Cannabis in Argentina

In Argentina, it is now 100% legal to grow, transport, and consume cannabis under specific conditions. The same goes for buying cannabis seeds locally of certain types as long as they fall under the country’s updated guidelines. Read on to learn more about this new development.

In addition to being home to some of the best steaks, wines, and footballers in the world, Argentina is also renowned for its intense economic crises. It is also the second-largest country in South America and arguably the most socially liberal: Argentina was only the second country in The Americas to legalize gay marriage (over ten years ago), and close to 50% of Argentines supported abortion legalization 2020 – which is impressive progress for a South American country where Catholicism still holds a lot sway (with around 80%of people identifying as Catholic).

Argentina is increasingly becoming accepting of cannabis use; since 2021, the cultivation and possession of cannabis has been legalized for registered individuals. Not to mention, the country now allows residents to purchase cannabis seeds as long as they meet the requirements set by The National Cannabis Registry and The National Seed Institute. If you want to learn more about legal herbe in Argentina, keep reading this article!

2022 – A Year for Change

Argentina’s legal cannabis industry has seen a significant shift in recent years. A handful of approved cannabis seeds are now legal to purchase, and the National Cannabis Registry is in full effect. This marks a major change from just a few years ago, when the first steps toward legalization were taken.

2020 was a year of change for Argentine cannabis users. On July 15th, the Government published a draft regulatory changes to the nation’s medical weed law, bill 27.350. The proposed changes included the right for registered patients to grow their own cannabis at home, a framework for public production and sale of medical cannabis products, and free access to cannabis-based therapies. Soon after publishing the proposal, the government started putting some of these proposed changes in motion..

A year after it was first established, REPROCANN, Argentina’s national cannabis registry, is now open to individuals, health professionals, and non-government organizations. anyone who registers with the program can legally cultivate, possess, and consume cannabis. There are three different ways to gain access to REPROCANN in Argentina:

If you want to grow cannabis for yourself, you’ll need a note from a medical professional in order to be allowed to possess and use it.
As an individual who grows cannabis for another registered patient.
We are an NGO that cultivates cannabis for our patients.

Buying cannabis seeds legally in Argentina

Recently, it became legal to commercially grow and sell cannabis seeds in Argentina. In theory, this means that anyone living there can purchase them without the need for documentation.

Although it is still technically a crime to possess or plant cannabis seeds, individuals can register with the REPROCANN (cannabis registry) to avoid punishment.

The types of cannabis seeds that you can purchase are regulated by INASE (Argentina’s National Seed Institute), and registration for these seed only last a year before needing to be renewed. The great news is that the cannabinoid content of the seeds does not need to be specified, meaning that everything from high-THC to high-CBD strains are welcomed in Argentina’s burgeoning industry.

There are currently four approved varieties of cannabis, with another 77 under review. This is encouraging news for grow shops, as they will only need to meet a few basic requirements to sell the approved seed types. This change also represents a major step forward for medical programs and research, removing the need to import seeds from abroad.

How Does Argentina’s Cannabis Program (REPROCANN) Work?

Argentina’s medical cannabis program is unique in many ways, but one of the most noticeable distinctions is that there isn’t a list of qualifying conditions.

In Argentina, instead of only being able to register for medicinal cannabis use if you have a serious illness, any use of cannabis can be therapeutic and registered. This is quite different from how other programs work in certain US states. For example, in these US state programs, only patients with cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS or PTSD would be considered forTherapeutic uses of cannabis that Argentine patients list in their REPROCANN applications include things such as:

Sleep improvements
Relief from generalized anxiety and stress
Improved appetite
Mild pain management

In fact, Argentina’s REPROCANN program permits patients to own and cultivate large numbers of cannabis plants. For example, those enrolled in the REPROCANN program are allowed to grow nine flowering plants indoors (in a growing space no larger than 6 square meters) and an unlimited number of vegetating plants outdoors (in a space no larger than 15 square meters).

An individual can possess 40g of dried cannabis flowers in public, or up to 6 30ml bottles of cannabis tincture/extract. There is also no limit on the amount of cannabis a patient can have stored at home. On the other hand, a registered NGO can grow 9 plants per patient for 150 registered patients maximum .

REPROCANN doesn’t differentiate between the types of cannabis a patient can possess or cultivate, meaning all strains are allowed, including those high in CBD and THC.

What other benefits are there to REPROCANN in Argentina?

REPROCANN patients can not only grow and possess cannabis legally, but they can also:

You can take your cannabis with you on flights or other modes of transportation across Argentina.
The duo who operate the flower and tincture business are calling for stricter penalties to thieves who target small businesses.
Receive prescriptions for cannabis or cannabis derivatives from certified public health professionals.

What Are the Downfalls of Argentina’s REPROCANN?

Although Argentina’s REPROCANN has been praised by some, it is still far from perfect. The main issue with the program is that it only covers therapeutic use of cannabis and doesn’t completely legalize or decriminalize it for everyone. In other words, people can still get arrested for carrying around plants or what a police officer considers to be a “large amount” of cannabis in public.

Some people have said that Argentina’s REPROCANN program does not do enough to control how cannabis is consumed, for example by regulating the use of edibles and hash. However, REPROCANN only ever mentions plants, dried flowers, or tinctures in its guidelines – it doesn’t place any restrictions on how patients consume cannabis.

One of the largest issues with Argentina’s REPROCANN program is that law enforcement officials are not properly educated on the program and its patients’ legal rights. To this day, registered patients who transport or grow cannabis for medicinal purposes get into trouble with law enforcement due to a lack of knowledge about the program.

What Was Argentina’s Stance on Cannabis Before REPROCANN?

Argentina has a live cannabis culture, and many of its citizens consume weed on a regular basis – especially young people. In fact, cannabis use is deeply rooted throughout South America. However, before the REPROCANN program was established, it was difficult to understand the laws surrounding cannabis in Argentina.

Under Argentine law, cannabis is a schedule substance and thus punishable by up to 14 years in jail for producing, selling, or possession. However, in 2009 the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to penalize drug possession for personal consumption.

The Supreme Court ruled that the personal consumption of drugs in private is protected by article 19 of Argentina’s constitution. This news failed to produce any legislative changes to Argentina’s drug laws, much to the disappointment of those who were hoping for change.

Although there were some changing attitudes towards cannabis in Argentina before 2021, most notably the introduction of medical cannabis law bill 27.350 in 2017 which allowed for legal access to therapeutic cannabis, it was not until 2021 that real progress was made.

The law has long only favored people with severe refractory cases of epilepsy and treatments that required Charlotte’s Web brand tinctures (which patients had to import into the country along with paying up to 50% import taxes).

After Argentina created REPROCANN, the government announced potential changes to federal laws on industrial cannabis and hemp in May 2022. These aren’t confirmed yet, but the economic opportunities for Argentina are huge if these doors open.