Nauru makes prison mandatory for cannabis possession and raises other penalties

Nauru made imprisonment compulsory for unlawful cannabis possession on 23 December 2024. The new range was twelve months to three years in custody. Growing, supplying, acquiring or using illicit drugs, and importing or exporting them, faced life imprisonment with at least ten years to be served before parole or probation.^[1]

Small cannabis cases had ended in fines

Earlier that year, a one-gram cannabis case had ended with fines of A$1,500 each, community service and probation for two adults. A teenager received a smaller fine and community service, with no conviction recorded.^[2]

The magistrate had regarded imprisonment as disproportionate for the adults, taking account of the small quantity and their circumstances. He also described earlier cannabis-possession sentences ranging from fines of A$500 to A$1,000 without recorded convictions. The court was gradually increasing those sentences in response to what it considered growing prevalence.^[2]

The 2022 bail restriction also barred bail for people charged under the drug-control law, putting defendants in custody before conviction.^[3]

Parliament separated possession from other activities

The amendment replaced the combined drug offence with a possession offence and a separate offence covering activities including cultivation, supply and use. Possession acquired an express minimum custodial term of twelve months, while its maximum became three years.^[1]

The separate offence carried the much longer life-imprisonment penalty and ten-year requirement before parole or probation. The same penalty applied to unlawful imports, exports and transit through Nauru. These rules applied to illicit drugs generally, including the cannabis forms listed in the drug schedule.^[1][4]

The amendment also defined a term of imprisonment as a custodial sentence and excluded general sentencing options for fines, discharge, dismissal and other alternative orders from drug offences.^[1]

The government wanted custody to deter offending

The government’s January 2025 bulletin explained that the changes were intended to deter drug offences through imprisonment. It criticised the use of fines and suspended sentences, and said offenders covered by the longer penalty would have to serve at least ten years before consideration for parole or probation.^[5]

That policy directly addressed the sentencing discretion seen in the June cannabis case, where the court had weighed proportionality, family circumstances, guilty pleas and the availability of community service.^[2]

Medical travellers still had declaration rules

The amendment retained the traveller exemption for lawfully prescribed drugs used to treat a medical condition, sufficient for no more than one month. Travellers entering or transiting Nauru had to declare those drugs to Customs on arrival. Failure to declare carried up to five years in prison or a fine between A$20,000 and A$50,000.^[1][4]

The Nauru profile explains the current possession, cultivation and supply rules alongside those medical conditions. Its history also traces the earlier medicinal import-licensing system.^[4]