Cannabis — Iceland

Cannabis is illegal in Iceland -- possession, purchase and import are all prohibited under the Narcotics Act No. 65/1974, and there is no legal personal-use amount. In practice a small amount is usually settled with a police fine rather than prosecution: the Director of Public Prosecutions' schedule sets a base of 50,000 kronur plus 4,000 kronur for each gram or part of a gram, about 54,000 kronur for one gram, but every sale is prosecuted and trafficking carries up to 12 years. There is no medical cannabis programme, a foreign prescription or Schengen certificate will not get it in, and any product containing even a trace of THC -- including CBD oil -- counts as prohibited.

Possession: a fine or up to 6 years' imprisonment (Narcotics Act No. 65/1974 art. 5). In practice the smallest offences are settled by fine under prosecutorial directive RS 1/2025 -- a 50,000 kronur base plus 4,000 kronur per gram or part-gram, capped at 1,000,000 kronur -- while every sale is prosecuted. Major supply, import, or possession with intent to supply: up to 12 years (Penal Code art. 173a). Drug-driving: fines or up to 2 years, plus mandatory disqualification of at least six months.

Verified Sep 17, 2026

Bringing cannabis into Iceland is a criminal offence in its own right. Article 2 of the Narcotics Act No. 65/1974 prohibits the import, export, sale, purchase, exchange, delivery, receipt, production and possession of the substances the Act schedules, and article 6 schedules them by name as "Cannabis (Kannabis, Marihuana, Hass)" and "Cannabis harpix" (cannabis resin) - with no THC-content threshold and no hemp or CBD exception anywhere in the Act. The only cannabis Iceland licenses anyone to import is Cannabis sativa seed: article 2 b lets the Food and Veterinary Authority (Matvaelastofnun) permit seed imports and requires it to supervise them.

Breach of the Narcotics Act, which includes import: a fine or up to 6 years in prison (Act No. 65/1974 art. 5, first paragraph - "sektum ... eda fangelsi allt ad 6 arum"). That 6-year figure is this Act's own ceiling; serious smuggling is charged under the General Penal Code instead, which carries a higher maximum. Article 5 also requires substances unlawfully obtained or held to be confiscated to the State Treasury, and provides an increased penalty for repeat offences under the Act.

Verified Oct 8, 2026