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No, weed is not legal in Iraq. Cannabis and hashish are banned for recreational and medical use alike, and no quantity is decriminalised. The law draws its sharpest line between using cannabis and dealing in it, and dealing can carry the death penalty. This guide explains Iraq’s cannabis laws, how the penalties work, where CBD stands, and what the risk looks like for visitors.
Is weed legal in Iraq for recreational use?
Recreational weed is illegal throughout Iraq. In federal Iraq, cannabis is controlled by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 50 of 2017, which replaced the country’s 1965 narcotics law. There is no legal market, no tolerated amount and no exception for private use.
The Kurdistan Region is the one complication. Its parliament passed a separate anti-narcotics law in January 2020, so federal Iraq and Kurdistan now apply different statutes. Both prohibit cannabis, but the detail of the Kurdish penalties could not be verified from an official text, so this page does not describe them.
Anyone reading an older guide should note the date. Pages that still cite the 1965 law are out of date for both federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
What are the penalties under Iraq weed laws?
Penalties under Iraq weed laws turn on intent rather than weight. The question a court asks is whether the cannabis was for your own use or for trade, and the answer separates a prison sentence from a possible death sentence.
Possessing, buying or importing cannabis for personal use is a criminal offence carrying imprisonment and a fine under Law No. 50 of 2017. Possessing or selling for trade carries life imprisonment or a long fixed term. Importing, producing or cultivating with intent to trade can carry death or life imprisonment, and repeat or organised offending aggravates the sentence.
The death penalty is used in practice. Iraq’s anti-narcotics directorate reported 42 death sentences and 357 life sentences against drug traffickers in the first months of 2026 alone. UN member states have criticised Iraq for carrying out death sentences after trials that fell short of fair-trial standards.
There is a treatment route for users. A court can send a dependent user to treatment instead of punishing them. People who come forward for treatment on their own initiative are exempt from prosecution, but that route is for addiction, not a general amnesty for being caught.
Penalties at a glance
| Offence | Governing law | General penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Possession, purchase or import for personal use | Law No. 50 of 2017 | Imprisonment and a fine |
| Possession or sale for trade | Law No. 50 of 2017 | Life imprisonment or a long prison term, plus heavy fines |
| Import, production or cultivation for trade | Law No. 50 of 2017 | Death or life imprisonment |
| Dependent users who seek treatment | Law No. 50 of 2017 | Treatment instead of prosecution |
Is medical marijuana legal in Iraq?
Medical marijuana is not legal in Iraq. There is no medical cannabis programme, no licensing route for patients and no prescribing framework, and no official source suggests one is being prepared.
A doctor’s note from another country does not change this. Nothing in Iraqi law provides for foreign cannabis prescriptions, and bringing a cannabis medicine into the country without authorisation could be treated as an import offence.
Iraq has expanded addiction treatment in recent years, reporting 16 rehabilitation centres, but that is a treatment service for drug dependence rather than a route to medical cannabis.
Is CBD legal in Iraq?
No Iraqi authority has published a position on CBD, and there is no THC threshold separating hemp products from cannabis. That absence is the honest answer, and any site describing CBD as clearly legal in Iraq is not working from an Iraqi source.
In practice, the safe assumption is that CBD falls under the general cannabis ban. No low-THC carve-out could be found in Iraqi law, so a CBD oil, gummy or vape could be treated as a cannabis product at the border or in a search. Products bought legally in Europe or North America offer no protection once you land.
Can you smoke weed in Iraq as a tourist?
No, and visitors receive no leniency. Foreign nationals are prosecuted under the same law as Iraqis, and the distinction between personal use and trade applies to them in exactly the same way.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office notes in its Iraq travel advice that Iraq practises the death penalty for crimes including drug trafficking. The same advice warns against all travel to parts of the country and all but essential travel to the rest, including the Kurdistan Region.
The US State Department rates Iraq at its highest travel warning level, Do Not Travel. Enforcement has also intensified, with the authorities running a sustained anti-drug campaign since 2023.
Consular help in Iraq is limited. An embassy can offer a list of local lawyers and contact your family, but it cannot stop a prosecution or secure your release. Carrying any cannabis product into or through Iraq exposes you to penalties that run to life imprisonment and death.
The bottom line on cannabis in Iraq
Weed is illegal in Iraq for every purpose, under Law No. 50 of 2017 in federal Iraq and a separate 2020 law in the Kurdistan Region.
Personal use can mean prison and a fine, while anything treated as trade can lead to life imprisonment or death. There is no medical programme, no published CBD position and no allowance for visitors. If you are travelling to Iraq, the only safe choice is to leave cannabis and CBD products at home.
Last reviewed: September 30, 2026. Cannabis laws change frequently, always verify current rules with official sources before you travel.
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