Cannabis is illegal for recreational use in the Cook Islands. Medical cannabis became legal on July 2, 2024 under the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2023, with implementing Narcotics Amendment Regulations 2024 and Ministry of Health (Pharmacy and Therapeutics) Amendment Regulations 2024. The reform followed a 2022 non-binding referendum that approved medicinal legalization with 62 percent support.
Visitors with overseas medical prescriptions can import medicinal cannabis under tight conditions: only the named patient may use it, and the import is limited to a one-month supply.
Is Cannabis Legal in the Cook Islands?
Medical cannabis is legal under prescription. Recreational cannabis remains illegal. According to Te Marae Ora Cook Islands Ministry of Health’s medicinal cannabis page, the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2023 came into effect on July 2, 2024 with implementing regulations covering import, possession, and dispensing.
Anyone, whether resident or visitor, who has been prescribed medicinal cannabis by an overseas medical practitioner can import and possess that medicine, provided the prescription requirements are met. For broader regional context, see our guide to cannabis legalization in the South Pacific.
Medical Cannabis in the Cook Islands
The medical framework opened on July 2, 2024. According to Islands Business reporting on the implementation, the import scheme requires that the cannabis is used only by the named patient and that the imported amount is no more than one month’s supply at a time.
The framework is unusual among Pacific reform jurisdictions because it explicitly accepts overseas prescriptions rather than requiring a Cook Islands physician’s authorization. This makes the Cook Islands one of the few places in the South Pacific where a tourist holding a foreign medical card can legally use cannabis on vacation, subject to the prescription and quantity rules.
Recreational Cannabis in the Cook Islands
Recreational cannabis remains illegal under the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act framework. The 2022 non-binding referendum that asked voters about medicinal legalization passed with 62 percent support, but did not extend to recreational reform.
According to the Office of the Prime Minister Cook Islands cannabis referendum page, the medicinal-only scope was deliberate. There are no licensed dispensaries for recreational sales, no decriminalization framework for personal use, and no public-use authorization.
Cannabis Penalties in the Cook Islands
Penalties for unlicensed cannabis possession, supply, importation, and cultivation remain in force under the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs framework. Sentencing scales by quantity, prior offenses, and aggravating circumstances. Trafficking offenses carry the steepest sentences.
Importation outside the medical scheme exposes travelers to importation-tier penalties even for personal-use amounts. Tourists carrying gummies, vape cartridges, or oils into the Cook Islands without an overseas prescription face seizure and prosecution. Visitors with prescriptions should ensure documentation accompanies the product at customs.
Cannabis Cultivation Laws in the Cook Islands
Home cultivation is illegal regardless of patient status. The 2024 medical reform did not authorize patient cultivation. Patients access cannabis through prescription import rather than home production.
There is no licensed commercial cultivation framework in the Cook Islands. According to the PM Office’s medicinal cannabis legislation update, the regulatory model was designed around imported product rather than domestic cultivation. Unlicensed cultivation remains prosecuted at the supply tier.
CBD Laws in the Cook Islands
CBD is acknowledged in the medicinal framework as the therapeutic component used for pain relief and other conditions. The federal 2018 U.S. Farm Bill hemp distinction does not automatically apply, so CBD products imported from the United States or other countries should be backed by an overseas medical prescription to qualify under the medical scheme.
Hemp-derived CBD products imported as supplements without a prescription occupy a less clearly defined legal space. Travelers should keep manufacturer testing certificates with any CBD product and consult Customs guidance for current treatment.
Cannabis Enforcement and Real-World Risk
Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is the primary entry point for travelers to the Cook Islands. Customs applies the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs framework to anything brought into the territory. Travelers using the medical import scheme should declare cannabis at customs and present the overseas prescription on arrival.
The Cook Islands’ free-association status with New Zealand means that flights to and from New Zealand operate as international border crossings, and New Zealand customs applies its own drug law on the New Zealand side. Hotels and short-term rentals are not authorized consumption venues, even for patients with valid prescriptions.
Future of Cannabis Laws in the Cook Islands
The 2024 implementation of the medicinal framework is one of the more progressive cannabis reforms in the Pacific. Whether the framework expands to recreational reform depends on political will and any future referendum scope. The 2022 non-binding referendum was deliberately narrow, and recreational legalization would require a separate political process.
For 2026, the Cook Islands operate the most accommodating medical cannabis framework in the South Pacific for foreign patients, with prescription-based import for one-month supplies. Recreational use remains illegal, and tourism-focused cannabis retail is not in the policy direction.
Medical cannabis is legal under prescription as of July 2, 2024 via the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2023. Recreational cannabis remains illegal. The 2022 non-binding referendum approved medicinal legalization with 62 percent support.
Yes. Anyone, whether resident or visitor, who has been prescribed medicinal cannabis by an overseas medical practitioner can import and possess that medicine, provided it is used only by the named patient and the import is no more than a one-month supply.
It was a non-binding public vote on medicinal cannabis legalization that passed with 62 percent support. The result paved the way for the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2023, which came into effect on July 2, 2024.
No. The 2022 referendum and 2024 reform applied only to medicinal cannabis. Recreational possession, supply, importation, and cultivation remain criminal offenses under the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs framework.
No. The medical framework runs through prescription-based import rather than domestic dispensaries. Patients access cannabis through licensed pharmacies under the regulations, and visitors use the overseas-prescription import scheme rather than buying locally.
