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No, weed is not legal in Latvia. Cannabis is a controlled narcotic for any recreational purpose, and Latvia runs one of the stricter regimes in the European Union. Buying, holding, growing or selling it is prohibited. A first offence involving a very small amount for personal use is usually handled as an administrative matter with a fine, but repeat conduct and anything beyond a small quantity moves into the Criminal Law, where prison becomes possible.
There is no recreational market, no cannabis cafes and no legal way to smoke in public. This guide explains what the law says, what penalties apply, and how the rules treat CBD, medical use and visitors.
Is cannabis legal in Latvia?
Cannabis is illegal in Latvia for recreational use, and it is classified as a controlled narcotic substance. Acquiring, holding, growing, transporting or selling it without authorisation is against the law regardless of the amount involved. Latvia has not decriminalised personal use in the way some European countries have, and it operates no legal retail model of any kind.
The country sits toward the strict end of the EU spectrum. The European Union Drugs Agency records cannabis use itself as a punishable offence in Latvia, which is not the case everywhere in the bloc. In practice that means even small-scale personal behaviour carries a real legal consequence rather than being waved through.
Latvia weed laws: possession and use penalties
Penalties in Latvia escalate sharply from a fine to imprisonment depending on how much you hold and whether you have offended before. The framework has two layers. A first offence involving the unauthorised use, acquisition or storage of a small amount for personal use is treated as an administrative offence, punishable by a warning or a fine of up to 280 euros.
The second layer is the Criminal Law. If the same small-amount conduct is repeated within twelve months of an administrative penalty, it becomes a criminal offence under Section 253 of the Criminal Law, carrying imprisonment of fifteen days to three months, community service or a fine. Holding more than a small amount, even purely for personal use, is criminal from the outset and can bring up to three years in prison.
The line between a small amount and a larger amount is set by government regulation and is deliberately low, so the administrative route covers only minimal quantities. Anything above that narrow threshold is prosecuted under the Criminal Law rather than the administrative code.
Penalties at a glance
The table below summarises how Latvia treats the main cannabis offences.
| Offence | Classification | Typical penalty |
|---|---|---|
| First-time possession or use of a small amount | Administrative | Warning or fine up to 280 euros |
| Repeat small-amount offence within 12 months | Criminal | 15 days to 3 months imprisonment, community service or fine |
| Possession of a larger amount for personal use | Criminal | Up to 3 years imprisonment |
| Selling a small amount | Criminal | Up to 3 years imprisonment |
| Trafficking (standard) | Criminal | Around 2 to 8 years imprisonment |
| Trafficking by an organised group | Criminal | Around 3 to 10 years imprisonment |
| Large-scale or organised distribution | Criminal | Up to 15 years imprisonment |
| Cultivation of cannabis plants | Criminal | Prison term depending on scale |
Is it legal to smoke weed in Latvia?
No, it is not legal to smoke weed in Latvia, whether in private or in public. Using cannabis is itself treated as a drug offence, so lighting up is not the grey area it can feel like in more tolerant countries. There are no coffee shops, no cannabis social clubs and no designated consumption spaces.
Smoking in public adds visibility and the near-certainty of police attention if you are seen. Because use and possession are linked, being caught with cannabis on you at the same time compounds the problem. The safest reading is simple: there is no lawful way to consume cannabis recreationally anywhere in the country.
Trafficking and cultivation penalties
Selling, supplying and growing cannabis are serious criminal offences in Latvia, with prison terms that climb quickly as the scale grows. Even selling a small amount can bring up to three years. Standard trafficking is punishable by roughly two to eight years, rising to about three to ten years where an organised group is involved, and up to fifteen years for large-scale or organised-crime distribution.
Cultivation is also criminal. Growing cannabis plants without authorisation is prosecuted under the Criminal Law, and the penalty depends on the number of plants and the intended use. There is no personal home-grow allowance, so even a single plant is unlawful.
Medical cannabis in Latvia
Medical cannabis is not available through any functioning national programme in Latvia, and access is effectively closed for most patients. Latvia has not established a framework that lets doctors routinely prescribe cannabis flower or standardised cannabis medicines, and it remains one of the EU members without a working medical route.
Proposals to allow medical use have surfaced in political debate, but as of this review no general patient-access scheme was in force. Patients who need cannabis-based treatment usually cannot obtain it domestically. This is an area worth checking directly with Latvian health authorities, since the position has been debated and could shift.
Is CBD legal in Latvia?
CBD sits in a narrow and cautious legal space in Latvia rather than being sold freely like an ordinary supplement. Products derived from EU-approved industrial hemp with only trace THC are the most defensible, and hemp cultivation is permitted under EU agricultural rules with a strict THC ceiling on the plant. Anything with meaningful THC is treated as cannabis and is illegal.
Ingestible CBD is more complicated. Across the EU, CBD extracts added to food are treated as a novel food that requires authorisation, and Latvia has taken a conservative line on such products. THC remains the deciding factor: once a product crosses the trace threshold, it stops being a legal hemp product and becomes a controlled substance.
Cannabis and tourists: the real risk
Tourists get no special leniency in Latvia, and the practical risk of carrying cannabis is high. Official travel advice is blunt: the UK government warns that illegal drugs including cannabis are strictly prohibited even in very small quantities, with penalties of up to ten years in prison and heavy fines, and that Latvian airports scan the baggage of all passengers, including those in transit. Australian government advice similarly warns of severe penalties and long jail terms for small amounts.
Do not assume an EU location means relaxed enforcement. Bringing cannabis into Latvia, including from more permissive neighbours, is smuggling and is treated far more harshly than simple possession. A vape cartridge or an edible counts the same as flower.
The bottom line on weed in Latvia
Weed is illegal in Latvia for recreational use, and the country enforces that firmly. A first, minimal personal-use offence may stay in the administrative fine bracket, but repeat conduct and larger amounts are criminal, and supply, trafficking and cultivation carry substantial prison terms. Medical access is effectively unavailable, CBD is tolerated only within tight low-THC limits, and visitors face the same rules as residents.
Reform has been discussed in the Saeima, Latvia’s parliament, but the prohibitionist framework remains in place. If you are travelling, the practical advice is to leave cannabis out of your plans entirely.
Last reviewed: September 4, 2026. Cannabis laws change frequently, always verify current rules with official sources before you travel.
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