international drug conventions. It described criminal offences, legitimate handling of controlled drugs and coordination of drug policy as parts of that work. Cannabis leaves, flowering or fruiting tops, resin and oil appeared expressly in the new schedules.^[1]

Personal possession gained a different consequence

For people acquiring or holding drugs exclusively for their own consumption, the new law offered a choice between custody and a cash fine, subject to its separate rule for people trafficking to support their own use. A person whose possession was for therapeutic purposes faced a separate fine of 250–5,000 patacas.^[1]

That distinction mattered to someone brought before a court: the ordinary personal-possession offence no longer required both imprisonment and a financial penalty. The law nevertheless continued to criminalise the conduct, and maintained separate offences dealing with production and supply.^[1]

Treatment could affect a sentence

The reform also addressed people dependent on drugs. Where medical evidence confirmed dependence, the law allowed a sentence to be suspended on conditions involving treatment. People who sought treatment voluntarily had anonymity and medical confidentiality protections, and health services were assigned a supporting role.^[1]

These rules connected punishment with a person’s health and willingness to undergo treatment. They sat alongside the new personal-possession penalty, giving courts and health services several ways to respond to a drug case.^[1]

Later laws raised the stakes again

The 2009 replacement retained a personal-use offence carrying up to three months in prison or a fine expressed in day-rates. It also set out a daily-reference table used to assess lesser production and trafficking cases.^[3]

The direction changed with the penalty increase effective in 2017: personal-use imprisonment rose to three months–one year, and larger personal stocks could attract production or trafficking penalties.^[4] That later tightening shapes the consequences described in Macau’s current profile.