Buying weed in Tanzania is illegal and carries some of Africa’s harshest penalties. Cannabis is treated as a controlled narcotic substance under mainland Tanzania’s Drug Control and Enforcement Act (Cap. 95 R.E. 2023). On the mainland, cultivation and dealing with cannabis plants carry imprisonment of not less than 30 years, while certain personal-use provisions carry penalties up to three years, and trafficking penalties scale with quantity up to life imprisonment for more than 100 kg. Zanzibar has its own separate drug legislation, so its penalties should not be assumed identical to the mainland. No verified consumer-facing exception was found for tourists, medical users, or CBD.
