Marijuana is partially legal in Colombia: adults can possess up to 20 grams for personal use and grow up to 20 plants at home without criminal penalty, and medical cannabis is legal with a prescription from a Colombian-licensed doctor. Recreational buying and selling remain illegal, there are no retail dispensaries for recreational use, and bringing cannabis into the country is not permitted even with a foreign medical prescription.
Personal Possession and Home Growing
The personal dose threshold comes from Law 30 of 1986, which sets it at 20 grams of marijuana.1Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social. Colombia Ley 30 de 1986 If you’re carrying that amount or less for your own use, you face no criminal prosecution. The rule traces to a 1994 Constitutional Court decision, Sentencia C-221/94, which struck down criminal penalties for possessing or consuming a personal dose on the grounds that those penalties violated the constitutional right to free development of personality.2Corte Constitucional de Colombia. Sentencia C-221/94
In 2015, Colombia’s Supreme Court extended the same logic to home cultivation, ruling that growing up to 20 plants for personal consumption is not a crime. The harvest must stay for your own use. The moment it enters any commercial channel, the protection falls away.
A 2009 constitutional amendment added language stating that possession and consumption of narcotic substances are prohibited except with a medical prescription. The Constitutional Court has consistently read that amendment as leaving the personal dose protection intact, so the pre-existing framework still governs in practice.
Where You Can and Can’t Consume
Public consumption of cannabis is largely permitted. In 2019, the Constitutional Court issued Sentencia C-253/19, striking down the blanket ban on consuming psychoactive substances in public spaces that had been written into the National Police Code.3Corte Constitucional de Colombia. Sentencia C-253/19 The Court found that a blanket prohibition disproportionately restricted the right to free development of personality.
The exception is near schools. Law 2000 of 2019 modified Article 34 of the Police Code to restrict drug and alcohol consumption in and around educational institutions. Mayors set the specific perimeter for each school, and violations near those zones carry a Type 4 General Fine along with possible destruction of the substance.4Función Pública. Colombia Ley 1801 de 2016 – Codigo Nacional de Policia y Convivencia Local municipal ordinances can impose additional location-based restrictions, so the rules vary by city.
Buying Marijuana: Medical Only
There is no legal recreational market. You can’t walk into a store and buy cannabis for personal use. The only lawful purchase channel is medical, created by Law 1787 of 2016, which authorizes access to cannabis and its derivatives for therapeutic and research purposes under Ministry of Health regulation.5Secretaría del Senado. Colombia Ley 1787 de 2016
For years, patients could only access cannabis-derived products such as oils, extracts, and tinctures. Decree 1138 of October 2025 expanded the market to include dried cannabis flower as a finished medical product. Pharmacies and drugstores can now dispense medical flower with a valid prescription, subject to pharmaceutical-grade quality controls, proper labeling, and pharmacist counseling. A prescription from a Colombian-licensed physician is required in every case.
Rules for Tourists
Foreign visitors are subject to the same personal possession rules as Colombian citizens. You can carry up to 20 grams of marijuana without criminal liability. Beyond that, the legal picture tightens quickly.
You cannot bring any cannabis products into Colombia when you enter the country, even if you have a valid medical prescription from home. Foreign prescriptions are not recognized. Colombian customs officials may confiscate products at the border, and there is no formal process to declare personal cannabis imports or get authorization for them.
If you need medical cannabis during your stay, the only legal route is to see a Colombian-licensed doctor, obtain a local prescription, and buy from a licensed dispensary or pharmacy inside the country. Telemedicine consultations with Colombian doctors are available and are considered a legitimate path to a local prescription. Buying from street vendors is illegal and risky, and there are no recreational retail outlets to use as an alternative.
CBD and Hemp Products
Hemp and CBD sit in a separate legal category. Non-psychoactive cannabis is defined as plant material containing less than 1% THC by dry weight. For finished products, items containing less than 2 milligrams of THC per dose, per gram, or per milliliter are classified as uncontrolled; at or above that level they are regulated as controlled substances.
CBD can be sold legally as a medicinal product, cosmetic, or supplement so long as it meets INVIMA (National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute) labeling and quality requirements. Possession is permitted. If you travel to Colombia with CBD, carry products in original packaging with proof of purchase and a certificate of analysis showing THC content below Colombian thresholds. Avoid bringing CBD edibles or food products, which face strict INVIMA oversight and can be refused at the border.
Workplace Consequences
Decriminalized personal use does not translate into blanket workplace protection. In a 2024 ruling, Colombia’s Constitutional Court held that off-duty cannabis consumption can be grounds for dismissal in jobs involving high safety risks. Workers in transportation, construction, healthcare, and similar safety-sensitive roles can face real employment consequences for cannabis use outside working hours, even within the personal dose. For roles outside that category, the picture is less settled and may turn on an employer’s internal policies.
What Crosses Into Criminal Territory
Anything past the personal use framework carries serious criminal exposure under Article 376 of the Colombian Penal Code, which covers trafficking, manufacturing, and carrying narcotics beyond permitted thresholds. Penalties scale with quantity:6Leyes.co. Codigo Penal Articulo 376 – Trafico, Fabricacion o Porte de Estupefacientes
- Up to 1,000 grams of marijuana: 64 to 108 months in prison (roughly 5 to 9 years), plus fines of 2 to 150 times the monthly minimum wage.
- Between 1,000 and 10,000 grams: 96 to 144 months (8 to 12 years), plus fines of 124 to 1,500 times the monthly minimum wage.
- Above 10,000 grams: 128 to 360 months (roughly 10.5 to 30 years), plus fines of 1,334 to 50,000 times the monthly minimum wage.
Penalties increase further when international borders are involved. These rules apply equally to Colombian citizens and foreign nationals, and running a commercial cannabis business without proper licensing falls within the same provisions even if the underlying activity would be legal with the right permits. The practical line to remember: 20 grams and 20 plants for your own use sits inside the law; selling, moving larger quantities, or carrying cannabis across the border does not.