Marijuana crops illuminate the mountains of Toribío, in northern Cauca deparment, Colombia, at night on August 15, 2023. The cycles of light and darkness are essential for the plants' growth. The growers' union, representing around 16,000 farming families, spans the municipalities of Jambaló, Toribío, Caloto, Corinto, and Miranda.

Omar Benavidez, an electrical engineer, trims cannabis plants with scissors in Bogotá, Colombia's capital, on November 15, 2024. Benavidez owns an automated home cannabis growing system, which he rents to consumers seeking high-quality flowers.

Carlos Ul, a cannabis grower, poses for a portrait inside a cannabis drying shed in Caloto, northern Cauca department, Colombia, on February 9, 2024. "We turned to cannabis cultivation because of the lack of opportunities and support. When you try to get a loan, they demand countless requirements—whether it’s for cattle or coffee—you end up giving your life to a bank. Cannabis became our chance to sustain ourselves as farmers," Ul explains.

Two men pack marijuana buds at a farm in northern Cauca departmetn, Colombia, preparing them for illicit transportation to be sold in the city, on March 2, 2024. The lights in the background are hundreds of cannabis crops.

Daniela Ocampo picks a joint from a tray during the San Canuto, an event to celebrate the cannabis culture that was born in Spain in 1979 and was first held in Colombia in the city of Medellin, Colombia, on January 19, 2024.

"Pola Dipe," a 40-year-old criminal lawyer, smokes weed at her home in Cali, Colombia, on May 15, 2023. "The approval of adult marijuana use would enable growers to sell their high-quality flower to those unable to grow their own. Additionally, regulation would guarantee product quality, whereas micro-trafficking often involves items of dubious origin," says Pola Dipe.

Cannabis consumers gathered for the International March for the Legalization of Marijuana in Cali, Colombia, on May 6, 2023.

A woman and two young men shred marijuana buds on a farm in Caloto, Cauca department, Colombia, on February 9, 2024. Despite being illegal, cannabis has become an essential livelihood for at least 9,000 families in the north of the department, according to estimates from growers' associations

A grower covers his face with a mirror amidst a cannabis crop in Caloto, northern Cauca department, Colombia, on February 9, 2024. Over 16,000 families in the region depend on this industry, although the sale of cannabis for adult or recreational use remains illegal in the country.

Carolina Cuervo (right), a lawyer and medical cannabis entrepreneur, gives a cannabis infusion to her 18-year-old son Daniel (left), who has refractory epilepsy and cognitive delay, inside her car in Bogotá, Colombia's capital, on November 18, 2024. "I’ve been told I’m a bad mom for defending the plant, but Daniel is a different person since I started using cannabis to treat his seizure crises, which were resistant to traditional medications," says Cuervo.

Fernando Henao (right) attends to a customer (left) inside his grow shop, UFO, where paraphernalia for cannabis use is sold, in Cali, Colombia, on December 28, 2024.

Claudia María Gómez, a 63-year-old cannabis activist, lights a marijuana cigarette inside a car during a trip to Popayán, in the department of Cauca, on July 9, 2023. Gómez was imprisoned from 2017 to 2021 for selling marijuana brownies with her son, Sebastián Ángel Gómez, in Cali. They are now cannabis activists, advocating for self-cultivation and raising awareness about consumption.

José Duván Villa, who was imprisoned twice for marketing and transporting marijuana, looks out of a window of his home in Cali, Colombia, on January 25, 2024.

Jonathan Prieto, 35, holds a bouquet of dried cannabis on the terrace of his home in Cali, Colombia, on May 16, 2023. Prieto teaches classes on self-cultivation among the consumer community in Cali, Colombia.

A man smokes weed in front of stalls selling items for consumption—such as pipes and grinders—during an event about cannabis and reggae organized by 'La Palma Gang' in Palmira, Colombia, on July 8, 2023. At events like these, marijuana is shared and gifted, as its sale and purchase remain illegal in the country.