Puerto Rico countries/pr.yaml
Under Article 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (Law 4 of 1971), possessing a controlle … gravating circumstances) and a fine of up to $5,000; a repeat conviction brings six years.[@ley4] A first offender may instead be put on probation without a finding of guilt and, if it is completed, have the case dismissed once in a lifetime.[@ley4] After a qualifying treatment assessment and with prosecution consent, a court may also impose a fine of $1,000 to $10,000 and up to six months of community service instead of prison.[@ley4]
label Possession without prescription (Article 404) · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 3 years · fine 5000 · note Two to five years with mitigating or aggravating circumstances, label Repeat possession conviction · repeat 2 · treatment criminal · term Possession · prison 6 years, label Treatment-track alternative · treatment criminal · term Possession · fine 10000 · note Fine of $1,000–$10,000 and up to six months of community service instead of prison; once in a lifetime dismissal after probation
Growing cannabis outside the licensed medical industry is production of a controlled substance: marihuana sits in Schedule I as a non-narcotic, so unlawful manufacture — which the Act defines to include sowing, growing and harvesting — draws a fixed twelve years (five to twenty with mitigating or aggravating circumstances) and an optional fine of up to $20,000 under Article 401; a repeat conviction draws a fixed twenty-five years.[@ley4] The medical system is built on licensed cultivators supplying dispensaries.[@medicalLaw]
Possession is still prosecuted as a felony in the Court of First Instance; one 2025 case reached the Court of Appeals over a challenge to the search.[@ta26] About 222 people were convicted under Article 404 in 2022, and a San Juan politician asked the governor in 2024 to pardon those convicted of cannabis possession.[@metro24]
Distributing a controlled substance is a separate offence under the same law, with no exception for sharing without payment.[@ley4]
Use is dealt with through the possession offence.[@ley4] Even medical patients may not smoke cannabis.[@medicalLaw]
There is no legal adult-use supply. The medical route requires a recommendation from an authorised doctor and patient identification under the regulated programme.[@medicalLaw] The health department’s August 2026 report counted 110,736 active patients and 59 registered certifying doctors.[@stats26] Dispensaries began serving patients in December 2016; the 2017 law supplied the statutory structure.[@medicalLaw,retailStart]
The Medical Cannabis Regulatory Board had issued 498 licences for cultivation, transport, research and sale by 2024. All production serves the medical market.[@platea]
The May 2015 executive order directed the health secretary to authorise medical cannabis through the drug law’s procedures.[@order15] Dispensary sales began in December 2016, followed by the 2017 Medical Cannabis Act.[@retailStart,medicalLaw] In August 2026, anxiety was certified for 59.34% of active patients, insomnia for 55.14% and chronic pain for 34.81%; patients may be certified for more than one condition.[@stats26]
Registered medical patients who identify themselves to an employer have statutory protecti … tial duties, federal permissions or funding, and unauthorised workplace use or possession.[@medicalLaw] A 2022 amendment also prevents registered medical use from triggering the disability law’s exclusion for illegal-drug users.[@civil22]
No cannabis clubs are known. Outside licensed medical dispensaries, distribution is an offence.[@ley4]
There is no adult-use supply. For medical access, article 12 of the 2017 law recognises a … a dispensary and possessing cannabis; the programme’s applicable conditions still govern.[@medicalLaw] The law also provides for board rules recognising resident-jurisdiction patient cards.[@medicalLaw]
word Marihuana · lang Spanish (Puerto Rico) · meaning cannabis; the legal name for all parts of Cannabis sativa in Law 4 of 1971 · sources ley4
USD
label Unlawful manufacture including growing (Article 401, Schedule I non-narcotic) · treatment criminal · term Unlicensed cultivation · prison 12 years · fine 20000 · note Five to twenty years with mitigating or aggravating circumstances; repeat draws a fixed 25 years
none
No industrial-hemp exception was verified: the Controlled Substances Act lists marihuana without a low-THC distinction, and the licensed system covers medical cultivation only.[@ley4,medicalLaw]
ley4, medicalLaw
About 222 people were convicted under Article 404 in 2022, and a 2025 possession case reached the Court of Appeals over a challenge to the search.[@metro24,ta26]
metro24, ta26
grey
unclear
illegal
banned
Manufacture under the Act includes sowing, growing and harvesting, so unlicensed growing falls under Article 401; the reviewed law gives seeds no separate rule.[@ley4] Licensed medical cultivators supply dispensaries.[@medicalLaw]
ley4, medicalLaw