Is Cannabis / THC legal in Bahamas?

Also known as: weed, marijuana

Legal status

Controlled under the Dangerous Drugs Act, Chapter 228, which reaches it by the words «Indian hemp» rather than by the word cannabis. Section 6 applies Part II to «raw opium, coca leaves, Indian hemp and resins obtained from Indian hemp and all preparations of which such resins form a base», and section 2 defines «Indian hemp» as «all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis whether growing or not from which the resin has not been extracted; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt derivative, mixture or preparation of such plant or resin». Section 11(1)(b) applies Part IV to «any extract or tincture of Indian hemp». Searched case insensitively across all three held instruments: the operative 1994 Application Order prints the word cannabis nowhere at all, count zero, because the Act already names the plant; the word appears twice in the Act and twice in the 2024 draft Order, which is not law.

Consequences if caught

Possession without proper authority is an offence under section 29(6) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, Chapter 228, and section 29(2) fixes the penalty: on conviction on information a fine of 125,000 dollars or ten years imprisonment or both; on summary conviction a fine of 50,000 dollars or a term of imprisonment within the range of five to seven years or both. Conviction carries forfeiture to the Crown of all real or personal property in respect of which the offence was committed. Possession with intent to supply is a separate offence under section 22(1), punishable on information by a fine of 500,000 dollars or thirty years imprisonment or both, and summarily by four to seven years with a fine of 250,000 dollars, rising to six to seven years where the offence occurs within one mile of a school. Supply to a child or young person raises the information ceiling to 750,000 dollars or forty years. Section 22(3) presumes an intent to supply where a person is found with two or more packets of dangerous drugs. Section 33A forbids remission of any sentence below the term imposed. Section 22(8)(a) substitutes life imprisonment for the section 22 maxima where the quantity charged exceeds ten pounds of Indian hemp. Cultivation is charged separately: section 29(1)(e) makes it an offence to grow or cultivate in any part of The Bahamas «Indian hemp (any plant of the genus cannabis)», carrying the section 29(2) penalties.

If prescribed or medical

Section 24(1) authorises a qualified person to be in possession of and to supply a dangerous drug so far as necessary for the practice of his profession, and section 2 defines a qualified person as a registered medical practitioner, a registered dentist, a licensed veterinary surgeon, a licensed pharmacist, the public analyst, or a person granted special permission by the Minister. Section 24(2) requires the drug to be kept in a locked receptacle. Section 10(1) permits rules controlling manufacture, sale, possession and supply; no such rules were read for this cell. Import or export by anyone other than a qualified person is an offence under section 9, and needs an authorisation under Part V and permission under section 27. No medicinal cannabis scheme appears in Chapter 228 or in the 1994 Order.

Documentation

A reported 2023 amendment removing the words Indian hemp from the Act, and a Cannabis Bill 2024, were not held or read in this pass and nothing here rests on either. The schedule placement stated here is not printed in the quotation column of the dossier read for this cell; it was read directly from the instrument text. No Ministerial Order later than S.I. 50 of 1996 was read for this cell, so a later addition by Order under section 6, section 11(3) or section 12(3) of the Act is not excluded. The Dangerous Drugs (Application) Order, 2024 was read and is not relied on: it carries no Statutory Instrument number, no signature and a blank execution block reading Made this day of 2024, and the Bahamas legislation portal serves it from its Bills directory rather than its subsidiary legislation directory.

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