Cannabis — Uruguay

Cannabis is legal in Uruguay, but only for Uruguayan citizens and accredited permanent residents who register with the state regulator IRCCA, so a tourist has no lawful way to obtain it. All three legal routes -- pharmacy sales, cannabis membership clubs and home growing -- require Uruguayan citizenship or permanent residence plus registration, and anything bought outside that system comes from an illegal market. Uruguayan law does exempt from criminal liability a quantity you hold for your own consumption, and treats up to 40 grams of marijuana as such a quantity, but supplying, selling, transporting for others or carrying cannabis across a border falls under a trafficking article carrying 2 to 12 years in prison.

Importing, exporting, distributing, transporting, supplying or holding cannabis other than for personal consumption, without legal authorisation: 2 to 12 years' penitentiary, rising to 3 to 12 years where committed by an organised criminal group (Decreto-Ley 14.294 art. 31). Unauthorised production of psychoactive cannabis: 20 months to 10 years (art. 30). Taking cannabis out of the country is covered by the same export offence.

Verified Sep 4, 2026

There is no legal way for a tourist to buy cannabis in Uruguay. The decree implementing Ley 19.172 closes all three lawful routes to visitors: only adults who are "natural or legal Uruguayan citizens, or who prove permanent residence in the country" and are entered in the Cannabis Registry kept by the state regulator IRCCA may hold a home grow (Decreto 120/014 art. 15), belong to a membership club (art. 25) or acquire psychoactive cannabis at all (art. 34). Pharmacy dispensing must be done in person at the pharmacy, and sale by internet, telephone or home delivery is expressly prohibited (art. 35) -- so any cannabis sold to a visitor is sold outside the legal system.

Registration in the Cannabis Registry requires proof of Uruguayan citizenship or accredited permanent residence, so a visitor cannot register. The offence the seller commits is in Decreto-Ley 14.294 art. 31 - NOT in Ley 19.172 - and its operative wording today was given by Ley 19.889 of 9 July 2020 art. 68, which replaced the earlier wordings of Ley 19.513/2017 art. 13 and Ley 19.172/2013 art. 7. Art. 31 punishes anyone who, without legal authorisation, imports, exports, puts in transit, distributes, transports, holds other than for own consumption, warehouses, possesses, offers for sale or deals in any way with the listed substances: two to twelve years' penitentiary, rising to three to twelve years where an organised criminal group commits it. The same article exempts a quantity destined for personal consumption, assessed by the judge, and states that up to forty grams of marijuana shall be understood as a personal-consumption quantity - so the person selling to a visitor bears the 2-12 year exposure, while a visitor merely holding a consumption quantity falls within that statutory exemption.

Verified Oct 10, 2026