Complete guide to cannabis laws, penalties, and travel advice
Argentina occupies a uniquely complex position in South American cannabis policy. The country is neither fully prohibitionist nor formally legalised — instead it sits in a constitutionally shaped grey zone created by a landmark 2009 Supreme Court ruling and subsequently expanded through medical legislation in 2017.
The ruling — Arriola, Sebastián y otros s/ causa n° 9080, decided by the Supreme Court of Justice on 25 August 2009 — held that criminalising personal cannabis possession for use in private spaces was unconstitutional, as it violated Article 19 of the National Constitution protecting personal autonomy and the right to personal decisions that do not harm third parties. The ruling did not legalise cannabis. It created a constitutional protection against criminal prosecution for adults holding cannabis for personal use in private. Public possession, supply, and trafficking remained fully illegal.
Law 27350, enacted in 2017 and significantly expanded through Decree 883/2020, created Argentina's medical cannabis framework. The REPROCANN (National Registry of Cultivation, Production and Manufacturing of Cannabis) programme allows patients, their guardians, or therapeutic institutions to register for authorised cannabis cultivation for medical and scientific purposes. By 2023, REPROCANN had over 130,000 registered users — one of the largest patient registries in Latin America.
Full recreational legalisation has been debated in Argentina's Congress on multiple occasions. In 2021 and 2022 reform bills were introduced but failed to achieve the necessary legislative majority. Argentina's political landscape — which shifted rightward following Javier Milei's election as President in late 2023 — has reduced the near-term likelihood of full legalisation, though the Arriola ruling remains constitutional precedent regardless of executive political leanings.
Argentina's drug law — Law 23737 of 1989 — remains the primary legislation despite the Arriola ruling. The Arriola decision effectively suspends criminal prosecution for personal possession without repealing the law. This creates an ambiguous situation: technically illegal but constitutionally protected for personal use amounts.
| Offence Category | Quantity / Context | Legal Outcome | Sentence Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal possession (private) | Small amounts, adult, private | Constitutionally protected (Arriola) | No prosecution |
| Public possession | Any small amount | Police discretion — possible detention | Up to 2 years or fine |
| Possession with intent to supply | Larger quantities or packaging | Criminal prosecution | 1–6 years |
| Supply / Dealing | Commercial supply any scale | Criminal prosecution | 4–15 years |
| Trafficking (large scale) | International or major domestic | Criminal prosecution | Up to 15 years |
| REPROCANN registered cultivation | Personal medical use | Legal with registration | No penalty |
Provincial police forces in Argentina implement the Arriola ruling inconsistently. Some provinces — particularly Buenos Aires Province — have adopted more tolerant enforcement postures, while others apply Law 23737 provisions more actively despite the constitutional protection. This inconsistency is a significant practical risk for travelers.
Argentina's medical cannabis programme is one of the most developed in Latin America. Law 27350 was initially narrow in scope, covering only epilepsy patients. Decree 883/2020 substantially expanded it to cover any therapeutic indication, allowing any adult patient — with a medical recommendation — to register with REPROCANN for cannabis cultivation or to access cannabis through authorised producers.
The REPROCANN registry accepts applications from: individual patients, legal guardians of minors, therapeutic institutions (such as addiction treatment centres), and civil society organisations meeting specific criteria. Registered individuals may cultivate up to nine female cannabis plants per household and possess up to 40 grams of dried cannabis.
ANMAT (Argentina's food and drug regulatory authority) has also approved several pharmaceutical cannabis products for prescription, including Sativex (nabiximols) and, in some contexts, imported CBD-dominant oils. Public hospitals in Buenos Aires and other major cities have established medical cannabis dispensing units.
The programme serves over 130,000 registered patients. Research institutions including CONICET have active cannabis science programmes. Argentina has become a significant regional research hub for cannabis pharmacology and agronomy.
Unregistered cannabis cultivation in Argentina remains a criminal offence under Law 23737. The penalty for unlicensed cultivation is 1–6 years imprisonment under the supply provisions, as cultivation is treated analogously to possession with intent to supply when it occurs outside the REPROCANN framework.
REPROCANN-registered patients may cultivate up to 9 female plants and store up to 40 grams. The application process is conducted online through the Ministry of Health's portal, requires a medical professional's endorsement, and is available only to Argentine citizens and legal residents. Foreign tourists cannot register with REPROCANN.
Commercial cannabis cultivation licences — separate from REPROCANN — have been granted to pharmaceutical companies and authorised research institutions since 2021 under a parallel regulatory track. These licences cover both THC-containing cannabis and hemp with THC below 1%. Several provinces have established regulatory frameworks for industrial hemp production.
Cannabis trafficking in Argentina is prosecuted under Law 23737 and the later Law 26052, which partially decentralised drug prosecutorial functions to provincial jurisdictions. Trafficking sentences range from 4–15 years depending on scale, aggravating factors (use of minors, proximity to schools), and whether the accused has prior narcotics convictions.
Argentina sits on significant trafficking routes between Andean producing countries (Bolivia, Peru) and Atlantic export markets. The federal narcotics enforcement agency (PFA Narcotics Division) and the Gendarmería Nacional both conduct anti-trafficking operations with international cooperation through UNODC and Interpol.
Asset forfeiture provisions under Law 25246 (Anti-Money Laundering) are applied in trafficking prosecutions. Foreign nationals convicted of trafficking face deportation orders in addition to their sentences.
Cannabis use in Argentina — as in much of South America — has deep historical roots, including pre-Columbian cultivation in the Andean northwest and colonial-era hemp cultivation for rope and fibre. Modern cannabis culture in Argentina is most visible in Buenos Aires, where cannabis activism has been strong since the early 2000s.
The Global Marijuana March is held annually in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, and other cities, typically drawing tens of thousands of participants. Activist organisations including FUCA (Fundación de Cannabis Argentina) and Cannabis Médico Argentina were instrumental in lobbying for the 2017 medical cannabis law. The media and public debate around cannabis in Argentina is broadly progressive compared to most of the region.
Argentina's cannabis consumer base is estimated at over 1 million regular users. The black market is substantial, supplied primarily through domestic cultivation (scattered across rural Buenos Aires Province, Entre Ríos, and Corrientes) and imports from Paraguay, which is the largest cannabis producer in South America by volume.
Argentina is a medium-risk destination for cannabis-related activity. The Arriola ruling provides meaningful but imperfect protection, and the practical experience of foreign tourists differs significantly from that of Argentine citizens invoking constitutional rights.
Ezeiza International Airport (Buenos Aires) operates standard narcotics detection including dogs and scanner screening. International travelers arriving with cannabis face trafficking charges regardless of quantity — the Arriola ruling does not protect importation. The airport border police (PSA) are federal and do not apply provincial enforcement leniency.
In Buenos Aires and other major cities, police stops targeting obvious tourists are relatively uncommon. However, cannabis in public — particularly smoking in streets or parks — can attract police attention. Officers may request documentation and confiscate cannabis. Whether a formal charge follows depends on quantity and the officer's assessment. Carrying more than a few grams substantially increases risk.
Enforcement varies considerably between provinces. Mendoza, Buenos Aires City, and Córdoba tend toward more tolerant urban enforcement postures. Northern provinces with stronger ties to anti-trafficking operations (Salta, Jujuy, Misiones) apply stricter enforcement. Travelers should be aware that crossing provincial borders with cannabis could be treated as inter-jurisdictional trafficking.
Multiple cannabis legalisation bills were introduced in Argentina's Congress in 2021 and 2022, the most prominent being a government-backed bill under the Fernández administration that would have created a regulated recreational market. The bill failed to pass the Senate. The Milei government elected in 2023 has taken a broadly libertarian position on personal freedoms while also emphasising anti-trafficking enforcement, creating an ambiguous political environment for cannabis reform.
The REPROCANN programme has been administratively expanded and the application backlog — which was significant in 2020–2021 — has been reduced. Several Argentine provinces have also been exploring their own hemp regulatory frameworks. The Buenos Aires City legislature has discussed creating a municipal cannabis social club ordinance similar to Uruguay's model.
Argentina has progressively developed its industrial hemp sector alongside the medical cannabis programme. Law 27669, enacted in 2022, established a comprehensive regulatory framework specifically for the industrial use of hemp (cannabis plants with THC content below 1%), covering cultivation, processing, commercialisation, and export. The 1% THC threshold adopted by Argentina is more permissive than the 0.3% standard used in the United States and European Union, which positions Argentina as a potentially competitive hemp exporter in global markets.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAGYP) administers industrial hemp licensing. Several Argentine provinces have enthusiastically adopted hemp cultivation programmes. Buenos Aires Province, Mendoza, Entre Ríos, and Corrientes have been early movers, with licensed hemp cultivation covering thousands of hectares by 2023. Argentine hemp is grown primarily for fibre (for textiles and construction materials), seed (for food and nutraceutical products), and cannabidiol (CBD) extraction for cosmetic and wellness applications.
The growing hemp sector has attracted investment from Argentine agribusiness companies and some international cannabis corporations seeking South American production bases. Argentina's combination of diverse climate zones, sophisticated agricultural infrastructure, competitive labour costs, and the 1% THC threshold makes it one of the more attractive hemp production environments in Latin America.
CBD product regulation under Argentine law has been complex — ANMAT has been developing registration pathways for CBD-containing cosmetic and food supplement products, and several Argentine companies have launched domestic CBD product lines. The interplay between the hemp law's commercial provisions and the medical cannabis law's patient access framework continues to be refined through regulatory guidance.
Personal use is effectively decriminalised following the 2009 Supreme Court Arriola ruling. Recreational sales remain illegal. Medical cannabis has been legal under Law 27350 since 2017, with the REPROCANN patient cultivation registry established in 2020.
Home cultivation exists in a legal grey area. REPROCANN allows patients to register to cultivate up to 9 female plants for personal medical use. Unregistered cultivation remains a criminal offence. Foreign tourists cannot register with REPROCANN.
Small amounts for personal use are unlikely to result in criminal prosecution following the Arriola ruling, but police discretion remains wide. Quantities interpreted as supply — or cannabis found at airports — can still trigger arrest and prosecution. Tourists should carry no cannabis at all to avoid risk.
No. There are no legal recreational cannabis dispensaries in Argentina. Only patients registered with REPROCANN can access cannabis legally through the medical programme. Black market sales remain widespread particularly in Buenos Aires.