Cannabis — Portugal

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)). Those non-monetary sanctions are not open-ended: art. 24 fixes them at a minimum of one month and a maximum of three years. 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.

Verified Sep 4, 2026

Bringing cannabis into Portugal is a crime, and Portugal's well-known decriminalisation does not cover it. Article 21 of Decreto-Lei 15/93 lists importing among the trafficking offences and punishes it with 4 to 12 years in prison. A court may come down to 1 to 5 years under article 25 if it finds the wrongdoing considerably diminished — weighing the means used, the manner and circumstances of the act, and the quality or quantity involved. There is a lighter band of up to 3 years or a fine under article 26 where the person's exclusive purpose was to obtain the cannabis for their own use, but article 26(3) switches that band off entirely once the quantity exceeds what an average individual would consume in five days. Decriminalisation covers using and holding a small personal amount once you are in the country; article 26 exists precisely because carrying cannabis in for your own use is still a crime.

Article 21(1) of Decreto-Lei 15/93 punishes importing, without authorisation, plants, substances or preparations covered by Tables I to III — the trafficking penalty that applies to cannabis — with 4 to 12 years in prison. Article 25(a) reduces that to 1 to 5 years where the illicitness of the act is shown to be considerably diminished, taking into account in particular the means used, the manner or circumstances of the act, and the quality or quantity of the plants, substances or preparations. Article 26(1) reduces it to up to 3 years in prison or a fine where the person's exclusive purpose was to obtain the substance for personal use, and article 26(2) adds that an attempt is punishable — but article 26(3) provides that paragraph 1 does not apply where the person holds a quantity exceeding what is needed for average individual consumption over a period of five days. Which band applies is decided by a court after you are stopped, not by you at the border.

Verified Aug 25, 2026