Is Weed Legal in Paraguay? Understanding Paraguay Cannabis and Marijuana Laws (2026)

Medical cannabis is legal in Paraguay, where a 2017 law created a national program for researching, producing, and prescribing it. Possession of up to 10 grams of cannabis for personal use has been decriminalized since 1988, but recreational cannabis is still illegal — and Paraguay remains one of the largest cannabis producers in South America, with most of that crop grown illegally for export. This guide explains how Paraguay’s cannabis and marijuana laws work in 2026, from the medical program to hemp, CBD, home cultivation, and the country’s role in the regional cannabis trade.

Is Medical Cannabis Legal in Paraguay?

Yes. Paraguay legalized medical cannabis in December 2017, when Congress passed Law 6007 and created PROINCUMEC, the national program for the medical and scientific study of the cannabis plant and its derivatives. The law and its implementing decrees set up a tightly controlled, state-supervised system rather than an open market.

The National Directorate of Health Surveillance (DINAVISA, formerly the DNVS) runs the program. It grants production and manufacturing licenses, authorizes research, and maintains the National Registry of Users of Cannabis-Derived Products, which patients must join to receive treatment. Licensed laboratories have to hand at least 2 percent of their output to the state so that registered patients can receive cannabis oil free of charge.

The framework has loosened over time. Decree 9303 of 2018 first set out the rules for producing, importing, exporting, and dispensing medical cannabis, and amendments in 2021 and 2022 reshaped it. The 2022 change mattered most: it removed geographic restrictions and the cap on how many licenses could be issued, clearing the way for more producers. Licenses are specific, non-transferable, and renewable every five years. Paraguay’s rules draw a line at 0.5 percent THC — products at or below that level can be dispensed on a simple prescription, while medicines above it are allowed only under a stricter quadruplicate prescription written by a physician registered with the program.

Access on the ground is still narrow. As of late 2025, only about 107 patients and ten physicians were enrolled in the national registry, most of them treated for refractory epilepsy and a few for multiple sclerosis. In December 2025, DINAVISA issued Resolution 488/2025, which widened the system by letting physicians of any specialty prescribe cannabis-derived medicines — including higher-THC products under a quadruplicate prescription. Those medicines can be sold only through pharmacies and dispensaries that DINAVISA has authorized.

Is Recreational Cannabis Legal in Paraguay?

No. Recreational cannabis is illegal in Paraguay, and there is no licensed retail market, cannabis club, or tourist exemption. The decriminalization of small amounts protects personal possession from punishment, but it does not create any right to buy, sell, or grow cannabis for recreational use. The U.S. State Department warns travelers that penalties for possessing, using, or trafficking illegal drugs in Paraguay are severe, and that people detained on drug charges often spend long stretches in pre-trial detention. Across South America, Uruguay remains the only country with a fully legal adult-use market.

Is Cannabis Possession Decriminalized in Paraguay?

Yes. Since 1988, possessing up to 10 grams of cannabis for personal use has been exempt from punishment under Article 30 of Law 1340. The same drug law extends that exemption to personal-use amounts of up to 2 grams of cocaine or heroin, and leaves the final call on what counts as “personal use” to medical and judicial review.

The exemption is narrow. It covers only small-quantity personal possession — not sale, cultivation, or sharing. Amounts above the 10-gram line can bring criminal charges, and cultivation, production, and trafficking carry long prison sentences. In practice, the 10-gram rule is a defense against being punished for a small personal amount, not permission to obtain cannabis.

Can You Grow Weed at Home in Paraguay?

No. Paraguay does not allow home cultivation of psychoactive cannabis, for either recreational or medical use. Under the medical program, only licensed companies may legally grow cannabis, and the entire chain is controlled from seed to pharmacy. Congress approved a bill in 2020 to permit medical self-cultivation, but President Mario Abdo Benítez vetoed it, and the regulators behind the 2025 update have stressed that the current rules still do not let individuals grow marijuana at home on medical grounds.

The one cannabis plant Paraguayan families can legally grow at home is industrial hemp, which the law treats as a separate, non-psychoactive crop.

Is Hemp Legal in Paraguay?

Yes. Paraguay legalized industrial hemp — defined as non-psychoactive cannabis containing less than 0.5 percent THC by dry weight — through Decree 2725 of 2019, signed in October 2019, with cultivation scaling up over the following year. Growing, processing, and exporting hemp requires authorization from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, coordinated with the anti-drug secretariat (SENAD) and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and those authorizations run for five years.

Paraguay built its hemp sector on a family-farming model, with smallholders permitted to cultivate up to about two hectares — just under five acres — of low-THC hemp, and thousands of rural and Indigenous families folded into the supply chain. Industry groups now describe Paraguay as the largest producer and exporter of industrial hemp in Latin America, with the crop processed into foods, fiber, and cosmetics that are sold largely to export markets in North America and Europe rather than to its immediate neighbors.

Is CBD Legal in Paraguay?

CBD is legal for medical use in Paraguay. It falls under the same 2017 medical cannabis framework, which allows cannabis-derived medicines containing CBD to be imported, produced, and dispensed to registered patients; CBD-based products sit in the lightest prescription tier and need only a simple prescription. Separately, hemp-derived CBD is produced within Paraguay’s regulated industrial hemp industry. If you are weighing CBD products, it helps to know where the cannabinoid comes from and how it is regulated, since CBD can be sourced from different plants and supply chains.

About Paraguay

Paraguay is a landlocked country in the heart of South America, bordered by Bolivia to the northwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Argentina to the south and southwest. Its economy leans heavily on agriculture: it is one of the world’s largest soybean exporters and a major producer of corn, wheat, and beef. With no coastline, Paraguay depends on the Paraná-Paraguay waterway, which links it to the Paraná River and on to Atlantic shipping routes and global markets. That farming base and river-export network help explain why both legal hemp and illicit cannabis have taken root here.

Why Is Paraguay One of the World’s Largest Cannabis Producers?

Paraguay is the largest cannabis producer in South America and a major supplier of marijuana to the wider Southern Cone. In 2017, Paraguay reported the largest seizure of cannabis herb of any country in the world, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and it also reported the largest number of cannabis plants eradicated. Most of that cannabis is grown for export: in 2017, Paraguayan cannabis herb was reported as mainly bound for neighboring Brazil, which took about 77 percent, and Argentina, which took roughly 20 percent. Brazilian authorities have repeatedly named Paraguay as the main source of the cannabis seized on their territory.

Cultivation is concentrated in the northeastern border departments, especially around Pedro Juan Caballero in Amambay — the same region the U.S. flags for organized crime and weak policing. Much of the harvest is pressed into compressed “brick” marijuana for smuggling across borders. Yet Paraguay consumes very little of what it grows: lifetime cannabis use is among the lowest in Latin America, at roughly 0.4 percent of the population.

Will Paraguay Legalize Weed?

There is no serious push to legalize recreational cannabis in Paraguay, and no strong sign that one is coming. The country has put its political energy into medical cannabis and industrial hemp, treating both as tightly regulated, export-oriented industries rather than steps toward broader legalization. The 2020 effort to allow even medical self-cultivation was vetoed, domestic cannabis use is very low, and public attitudes remain cautious. Paraguay looks far more likely to keep expanding its regulated medical and hemp sectors — following the gradual, research-first path taken by countries such as Colombia — than to open a recreational market any time soon.