Is Cannabis / THC legal in Samoa?

Also known as: weed, marijuana

Legal status

Cannabis is controlled under the Narcotics Act 1967, the official version as at 31 December 2023, through three separate routes. First, section 2 defines a "prohibited plant" to include, at paragraph (a), "a plant of the genus cannabis", and "Narcotic" is defined to include a prohibited plant, so the live cannabis plant is a narcotic in its own right. Second, Second Schedule item 40, Class B narcotics, names "CANNABIS being any leaf, seed, stalk, root, fruit, blossom, or part thereof of any plant of the genus cannabis (Cannabis sativa L)", and item 41 separately names cannabis resin, printed in the source as "CAANABIS RESIN", an apparent typographical error for cannabis resin. Third, item 1 of the same Schedule, Class B, names "Cannabis preparations: that is, any preparation containing any tetrahydrocannabinols, including cannabis resin (commonly known as hashish) and cannabis oil (commonly known as hash oil), produced by subjecting cannabis plant material to any kind of processing", and item 6 separately names "Tetrahydrocannabinols, except when contained in a Class C Narcotic". So the growing or harvested plant, its resin, any tetrahydrocannabinol containing preparation of it, and isolated tetrahydrocannabinols are each independently caught, all at Class B except for the prohibited plant cultivation offence, which carries its own separate penalty under section 6.

Consequences if caught

Cultivating cannabis, or possessing cannabis seed, is an offence under section 6 as a prohibited plant, carrying imprisonment of up to 14 years, or, if the Court finds the offence was not wilful, a fine of up to 20 penalty units or imprisonment of up to 2 years or both under section 6(2). Dealing in, possessing, selling, supplying or using the harvested plant, its resin, a cannabis preparation or isolated tetrahydrocannabinols is a Class B offence under section 18, carrying imprisonment of up to 14 years, with the same maximum for import or export under section 17 and for unlawful manufacture under section 18A; section 18's proviso reduces a non-wilful or procedural contravention to a fine of up to 5 penalty units or imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both.

If prescribed or medical

Section 6(3)(a) provides a defence to the cultivation offence where the defendant cultivated the plant or possessed its seed under the conditions of a licence granted by the Chief Executive Officer. Section 7(2)(c) separately exempts a person from the general possession and use prohibition where the narcotic was supplied, or prescribed, by a licensee authorised under section 11 to supply or prescribe narcotics. No Samoa specific medicinal cannabis programme or Pharmacy Act 2007 approval naming cannabis or a cannabis derived medicine was located in the sources searched.

Documentation

The Narcotics Act 1967 (1967 No. 3), the official version as at 31 December 2023, is the authority for the position stated. Whether a later Gazette amendment or a Head of State Order under section 5 of the Act has varied it since that date could not be established from the sources searched this session, so the position given is as at the version read and is not asserted as current beyond it. Section 10(1) separately prohibits importing or exporting any prohibited plant, including cannabis, into or from Samoa outright; import or export of a Second Schedule narcotic such as cannabis resin, a cannabis preparation or isolated tetrahydrocannabinols otherwise requires a licence granted by the Chief Executive Officer under sections 10(2) and 11. No Samoa specific traveller documentation requirement beyond this was located in the sources searched.

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