Cannabis in Eritrea is illegal with severe penalties for the production, sale, and possession of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.The country has some of the strictest drug laws in the world. Possession, sale, distribution, and cultivation of cannabis are all prohibited, with severe legal consequences for those caught violating these laws. Personal marijuana use, purchase, and possession are considered lesser offenses than drug trafficking and have somewhat reduced penalties. Within Eritrea, although it has been noted that there may be no legal framework, there is a penal code . Eritrea also bans the usage of Mswaki, which is a plant that, when chewed, releases stimulating chemicals that imitate a euphoric effect. Cannabis Enforcement in Eritrea Due to strict government control and limited available data, there is little information on cannabis consumption rates in Eritrea.Drug enforcement is severe, and Eritrea's security forces have been known to crack down on any suspected drug activity.Eritrea’s government has also been known to take a harsh stance on any foreign influence or liberalization regarding drug laws. Offenders are imprisoned up to twelve months and fined up to 50'000 Nkf for possession, equivalent to $3,333 USD. Conditions for cultivation in

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

are poor. Following Eritrea's independence, the country became a transit point for drug trafficking, similar to other nations in East Africa. Cannabis originating from Southwest and Southeast Asia is often smuggled through Djibouti before being transported to various destinations across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The region's strategic location along key maritime and land trade routes has contributed to its role in the movement of illicit substances. While Eritrea itself maintains strict anti-drug policies, traffickers exploit the country's borders and ports for transit purposes. Like other countries in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, Eritrea is used as a

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

hub. Cannabis from

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

is transferred through Djibouti to other countries in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. This began soon after Eritrea's independence, when young Eritrean nationals, raised in

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, returned to their country and introduced drugs into the newly developing society.

History

Cannabis leaves are sometimes used in Eritrean

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

. While some neighboring countries, such as Ethiopia, have a history of traditional cannabis use (e.g., ''dagga'' or khat, though khat is a different stimulant plant), Eritrea does not have the same cultural ties to cannabis.Unlike other parts of Africa where cannabis reform is gaining traction, Eritrea remains one of the most prohibitive countries when it comes to drug policy. Under Italian rule,

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

was cultivated in

References

Politics of Eritrea Health in Eritrea Society of Eritrea {{eritrea-stub