Colombia Courts Split on City Bans Against Smoking in Parks

Cali's ban on consuming psychoactive substances, including a legal personal dose, in parks, sports centers, cultural spaces and within 200 metres of schools and universities, 24 hours a day, is lawful, the Administrative Tribunal of Valle del Cauca ruled on appeal, Infobae reported on April 10, 2026. The decision reversed a September 2024 first-instance ruling against Decree 0125, which Mayor Alejandro Eder signed on March 8, 2024.

1. 2024-03-08

   Cali issues Decree 0125.

2. 2024-09

   A first-instance court rules against the decree.

3. 2025-12-01

   Antioquia's Administrative Tribunal annuls Medellín's Decree 0044 of 2024.

4. 2026-04

   Valle del Cauca tribunal upholds Cali's decree on appeal.

5. 2026-07-10

   Lawsuit against article 93 of Bogotá's Decree 644 of 2025 reported filed.

Cali decree

0125 of 2024

Where use is banned

Parks, sports and cultural spaces, 200 m around schools

Hours

24 hours a day

Fine

693,333 pesos (16 minimum daily wages)

Court

Administrative Tribunal of Valle del Cauca, on appeal

Why it matters to people who smoke

Carrying a personal dose of up to 20 g is legal in Colombia, and police have not been able to fine or seize it since December 2023. But where you can use it is decided by each mayor, within limits the Constitutional Court set in 2019 and 2023. Smoking in a park can be lawful in Medellín and cost 693,333 pesos in Cali, the fine Infobae cited, equal to 16 minimum daily wages under the National Police Code.

What the Cali court said

The tribunal specifically validated the words “parks” and “during the 24 hours of the day”, according to Infobae, stressing that children's rights take constitutional priority. City officials framed the measure as keeping public spaces safe for minors. Police in Cali issue 25,000 to 30,000 citations a year for public consumption, the outlet reported.

Bogotá's decree goes to court

On July 10, 2026, La Silla Vacía reported that Representatives Susana Boreal, María del Mar Pizarro and Paola Quiñones D'haro, Bogotá councilor Quena Ribadeneira and lawyer Juan Pablo Estupiñán had sued over article 93 of Decree 644 of 2025. According to the decree text, the article bars carrying and using psychoactive substances, personal doses included, around the clock within 200 metres of schools, sports centers, parks, plazas, mass-transit stations and health facilities, and inside parks.

The plaintiffs argue the rule ignores ruling C-127 of 2023, which requires restrictions tied to time and place, and that only the city council, not the mayor, could impose it. The case went to Bogotá's Sixth Administrative Court, which had to decide whether to admit it and whether to suspend the decree provisionally.

The national rules the cities must follow

• Personal dose — Up to 20 g of marijuana is protected for personal use under Law 30 of 1986 and court rulings.
• No police seizures — Decree 2114 of December 7, 2023 repealed the 2018 decree that let police seize and destroy personal doses.
• No blanket bans — Ruling C-253 of 2019 struck down absolute bans on public consumption.
• Time, place and manner — Ruling C-127 of 2023 requires cities to justify restrictions, especially around children.
• National guidance — The Justice Ministry's protocol of January 10, 2024 tells cities how to apply the Police Code without discrimination.

Rights groups led by the Fundación Ideas para la Paz counted more than 30 local decrees in early 2024 that, in their view, broke these limits. Tribunals have now split on how far mayors can go, which makes a higher court ruling or national legislation more likely to settle the question.

What happens next

• Bogotá's court decides whether to suspend article 93 while the case runs.
• Other cities' decrees face similar suits; Medellín's annulment is the plaintiffs' main precedent.
• For the national rules, read is weed legal in Colombia.