Is Cannabis / THC legal in Dominican Republic?

Also known as: weed, marijuana

Legal status

Controlled. Cannabis is the entry «Marihuana» at number 13 of acápite III of Categoría I of article 8 of Ley 50-88 under identification code 7360, and acápite XXIX of article 2 defines that word to mean every part of the Cannabis Sativa L. plant, its seeds, its resin and every compound, product, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the plant, its seeds or its resin, while excluding the mature stalks, the fibre from them and the oil or paste made from the seeds.

Consequences if caught

Cannabis is one of only two substances for which Ley 50-88 prints a quantity scale at all, and it is the only one whose scale is printed twice, once for herbal material and once for hashish. Article 6 sets two quantity scales and article 75 sets the prison band that follows from them. For herbal material, 20 grams or less is simple possession and the person is classified as an aficionado, more than 20 grams and less than one pound makes them a distributor, and more than one pound makes them a trafficker. For hashish the same three roles turn on 5 grams and a quarter of a pound. Article 75 sets the prison band by the role the case is classified into: six months to two years for simple possession, three to ten years for a distributor, a seller or an intermediary, five to twenty years for a trafficker, and thirty years for a patrocinador. The fines run with the same roles: RD$1,500 to RD$2,500 for simple possession, RD$10,000 to RD$50,000 for a distributor or an intermediary, not less than the value of the drugs seized and never less than RD$50,000 for a trafficker, and not less than RD$1,000,000 for a patrocinador. Simple possession is a lesser classification and it is still a punishable offence, not a decriminalised one. Paragraph (c) of article 6, added by article 2 of Ley 17-95, removes the aficionado classification whatever the quantity where the drug is carried for distribution or sale. Article 59 adds five to twenty years with a fine of not less than RD$250,000 for taking a controlled drug into or out of the national territory in international traffic, and thirty years with a fine of not less than RD$1,000,000 where the Dominican Republic is the final destination. Article 58 classifies illicit trafficking, the manufacture, distribution or possession of equipment for producing controlled drugs, and the acquisition or laundering of the proceeds, as delitos graves to be punished with the maximum of the penalties and the fines, and its párrafo calls illicit trafficking an international offence. Article 85 doubles the penalty for a reincident trafficker or patrocinador and caps the resulting prison term at thirty years, and article 87 withdraws provisional liberty on bail, conditional liberty and the conditional pardon of the sentence from every offence in this law. Those figures are set out here because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play. Ley 50-88 provides no death penalty for any drug offence, and the highest prison term it prints anywhere is thirty years.

If prescribed or medical

There is no medical cannabis programme, so no prescription route exists for cannabis in the Dominican Republic. CBD is treated the same as THC and United States cannabis or medical marijuana cards are not recognised.

Documentation

Article 9(f) separately names «Todas las semillas y plantas de la familia de las Cannabináceas» among the drugs the law calls the most dangerous, and article 64 makes cultivation without authority, or more than one pound of seed, a trafficking offence in itself carrying five to twenty years. There is no medical cannabis programme in the Dominican Republic and CBD is treated the same as THC. The United States embassy warns of zero tolerance enforcement in which small quantities can lead to arrest, and it states that United States cannabis or medical marijuana cards are not recognised.

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