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

Medical cannabis is legal in Argentina, but recreational use is not. The country legalized cannabis for medical and scientific use in 2017 and built a national registry that lets approved patients buy, transport, and grow their own plants. Recreational sale and use remain prohibited under the national drug law, even though the Supreme Court has ruled that punishing an adult for private personal possession is unconstitutional. The result is a layered system: a working medical program, decriminalized personal possession, and a hemp and cannabis industry that has spent recent years caught between ambitious expansion and political turbulence. Argentina sits alongside neighbors such as Colombia as one of South America’s more developed medical-cannabis markets.

About Argentina

Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, located in the southern (SOMN ) part of South America. It shares borders with Chile to the west along the Andes Mountains, as well as Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay. The country is known for its love of soccer, tango, and quality wine. It is a federal republic, which matters for cannabis: although the core legal framework is national, much of the day-to-day implementation now falls to the provinces.

Is Medical Cannabis Legal in Argentina?

Yes. Medical cannabis has been legal in Argentina since 2017. In March 2017, Congress passed Law 27.350, which created a national program for the medical and scientific study of cannabis and allowed the use of cannabis oil, CBD, and other derivatives for therapeutic and pain-relief purposes. The law was first regulated in September 2017.

Access widened in 2020, when then-President Alberto Fernández issued Decree 883/2020. That decree let registered patients grow their own plants to lower costs and broaden access, and it gave legal footing to the national cannabis registry known as REPROCANN. Pharmacies are allowed to sell cannabis-derived products, and health insurers have been required to cover prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines. Because cannabis can interact with other treatments, patients should review how cannabis interacts with pharmaceutical medications with their prescribing physician. The framework covers cultivation, processing, and distribution for medical use, while recreational use stays illegal.

Is Recreational Cannabis Legal in Argentina?

No. Argentina has not legalized cannabis for recreational use. Like its neighbor Bolivia, it treats cannabis as a controlled substance under its national drug law, Law 23.737, which has been in force since 1989. Growing, selling, or supplying cannabis outside the medical and industrial frameworks can carry criminal penalties, and trafficking offenses are punishable by prison terms of four to fifteen years. The 1989 statute also formally criminalizes possession for personal use, though that provision has been narrowed by the courts, as explained below.

Is Cannabis Decriminalized in Argentina?

Yes, for private personal use. On August 25, 2009, Argentina’s Supreme Court ruled in the case known as “Arriola” that it is unconstitutional to punish an adult for possessing a small amount of cannabis for private personal use. The court found that the penalty provision of Article 14 of the drug law violated Article 19 of the Constitution, which shields private conduct that does not harm others from state interference.

The ruling did not set a specific quantity that counts as personal use, so the threshold is left to judges to decide case by case, weighing factors such as amount, packaging, and any sign of intent to sell. That ambiguity has real consequences: police can still detain people in unclear situations, and the protection applies only to private, non-commercial use that does not affect third parties. Decriminalization, in other words, is not the same as legalization.

Can You Grow Cannabis at Home in Argentina?

Yes, if you are a registered medical patient. Through REPROCANN, a patient with a medical authorization can grow cannabis for personal therapeutic use, or have a family member, a designated third party, or an authorized civil organization cultivate on their behalf. Argentina legalized self-cultivation of medical cannabis through the 2020 decree that created the registry.

In May 2025, the Ministry of Health overhauled the registry through Resolution 1780/2025, which redefined who can register and tightened the rules. The measure replaced the previous “solidarity grower” arrangement with a narrower “third-party cultivator” category, limited those cultivators to one additional patient, and required prescribing doctors to be listed in the Federal Network of Health Professionals and to hold specific training in medicinal cannabis. Registered patients may cultivate up to nine flowering plants and transport up to 40 grams of flower or cannabis oil in 30-millilitre containers, under a self-cultivation permit valid for three years; permits for organizations and research projects run for one year. Existing registrants were given six months, until around the end of November 2025, to update their paperwork or lose their authorization.

Is CBD Legal in Argentina?

Yes, CBD is legal for medical use. The country’s medicines regulator, ANMAT (the National Administration of Drugs, Foods and Medical Devices), approved Argentina’s first locally made CBD medicine in 2020, a purified cannabidiol oil used to treat drug-resistant epilepsy syndromes such as Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet. CBD-based medicines are sold in pharmacies with a prescription, and patients can also import approved products through ANMAT.

Beyond medicines, ANMAT also regulates cosmetic products that contain naturally derived CBD, provided they hold no more than 0.2% THC and make no therapeutic claims. Recreational or unregulated CBD products fall outside these channels and are not authorized.

Is Hemp Legal in Argentina?

Yes. Argentina’s framework for industrial hemp took shape over the past few years. In 2022, Congress passed Law 27.669, which created the Regulatory Agency of the Hemp and Medicinal Cannabis Industry (ARICCAME) to oversee the cultivation, production, and commercialization of hemp and cannabis products and seeds. Regulations under the law set the dividing line between hemp and psychoactive cannabis at 1% THC, allowing low-THC products to be made without falling under the criminal drug law. Supporters argued the industry would create jobs and generate export earnings.

The agency was then swept up in Argentina’s broader deregulation push. In July 2025, the government of President Javier Milei issued Decree 462/2025, which dissolved ARICCAME and the National Seed Institute and reassigned their cannabis duties to ANMAT and the Ministry of Economy. Both chambers of Congress rejected that decree in August 2025, and the executive responded with Decree 627/2025 in September 2025, which restored the provisions the earlier decree had repealed. ARICCAME was reinstated as a result, though it had already been placed under federal intervention in 2024 and continues to operate under that supervision, which the government extended for another year in late 2025. In June 2026, the reinstated agency issued Resolution 41/2026, a narrow licensing regime for cannabis propagation material — seeds, seedlings, and cuttings — that runs until March 1, 2027 and does not by itself authorize growing flower or selling finished cannabis products. The episode left companies waiting for clarity, and several provinces have stepped in to keep issuing permits under Law 27.669.

Argentina’s Cannabis Industry and Exports

Argentina is trying to build a medical cannabis sector both for domestic patients and as an export industry. According to a Ministry of Productive Development report cited by Reuters, the government hoped the industry could generate roughly 10,000 jobs, $500 million in domestic sales, and $50 million in exports. Public and private projects have taken root across several provinces, including a state-owned research center in Santa Fe and the state company Cannava in Jujuy, which produces cannabis oil for the public health system.

That ambition has run into political and economic headwinds. The shake-up around ARICCAME froze new licensing for a time, and investment has been dampened by uncertainty over who regulates what. For now, much of the momentum sits with the provinces, which have continued to coordinate research and production while the national framework is restructured. Argentina’s trajectory still tracks ahead of medical-only neighbors such as Peru.

Will Argentina Legalize Recreational Cannabis?

There is no sign that Argentina will open a recreational market any time soon. The country’s energy is focused on its medical program and an export-oriented industry, not on legalizing adult-use sales. Regional neighbors are moving at their own pace: Paraguay has pursued medical cultivation, while Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis back in 2013. Argentina’s near-term path runs through patient access, home cultivation under REPROCANN, and a hemp and medical-cannabis industry that is still finding stable footing after a turbulent stretch.