Is Alcohol legal in Ghana?

Legal status

Legal for adults and regulated by licence. The Liquor Licensing Act, 1970 (Act 331) says in section 5(1) that a person «shall not sell spirits on any premises or in the open» except under one of six spirit licences, and in section 12(1) that a person «shall not sell wine or beer» except under a spirit licence, an off-licence or an on-licence. Section 15(1) says a licence holder «shall not allow a person under the apparent age of eighteen years to be in the bar of the licensed premises during permitted hours», and section 15(4) bars sale «to a drunken person». No provision read sets an age for buying or drinking alcohol away from a bar. Alcohol is not named in the Fifth to Eighth Schedules of the Narcotics Control Commission Act 2020 (Act 1019), and the Public Health Act 2012 (Act 851) mentions «harmful use of alcohol» only in its health provisions. Act 331 was read in the Parliament repository's Revised Edition, as printed in that edition on 3 October 2026; its later amendments, if any, were not traced. This is stated as the Schedules stand after the Narcotics Control Commission (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1100), which the judy.legal consolidation records as the Act's only amendment and whose Bill substitutes section 43 alone; the enacted text of Act 1100 was not itself read. The power to move the lists is in section 112: its subsection (1) gave a power to revise the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Schedules within twelve months of commencement, and its subsection (2)(b) gives a continuing power to make Regulations specifying «the classification of drugs and the appropriate penalties». The only Regulations found under the Act, L.I. 2475 of 2023 on cannabis cultivation, revise no Schedule on their table of contents, and this does not rule out a later instrument that was not found.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Act 331 prints no sentence of death. Selling spirits without a licence contrary to section 5(1) draws a fine of not more than fifty penalty units under section 11(1); selling wine or beer without a licence contrary to section 12(1) draws the same under section 14(1). A licensee who lets a person under eighteen into the bar, and anyone who causes or procures that, is liable under section 15(2) to a fine of not more than twenty five penalty units and in default not more than one month's imprisonment. Buying or drinking alcohol as an adult is not an offence under any provision read.

If prescribed or medical

No prescription rule applies to alcohol.

Documentation

No traveller allowance for alcohol was read; customs duty rules were not checked.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Ghana’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.