Is Cannabis / THC legal in Bolivia?
- Legal status
- Cannabis controlled and illegal under Law 1008 (1988) — no coca-style carve-out; personal-use 'minimal quantity' to treatment (Art 49), NO fixed gram threshold
- Consequences if caught
- Cannabis is controlled and illegal under Bolivia's Law 1008 (1988); the Constitution Art 384 carve-out protects only the coca leaf in its natural state and does NOT extend to cannabis. Personal-use possession of a 'minimal quantity' is directed to treatment or education rather than prison (Art 49), but there is NO fixed statutory gram threshold — a two-expert assessment determines the minimum. Cultivation (Art 46) draws about 1–2 years; manufacture (Art 47) 5–15 years; trafficking (Art 48) 10–25 years.
- If prescribed or medical
- Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form.
- Documentation
- Constitution Art 384 protects the coca leaf in its natural state as cultural heritage and a factor of social cohesion — 'in its natural state it is not a narcotic' — with legal cultivation delimited to authorized zones (the Yungas); traditional coca chewing is legal, and Bolivia withdrew from and re-acceded to the 1961 Single Convention specifically to preserve it. Cocaine, the processed drug, is a DIFFERENT thing: it is controlled and illegal, and the coca carve-out does NOT extend to cocaine. Cannabis, heroin, methamphetamine, MDMA and LSD are controlled and illegal with no carve-out. Personal-use possession of a 'minimal quantity' is directed to treatment or education rather than prison (Law 1008 Art 49), but there is NO fixed statutory gram threshold — a two-expert assessment determines the minimum. Cultivation outside authorized coca zones (Art 46) draws about 1–2 years, manufacture (Art 47) 5–15 years, and trafficking (Art 48) 10–25 years. Bolivia has NO death penalty for drugs. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Bolivia’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →
