Is Cannabis / THC legal in South Sudan?

Also known as: weed, marijuana

Legal status

Controlled. The cannabis plant, prepared cannabis and cannabis resin are dangerous drugs under Chapter XXVI of the Penal Code Act, 2008. Section 382 defines a dangerous drug as «(a) any coca bush, coca leaf, raw opium or cannabis plant; (b) prepared opium, prepared cannabis or cannabis resin». It defines the cannabis plant as «any plant of the genus cannabis», prepared cannabis as «cannabis which has been prepared for smoking and any dross or other residue remaining after cannabis has been smoked», and cannabis resin as «the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant». The defined term «cannabis», «the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops) from which the resin has not been extracted», is not itself an entry in the list, so whether harvested tops that are neither a growing plant nor prepared for smoking are reached is not settled by the text. The Penal Code Act, 2008 was read in the text WIPO Lex publishes, fetched on 3 October 2026; whether Chapter XXVI has been amended since was not searched.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: not settled by the text. Section 383(2)(a) carries death or life imprisonment for unlawful dealing in aggravating circumstances, and section 383(3) confines those circumstances to a case where «the dangerous drug in question was a dangerous drug other than cannabis». «Cannabis» is a defined term that is not itself an entry in the section 382 list, so whether that exception reaches the cannabis plant, prepared cannabis and cannabis resin is a question of construction this record does not settle. Outside aggravating circumstances, unlawful dealing is punished under section 383(2)(b) by imprisonment for a period not exceeding fourteen years, a fine, or both. Unlawfully acquiring, possessing or consuming a dangerous drug under section 384 carries imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, a fine, or both, and where the person is established to be an abuser of or addicted to a dangerous drug, section 384(3) lets the court order treatment as well or instead. Chapter XXVI prints no quantity threshold.

If prescribed or medical

Section 387 lets medical, dental and veterinary practitioners, pharmaceutical chemists employed in a Government or approved hospital, clinic or dispensary, certain laboratory heads, State analysts and persons the Minister prescribes acquire, possess and supply the cannabis plant, and prescribe, administer, manufacture or compound it, so far as their profession requires. It states no route for a patient or a traveller to carry cannabis, and none is asserted here.

Documentation

Chapter XXVI states no documentation route for bringing cannabis into South Sudan, and none is asserted here.

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