Argentina

Penalties for drug offenses in Argentina are severe even for small amounts, including long prison terms; drug-facilitated robbery (via bars or dating apps) is increasingly common.

Long prison terms even for small amounts.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Cannabis is illegal in Argentina - possessing even a small amount for your own use is a crime under article 14 of Ley 23.737, punishable by one month to two years in prison. In 2009 the Supreme Court ruled in "Arriola" that punishing an adult for private personal use was unconstitutional, but the Court said expressly that it was not ordering general decriminalisation, and the article is still in force - so it is a defence a judge may apply after an arrest, not a licence to carry. Medical cannabis is legal only through the REPROCANN registry, which requires an Argentine national-ID account and a locally registered prescribing doctor.

Possession for personal use: one month to two years in prison (Ley 23.737 art. 14, second paragraph). Possession not established as personal use: one to six years plus a fine. Growing plants where the small quantity shows it is for personal consumption: one month to two years; otherwise cultivation, supply or sale carries four to fifteen years (art. 5). A first-time user who is not dependent may, once only, have the sentence replaced by a mandatory educational measure lasting at least three months (art. 21).

Verified Sep 18, 2026

Confirm your medication is legal with the Argentine Embassy and carry it in original packaging with the prescription; not all US medications are available in Argentina.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Travelers hunting or fishing must follow all gun and game laws; some US citizens report problems bringing firearms in and out, so check with the Argentine Embassy before traveling with one.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Travelers 16+ may bring up to USD 10,000 (or equivalent) undeclared and under-16 up to USD 5,000; above that must be declared. Exchange money only at banks, hotels, or legitimate offices with your passport.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Declare what you are carrying into Argentina: the baggage rules are enforced as customs offences whose penalty is a multiple of what the goods are worth. Under the Customs Code, a traveller who brings in as baggage goods that the regulations do not admit as baggage is fined one to three times their customs value, and the goods are confiscated as well if their import for consumption is prohibited (art. 977). If the goods are of a kind admitted as baggage but you omit a declaration that was required, or declare them falsely, the fine is half to twice their customs value and can never be less than the import duties they attract (art. 978). The same one-to-three-times fine applies to taking non-admitted goods out as baggage (art. 979) and to passing baggage-regime goods on to someone else (art. 981). Hiding goods from customs control, or entering at hours or places not authorised for it, is not a fine matter at all - it is the crime of smuggling, two to eight years in prison (arts. 863 and 864), which drops to a fine-only customs offence of "minor smuggling" below a value threshold (art. 947).

Goods not admitted as baggage: a fine of 1 to 3 times the customs value, plus confiscation of the goods if their import for consumption is prohibited (art. 977). Omitted or false declaration of goods that are admitted as baggage: a fine of half to 2 times the customs value, and never less than the import duties on those goods (art. 978). Smuggling: 2 to 8 years' imprisonment (arts. 863 and 864). "Minor smuggling" - where the in-country value of the goods is under ARS 500,000, or under ARS 160,000 for tobacco and tobacco products - is treated as a customs infringement instead, punished exclusively by a fine of 2 to 10 times the in-country value of the goods plus their confiscation; tobacco goods are seized and destroyed (art. 947, as substituted by art. 250 of Ley 27.430, B.O. 29/12/2017). Where the goods are not seized, confiscation is replaced by a fine equal to their in-country value (art. 948).

Verified Oct 7, 2026

Drinking alcohol in the street, and inside stadiums or other venues while mass sporting, educational, cultural or artistic events are held there, is prohibited across Argentina except in the places and at the hours expressly authorised by the competent authority (Ley 24.788, art. 4). The same Act bans the sale of any alcoholic drink to anyone under 18 anywhere in the country, whatever kind of outlet it is (arts. 1 and 4), and an alcoholic drink means any drink containing alcohol at any strength (art. 3). The national fine falls on the seller or the premises; penalties aimed at the individual drinker come from provincial and municipal contravention codes, not from this statute.

Ley 24.788, art. 14: a fine of 500 to 10,000 pesos, or closure of the premises for ten days, for breaching the sale bans in arts. 1 and 4; on a repeat offence the fine runs from 1,000 pesos at its minimum to 50,000 pesos at its maximum, and closure for up to 180 days. These are the amounts printed in the 1997 Act.

Verified Oct 6, 2026

Argentina swapped its vape ban for a registration regime in May 2026, but the rules exclude most American gear: single-use pre-filled vapes may not be imported or sold at all, e-liquid must be under 20 mg/ml nicotine (US pods are usually 50), tanks are capped at 2 ml, and tobacco is the ONLY permitted flavour.

Resolucion 549/2026 sets no monetary penalty of its own and routes enforcement to Ley 26.687 and its implementing decree. Within the registration regime, falsity in the sworn declarations filed for any register category is classed as a fault of maximum gravity, removing the product from the register until it is brought into compliance and without prejudice to any other sanction applicable under the rules in force. No traveller-facing fine for personal possession or personal use is published in this resolution.

Verified Sep 15, 2026

Argentina bans smoking in enclosed workplaces and enclosed public places, schools at every level, childcare and elderly homes, museums and libraries, cultural and sports venues, public transport, transport terminals, and petrol stations - plus a catch-all covering ANY other enclosed space open to the public. The trap for visitors: merely HOLDING A LIT cigarette is caught, because the law defines "consumo" as inhaling, exhaling, chewing, sucking OR keeping a tobacco product lit. Outdoor patios, terraces and balconies ARE exempt - except at health and teaching establishments, where university grounds are the only outdoor places carved back in. A roofed terrace usually does not qualify as outdoors.

Art. 32 a) verbatim: "Multa en moneda de curso legal, equivalente al valor al consumidor final de entre doscientos cincuenta (250) y un mil (1000) paquetes de veinte (20) cigarrillos de los de mayor precio comercializados en el pais... En caso de reincidencia dicha multa podra alcanzar un valor de hasta dos mil quinientos (2500) paquetes con las mismas caracteristicas." The smoking ban sits in Chapter VI (arts. 23-26), which art. 32 a) expressly reaches. NO PESO CONVERSION IS PUBLISHED HERE ON PURPOSE: the fine floats with the retail price of the most expensive 20-cigarette pack sold in the country, and no official source publishes that reference price - any dollar or peso figure would be invented. Enforcement in practice runs through the venue first: art. 23 final paragraph gives non-smokers the right to require the owner or manager to order the offender to stop, and the implementing decree escalates to refusing service and then calling the police. Art. 34 requires a sumario guaranteeing the right of defence before any sanction. Separately, in the City of Buenos Aires the individual-facing offences that were located concern throwing butts and smoking in playground areas of parks and plazas rather than smoking indoors - CABA texts were not read first-hand this run.

Verified Sep 10, 2026

An Argentine or international driver's license is needed to drive in Argentina; driving is more dangerous than in the US, with aggressive driving common, especially in Buenos Aires.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

In Argentina you need a person's consent to capture or reproduce their image or their voice, by whatever means you do it. That is the rule in art. 53 of the Civil and Commercial Code, and it allows only three exceptions: the person is taking part in a public event; there is an overriding scientific, cultural or educational interest and sufficient precautions are taken to avoid unnecessary harm; or it is the regular exercise of the right to report on events of general interest. For a person who has died, their heirs or the person they named in a last will may give the consent, and twenty years after the death non-offensive reproduction is free.

Verified Oct 6, 2026

You can buy and use a mobile line in Argentina, but not anonymously. Ley 25.891 requires every company that sells mobile equipment or terminals to record the buyer's personal, parentage and address data, and, where the buyer is not the user, the end user's data as well — and this applies even to handsets enabled only for use with prepaid top-up cards (art. 2). If you imported your own handset, the licensed operator must see your customs import papers in your own name with duties paid before activating service, and may not activate the line without them (art. 5). Mobile services may be sold only by legally authorised operators; resellers and wholesalers are prohibited (art. 1).

Ley 25.891, art. 12: six months to three years' imprisonment for acquiring by any means, or using, a handset or SIM card knowing it to be of illegitimate origin. Art. 10: one month to six years' imprisonment for altering, replacing, duplicating or otherwise modifying a line number, or the electronic or mechanical serial number of a handset or SIM, in a way that may harm the subscriber, the user or a third party.

Verified Oct 6, 2026

There are no legal restrictions on same-sex sexual relations or LGBTQ events in Argentina, which has strong protections including same-sex marriage (since 2010).

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Offenses against Argentine national symbols carry a penalty of 6 months to 4 years in jail — be mindful when photographing or commenting on official symbols.

6 months to 4 years in jail.

Verified Jul 12, 2026