Portugal
Europe
#27 of 196 worldwide
#9 of 45 in Europe
All drugs were decriminalised in 2001: up to 25 g of flower is an administrative matter for a dissuasion commission. Cultivation remains a crime. Portugal is a major medical exporter.
Score breakdown ▏world average
Select a segment to show or hide the exact rules and sources.
Possession · 25%3/10adds 7.5 of 25 points
Since July 2001 possessing up to a ten-day supply — 25 g of cannabis flower or 5 g of hashish — is an administrative matter, not a crime. Police confiscate it and refer you to a regional dissuasion commission, which can suspend the case, fine you or recommend treatment. It is decriminalised, not legal.
Personal cultivation · 25%1/10adds 2.5 of 25 points
Not covered by decriminalisation. Growing any number of plants, even one for yourself, is a criminal offence under the drug-trafficking law.
Punishment & enforcement · 20%5/10adds 10.0 of 20 points
Users are not prosecuted; sanctions are administrative and often waived. Growing and dealing carry prison sentences.
Sharing & gifting · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Supplying cannabis to someone else is trafficking, with a reduced sentence available for people who deal only to fund their own use.
Consumption · 10%3/10adds 3.0 of 10 points
Using is an administrative infraction handled by the dissuasion commission. In practice first-time non-dependent users usually have proceedings suspended with no sanction.
Legal access · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
No legal source for adult use: no shops, no clubs, no home growing. Bills to regulate have been debated without passing.
History
More context not part of the score
Portugal is one of Europe's largest licensed medical cannabis producers, with dozens of companies cultivating almost entirely for export under licence from the medicines agency.
Low-THC hemp products and prescription medical preparations only.
Legal since 2018 and regulated by the medicines agency. A doctor may prescribe approved cannabis preparations when conventional treatments have failed, dispensed in pharmacies; few products are authorised and take-up is low.
No criminal record for use. Commission proceedings are confidential, though they can include bans on visiting certain places or holding certain licences.
All sources
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