Agriculture Director General Timothy Tumukon told the public that cannabis and hemp activity required strict licensing, secure management and export, with no local sales.[1] His comments followed public confusion in late 2025; he said the government had changed legislation to help approved firms obtain bank accounts.[1] The export industry followed the licensing law and February 2023 rules.[2][3]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Vanuatu here.
References
- Government maintains tight control on medical cannabis and industrial hempEzra Toara, Kizzy Kalsakau · In Vanuatu Business Review · 2026 · 20 January 2026; direct comments by Director General Timothy Tumukon on licences, export, local sales and bankingarchived
- Industrial Hemp and Medical Cannabis Act No. 31 of 20212021 · p. 3 assent 10 December 2021 and commencement 17 January 2022; sections 1–2, 10–16, 23–24 and 27archived
- Monthly Economic News — February 2023Reserve Bank of Vanuatu · 2023 · Manufacturing developments: medical cannabis/hemp regulations, annual fee, licence term and island zonesarchived
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.