Ten years into its medical program, the island moves close to $200 million a year in legal cannabis sales. On December 5, it hosts its first High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Old San Juan, with Farruko, Jon Z, Fab 5 Freddy and Cimafunk.
Ask most people to name the biggest legal cannabis market in Latin America and you’ll hear Mexico, Colombia, maybe Uruguay. The answer is Puerto Rico.
The island legalized medical cannabis by executive order in 2015, wrote it into law with Law 42 in 2017 and has been selling through licensed dispensaries ever since. Today, it has more than 250 active stores. Hoodie Analytics, the data firm behind High Times’ Trans-High Market Quotations price index, puts current sales at $15 million to $20 million a month, or roughly $180 million to $240 million a year. Mexico has no regulated sales. Colombia’s industry is built mostly around exports. By sales, nothing else in the region comes close.
All of it is medical. Puerto Rico has no adult-use market, and patients need a certification from a licensed physician to buy.
Built on 75 Years of Making Medicine
Puerto Rico didn’t come to cannabis as a beginner. For more than 75 years, the island has been a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub, home to plants that make medicines sold around the world. That background in quality control, compliance and formulation shows up in what local operators sell: precise formulations, consistent dosing and genetics developed with patients in mind.
The federal picture is shifting in the island’s favor. In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice moved state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved cannabis products from Schedule I to Schedule III, a change expected to open the door to more clinical research. Research runs on well-characterized, reproducible products, the kind of thing a pharmaceutical island knows how to make.
“Puerto Rico has been making medicine for the world for three generations,” said Noemí Pérez, founder of CannaID and executive director of the Cannabiz Awards. “Our medical cannabis program carries that same discipline. As the conversation shifts toward research and formulation, the island is ready to show what it can do, and this Cup is where we show it.”
One Night in Old San Juan
On Saturday, December 5, the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup Puerto Rico takes over Cuartel de Ballajá, the 19th-century Spanish military barracks in Old San Juan. It is the first Cup ever held on the island, produced locally by CannaID Medical Center under license from High Times, and it runs alongside the Cannabiz Awards, Puerto Rico’s own industry awards, which have recognized local cultivators, dispensaries, manufacturers and advocates since 2021.
About 170 products are competing across ten categories in three blocks: flower, concentrates and vapes, and edibles and wellness. Entries are evaluated blind on appearance, aroma and on-site analysis by a panel of judges that mixes scientists, doctors, attorneys, cultivators and culture figures. Among them: cultivator Kyle Kushman, pharmaceutical scientist Riley Kirk, psychiatrist and neurologist José A. Franceschini Carlo, Fab 5 Freddy, the original host of Yo! MTV Raps, Latin trap artist Jon Z and High Times Editor-in-Chief Javier Hasse.
Then there’s the party. Doors open at 4 p.m., and the night runs until 2 a.m. GRAMMY-nominated Cuban artist Cimafunk brings his Afro-funk with La Tribu, and Los Chinchillos del Caribe bring the Boricua cumbia. Reggaeton star Farruko, whose Carbonabis brand is among the event’s presenters, joins as a special guest.
So does Josh Kesselman, founder of RAW and publisher of High Times, who will present one of the night’s top awards.
“We all get high together, regardless of language or culture,” Kesselman said. “I’ve noticed in traveling around the world that all of us cannabis consumers are basically the same, and we all have one awesome thing in common. The first High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Puerto Rico proves that even more.”
Coming From the Mainland
Puerto Rico allows eligible medical cannabis patients from other U.S. states and territories to access its dispensaries under reciprocity rules, which makes the Cup an easy trip for patients on the East Coast. Visitors should check their eligibility with the Puerto Rico Department of Health’s Medical Cannabis Program before flying.
One thing a ticket won’t get you: cannabis. Nothing will be sold, distributed or consumed at the event, and admission doesn’t authorize buying, carrying or using it. The event is 21 and over, with a valid photo ID.
A share of the proceeds will go to addiction prevention and education, and another portion to scientific research.
The Details
- What: High Times Medical Cannabis Cup Puerto Rico 2026 and the Cannabiz Awards
- When: Saturday, December 5, 2026. Doors at 4 p.m.
- Where: Cuartel de Ballajá, Old San Juan
- Music: Cimafunk and La Tribu, Los Chinchillos del Caribe and more
- Special guests: Farruko and Josh Kesselman
- Presented by: Athena and CannaID Medical Center, with Carbonabis by Farruko and Quique Transport. Mela’O and Athena also host the green carpet.
- Tickets: Eventbrite and hightimescuppr.com
The High Times Medical Cannabis Cup Puerto Rico is produced locally by CannaID Medical Center under license from High Times. Josh Kesselman is the publisher of High Times, and Javier Hasse, its editor-in-chief, serves on the judging panel.
