Is Cannabis / THC legal in Tonga?

Also known as: weed, marijuana

Legal status

Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists cannabis under its own «CLASS B12» heading, which the Act's own endnote records as inserted by Act 18 of 2012, reading in full, with the Schedule's own dash between the parenthetical and its clarifying clause rendered here as a comma per house style: «Cannabis and Cannabis resin. Cannabis fruit. Cannabis plant (whether fresh, dried, or otherwise), that is, any part of any plant of the genus cannabis. Cannabis seed. Cannabis oil.» Cannabis is therefore a Class B drug, the only Class B entry in the whole of Schedule 1; every other named substance in the Schedule sits under the earlier «CLASS A» heading. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.

Consequences if caught

Class B penalty, untouched by the 2020 and 2021 amendments. Sections 3 and 4 each carry a Class B paragraph that neither the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, nor the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, touched: both amendment Acts replaced or inserted only Class A paragraphs, Act 15 of 2020's own section 3 by its own text deleting paragraph (c) and replacing it, and its own section 4 by deleting sub-paragraph (iii), each naming that paragraph specifically, and Act 19 of 2021's own section 3(c) inserting a further Class A sub-paragraph (v). The Class B paragraphs are not, however, unamended since 2003: the Act's own endnotes record that sections 3 and 4 were themselves substituted by Act 18 of 2012 (endnotes 5 and 8), and that the Class B paragraphs, (a) and (b) in section 3 and (i) and (ii) in section 4, were each further amended by Act 16 of 2015 (endnotes 6, 7, 9 and 10). The Class B text now in force, as the 2020 Revised Edition prints it, reads: «(a) in respect of a Class B drug in the quantity of less than 28 grams, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year or both; (b) in respect of a Class B drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or both» at section 3, and the identically worded (i) and (ii) at section 4; which words Act 16 of 2015 changed from the 2012 substitution is not established from the endnote reference alone. Cannabis carries no life-imprisonment tier under either section; that figure, and the quantity thresholds that trigger it, apply only to a Class A drug. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2)(a) separately deems possession of «a Class B drug in the quantity of 7 grams or more» to be supplying it, a lower threshold than the 28 grams that separates the two Class B penalty tiers themselves.

If prescribed or medical

No legal recreational or medical cannabis regime is stated anywhere in the Illicit Drugs Control Act. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) are the only express lawful use routes under this Act, and a search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, located no separate medical cannabis authorisation scheme, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.

Documentation

Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; the «CLASS B12» heading and its five cannabis lines read and quoted in full. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da, confirmed to touch only the Class A paragraphs by paragraph number; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6, likewise Class A only. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to the Class B entry or its penalty paragraphs is not verified.

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