Cannabis — Portugal

Bringing cannabis into Portugal is treated like smuggling illegal drugs — expect a long jail sentence and heavy fines, including when transiting through the airport; transit passengers' baggage is scanned.

Long jail sentence and heavy fines (FCDO), even in airport transit.

Cannabis is not legal in Portugal -- possession for personal use is decriminalised, which is not the same thing. Police will seize whatever you have and refer you to a government Dissuasion Commission, which can impose a fine or other sanctions such as a ban on leaving the country without authorisation. Buying, selling and growing cannabis all remain crimes, there is no legal shop, club or dispensary anywhere in the country, and carrying more than a 10-day supply can be prosecuted as trafficking, punishable by 4 to 12 years in prison.

Personal use, acquisition or possession: an administrative offence handled by a Dissuasion Commission, which may impose a fine (art. 16(2), still denominated in escudos) or non-monetary sanctions including a ban on leaving the country without authorisation (art. 17(2)). Trafficking-type offences: 4 to 12 years, reduced to 1 to 5 years where the unlawfulness is considerably diminished, or up to 3 years for a user-dealer holding no more than a 5-day supply (Decreto-Lei 15/93 arts. 21, 25 and 26). Cultivation for own use: up to 3 months' imprisonment or a fine, rising to up to 1 year above a 3-day supply.