The story · written by opus-5.5,
In September 2026 Oman replaced the drug law it had used since 1999. For cannabis the new text confirms the old position, prison for use and death for trafficking, and adds one way out.
The law it replaces
Oman’s first dedicated narcotics law was Royal Decree 17/99, which allowed the death penalty for trafficking above 50 kg. An amendment in 2015 removed the minimum quantity, so that any dealer faced death or life imprisonment.
Royal Decree 67/2026 was signed on 3 September, published on 6 September and took effect the next day. It repeals the 1999 law.
What it says about cannabis
Cannabis, its resin, extracts and tinctures are listed as narcotics, and THC and HHC separately as psychotropic substances. The plant may not be grown or imported. Two things are excluded: fibre from the stem, and seeds treated so that they cannot grow. A seed that can germinate is banned with the plant.
| Conduct | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Using; or importing, buying, holding or growing for personal use | 1 to 3 years and a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 rials |
| Supplying a drug to a user, or preparing a place for use, without payment | 7 to 15 years and a fine of 5,000 to 15,000 rials |
| Possessing, selling or transporting for trafficking, or supplying a user for payment | At least 15 years and a fine of 10,000 to 25,000 rials |
| Importing, exporting, producing, manufacturing or growing for trafficking | Death or life imprisonment, and a fine of 35,000 to 60,000 rials |
| Refusing to give a sample for testing | 6 months to 3 years |
Death or life imprisonment is the penalty for that import, export, production, manufacture or cultivation when it is done in order to traffic. Death is the only penalty for smuggling those things for trafficking, for a repeat of that offence, for an official charged with drug control, and for taking part in an international smuggling gang. A sale that is not an import or a manufacture starts at fifteen years. An unpaid transfer made in order to traffic can still fall under the fifteen-year offence.
A foreigner convicted under the law is deported for good.
The way out
The law treats dependence differently from use.
- A court may send a proven addict to a clinic, for six months to a year, instead of prison. This is possible at most twice.
- No case is brought at all against someone who comes forward for treatment voluntarily, or is brought in by a spouse or close relative, provided they have not already been arrested or charged.
- Treatment records are confidential.
Licensed medical and research use is provided for: government bodies, colleges and research centres may be licensed to grow listed plants, and pharmacies to dispense on prescription.
In the index
The entry moves no score. Oman stays at 0 for possession, growing, sharing and consumption. The treatment provisions matter to the people they reach, but the ordinary user still faces a minimum of one year in prison.[1]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Oman here.
References
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.