Guatemala’s lawmakers propose adult cannabis use and five home plants

Guatemalan lawmakers brought a bill before Congress on 26 April 2016 that would permit private adult cannabis use and up to five plants at home for personal or family consumption. Álvaro Velásquez, Sandra Morán and colleagues proposed licensed commercial supply alongside those household permissions.

Existing offences carried prison even for personal possession

The 1992 drug law prescribed four months to two years in prison plus a fine for acquiring or possessing drugs for personal consumption. Unauthorised cultivation carried five to twenty years, while trafficking carried twelve to twenty years, both with fines.

The bill proposed cannabis exceptions to those offences and other drug-law restrictions. It also proposed repealing the older penal code’s drug sections.

Its sponsors argued that criminalising cannabis consumers had damaged their prospects of rehabilitation and placed demands on the justice system. Their proposal put legal supply, public education and voluntary treatment into the same policy debate.

Adults could use cannabis privately and grow five plants

The proposed household rule allowed adults to plant, grow and harvest up to five cannabis plants for personal consumption or sharing within the family home.

Adult consumption would be allowed in private spaces, with rules applying to alcohol and tobacco also relevant. Sales to minors would remain prohibited.

The bill also proposed protection against discrimination based on cannabis consumption and access to free rehabilitation programmes for people who wanted them. Its approach connected permission to use cannabis with education about its effects and support for problematic use.

Businesses would need licences and pay a sales tax

The health ministry would oversee commercial growing, distribution and sales. Businesses handling plants, seeds and cannabis products would need licences, including for transport and international trade.

Products would have to be identified by variety and THC strength, and supply would be subject to quality controls. Pharmacies and drug wholesalers would also require the relevant licence.

A proposed 10% sales tax would be included in the sale price. Half of the revenue would support the national hospital system and half police programmes educating people about cannabis. Household cultivation for domestic consumption would be exempt.

A congressional committee opposed the proposal

The bill encountered opposition from the legislation and constitutional committee later in 2016. Its proposed permissions remained under debate.

A medical cannabis proposal also met resistance in 2017. These efforts put the question of legal access before lawmakers while Guatemala’s criminal drug laws continued to govern users and growers.^[1][2][3]