Cannabis — Venezuela

Cannabis is illegal in Venezuela and even a personal amount is a prison offence. Under the Organic Drug Law, holding up to 20 grams of marijuana - or up to 5 grams of genetically modified marijuana - is what the law treats as possession, and unlawful possession carries one to two years in prison (art. 153). The only way out of that article is the consumer route in art. 131: a user who holds a personal dose for his own consumption is dealt with by social-security (treatment) measures instead, and the law leaves the judge to decide, on expert evidence, what a personal dose is for an average person. The law also says quantities held as a pretext of "provision" beyond a theoretical personal dose are never excluded from the possession offence. Go over the possession limits and you are on the trafficking scale, which starts at eight to twelve years.

Unlawful possession - holding up to 20 g of marijuana, or up to 5 g of genetically modified marijuana, for a purpose other than the licit activities the Law declares or the personal consumption of art. 131: 1 to 2 years' imprisonment (art. 153). Above those limits: 8 to 12 years up to 500 g of marijuana (200 g if genetically modified), and 12 to 18 years up to 5,000 g of marijuana (1,000 g if genetically modified) (art. 149). Trafficking, dealing, transport, storage or brokerage generally: 15 to 25 years; directing or financing those operations: 25 to 30 years (art. 149). Sowing, growing, harvesting, storing, transporting, hiding or distributing cannabis seeds, resin or plants: 12 to 18 years, reduced to 6 to 10 years where the seed or resin does not exceed 300 g or the plants do not exceed 10 units, and increased by half for genetically modified marijuana plants (art. 151).

Verified Oct 7, 2026