Is Weed Legal in Vietnam?

Last reviewed: August 6, 2026

No — weed is strictly illegal in Vietnam for every purpose, and the penalties are among the harshest in the world. Cannabis is a Schedule I narcotic under the Law on Drug Prevention and Control (Law No. 73/2021/QH14), and the 2015 Penal Code criminalizes cultivation, possession, transport, and trading in Articles 247 through 252. Trading 75 kilograms or more of dried cannabis (or 5 kilograms of resin) still carries 20 years, life imprisonment, or the death penalty. A June 2025 amendment abolished capital punishment for the separate transport offense — replacing it with life imprisonment — but kept it for trading and production. There is no medical cannabis program and no legal CBD market.

Vietnam Cannabis and Hemp Overview

Vietnam runs a true zero-tolerance regime. There is no decriminalized quantity, no tolerated use, no medical exception, and no hemp-derived consumer market — any product containing THC is contraband. Enforcement is led by the Ministry of Public Security, and it is proactive: police raid bars, karaoke venues, and clubs with mass urine testing, run roadside drug checkpoints, and treat foreign nationals no more leniently than citizens. Tourists and expatriates have been prosecuted over personal-use quantities, and a positive drug test alone can cost a foreigner their visa. The country's 2025 criminal-law reform trimmed the death penalty's reach but simultaneously tightened the screws on users — adding a new criminal offense for drug use itself in defined circumstances, effective July 1, 2025.

What Vietnamese Law Actually Says

The Penal Code attacks every link in the chain. Article 247 punishes growing cannabis: 500 to under 3,000 plants (or reoffending after an administrative fine) draws 6 months to 3 years, and 3,000 plants or more draws 3 to 7 years. Article 249 makes possession a felony starting at gram-level quantities of cannabis resin, with penalty tiers that climb to life imprisonment for 5 kilograms of resin or 75 kilograms of dried cannabis plant material; below the criminal thresholds, first-time possession and use are handled with administrative fines. Article 251 criminalizes trading in any quantity whatsoever — there is no minimum — and its top tier (75 kg+ of dried cannabis or 5 kg+ of resin) authorizes 20 years, life, or death. Article 250 covers illegal transport; since July 1, 2025, its maximum is life imprisonment rather than death. Courts may also impose fines, property confiscation, and, for foreigners, deportation as a supplementary penalty.

The 2025 Reforms: What Changed and What Didn't

On June 25, 2025, the National Assembly cut the number of capital offenses from 18 to 10, abolishing the death penalty for eight crimes including illegal transport of narcotics; existing death sentences for those offenses converted to life imprisonment. What did not change: drug trading and drug production remain capital crimes, so the practical exposure for anyone in a cannabis supply chain is unchanged. The same amendment package added Article 256a, which criminalizes illegal drug use itself — 2 to 3 years' imprisonment, 3 to 5 for repeat offenses — for people who use drugs while in rehabilitation, on substitution treatment, or within the post-rehabilitation management period. First-time users outside those categories face administrative fines of roughly VND 1–2 million under Decree 282/2025, but a revised Law on Drug Prevention and Control effective July 1, 2026 places anyone who tests positive under one year of state management — turning continued use into a pathway to criminal liability.

What This Means for Travelers

Do not bring cannabis into Vietnam in any form or amount, and do not use it while there. Airport screening is thorough, and cross-border movement of narcotics is prosecuted as transport or trafficking with decade-plus sentences. Inside the country, police venue raids with on-the-spot urine testing are routine in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang nightlife districts; a positive test typically means an administrative fine for a first-time user but can also trigger visa cancellation and deportation for foreigners, and repeat or in-treatment use is now a jailable offense under Article 256a. Foreign medical cannabis prescriptions carry no weight — customs treats prescribed THC products as contraband narcotics. CBD products are not authorized for sale, and importing them risks the same treatment if any THC is detected. Consular assistance in drug cases is limited to visits and lawyer lists; it cannot soften charges.

What This Means for Operators

There is no lawful cannabis or hemp business to build in Vietnam. No medical licensing pathway exists, industrial hemp cultivation has no commercial permitting framework for cannabinoid production, and no CBD retail channel is authorized. Companies operating regionally should treat Vietnam as a strict exclusion zone in supply-chain routing: transshipment of cannabis products through Vietnamese ports or airports exposes cargo handlers and consignors to Articles 250–251, where corporate ignorance is not a defense anyone should rely on. Nothing in the 2025–2026 legislative activity signals reform — the trajectory is stricter user-level enforcement, not liberalization.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I'm caught with a small amount of weed in Vietnam?
Expect arrest, seizure, and testing. Gram-level quantities of resin or evidence of dealing bring felony charges; a first-time user caught with traces may escape with an administrative fine of VND 1–2 million — but foreigners also face visa cancellation and deportation.

Does Vietnam really have the death penalty for cannabis?
Yes, for trading and production at the top quantity tier — 75 kg or more of dried cannabis or 5 kg of resin. The June 2025 reform removed death for the transport offense (now life imprisonment) but kept it for trading.

Is medical marijuana legal in Vietnam?
No. There is no medical program, doctors cannot prescribe THC products, and foreign prescriptions are not recognized at the border or anywhere else.

Is CBD legal in Vietnam?
There is no legal framework authorizing CBD sales, and products containing any detectable THC are treated as narcotics. Bringing CBD products into the country is not worth the risk.

Can I be punished just for testing positive at a club raid?
Yes. First-time use draws an administrative fine, positive tests can trigger visa consequences for foreigners, and use during or after drug treatment is a criminal offense (2–5 years) under Article 256a since July 2025.

Will Vietnam legalize or decriminalize cannabis?
No. The 2025–2026 reforms moved toward stricter control of users, and no legalization or medical bill exists. Vietnam remains one of Asia's hardest-line jurisdictions.

This page is provided for informational purposes by ComplyAssistAI LLC and is not legal advice. Vietnamese narcotics law leaves meaningful discretion to police and courts, and rules change. Travelers and operators should verify current requirements with Vietnamese counsel. Find one in our Cannabis Lawyer Directory.