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Weed is not legal in Chile, but the law is more nuanced than a flat ban. Chile’s drug law does not punish possession of a small amount for exclusive personal use in the near future, or for medical treatment.
Using cannabis in public is a misdemeanour punished with a fine, and selling, importing or transporting it is treated as trafficking. This guide explains Chile’s cannabis laws, the penalties, home growing, medical use, CBD, and what it all means for tourists.
Is weed legal in Chile for recreational use?
No, recreational weed is not legal in Chile, but private personal use is not criminally punished. The governing statute is Law 20.000 of 2005, Chile’s main drug law. It makes carrying or keeping small quantities of cannabis an offence. The exception is where the person shows the cannabis is for medical treatment or for their own exclusive use in the near term.
That wording matters. The personal-use exception is a defence the person has to justify, not a right to possess. If the amount, the packaging or the circumstances suggest supply, the defence fails and the Article 4 penalty applies, or a trafficking charge if the evidence supports one.
Consumption itself is regulated separately. Using cannabis in public places, or in places open to the public, is a misdemeanour under Article 50 of Law 20.000.
The same applies to private places where people have agreed in advance to meet and use, so a planned group session at a private address can still be sanctioned. Sanctions include fines, prevention or treatment programmes, and community work.
There is no legal market. Nobody in Chile is licensed to sell cannabis for recreational use, which means every purchase involves an unlawful seller.
Can you grow weed in Chile?
Growing cannabis without authorisation is a crime under Article 8 of Law 20.000, with the same personal-use exception. If the plants are for your own exclusive, near-term use, only the lighter misdemeanour sanctions apply.
Since Law 21.575 of 2023, a medical prescription can also justify home cultivation. The prescription must come from the treating doctor and state the diagnosis, the treatment, its duration and the method of administration, and that method cannot be smoking. Falsifying a prescription is itself an offence. The law sets no plant count, so any number quoted online is not a legal limit.
What are the penalties under Chile weed laws?
Penalties under Chile weed laws escalate sharply once the personal-use defence falls away. The law distinguishes three levels: personal use, which is not criminally punished; public consumption, which is a misdemeanour; and trafficking, which carries long prison terms.
Possessing small quantities without a successful personal-use defence carries a prison term and a fine under Article 4. Trafficking under Article 1 carries a far heavier prison range. Importing, exporting or transporting cannabis without authorisation is treated as trafficking under Article 3.
Chile’s penalty grades are expressed in a technical scale rather than simple years, and fines are set in monthly tax units. The exact conversions are left out here rather than risk an error.
Penalties at a glance
| Conduct | Governing law | General penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Small amount for exclusive personal use or medical treatment | Law 20.000, Art. 4 | Not criminally punished, if the defence is accepted |
| Use in public, or in private by prior arrangement | Law 20.000, Art. 50 | Misdemeanour: fines, treatment programmes or community work |
| Small amount where the defence fails | Law 20.000, Art. 4 | Prison term and a fine |
| Import, export, transport or supply | Law 20.000, Arts. 1 and 3 | Treated as trafficking, with long prison terms |
Is medical marijuana legal in Chile?
Yes, medical marijuana is legal in Chile. In December 2015 a presidential decree moved cannabis out of the list of the most dangerous drugs. It also allowed the Public Health Institute (ISP) to authorise cannabis-based medicines for pharmacy sale on a retained prescription.
Patients have two lawful routes. They can obtain an ISP-authorised medicine through a pharmacy, or, since 2023, they can grow their own under a qualifying prescription. Both routes depend on a doctor’s involvement, and neither makes adult recreational use lawful.
A bill to legalise adult use was filed in Congress in 2025, but it is not law, and its status after the 2026 change of Congress could not be confirmed.
Is CBD legal in Chile?
CBD is legal in Chile only as a registered pharmaceutical product. The ISP has stated that any CBD product sold without an ISP sanitary registration is a falsified pharmaceutical product. The unregistered oils sold online are therefore not lawful products in Chile.
For a traveller, the safe assumption is that an unregistered CBD oil, gummy or vape has no legal protection at the border.
Can you smoke weed in Chile as a tourist?
Not lawfully in public, and tourists should not rely on the personal-use defence. Chile’s drug law does not distinguish by nationality, so the defence applies to a visitor in principle. But it is assessed case by case, and buying cannabis always involves an unlawful seller.
Is weed legal in Santiago, Chile? The same national law applies in Santiago as everywhere else. Smoking in a park, on the street or outside a bar is a misdemeanour, and police can act on it.
The biggest risk is travel itself. Bringing cannabis into Chile, in any form, counts as importation, which Article 3 treats as trafficking. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states in its Chile travel advice that using or possessing drugs is illegal and can lead to prison sentences.
The bottom line on cannabis in Chile
Weed is not legal in Chile, but small amounts for exclusive personal use or medical treatment are not criminally punished under Law 20.000. Public use, and planned private use, are misdemeanours, and anything that looks like supply is prosecuted as trafficking.
Medical cannabis is legal through ISP-authorised medicines and prescribed home growing, while CBD is lawful only as a registered product. For tourists, the practical rule is clear: never fly in with cannabis, and do not assume a private-use defence will protect you.
Last reviewed: September 30, 2026. Cannabis laws change frequently, always verify current rules with official sources before you travel.
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The link provided to the 2005 decriminalization bill in this article is incorrect. The current link takes you to a law that appears to be about “PROHIBITING THE CIRCULATION OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES, ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OR SERVICE AND LAST DIGIT OF THE LICENSE PLATE, AT THE TIMES AND PERIMETERS INDICATED.”
Links can change so I thought I’d give you a heads up ? Thanks!