This Mediterranean country, with its favorable climate, had until recently been applying a prohibition cannabis use.
Recreational cannabis is still illegal in Greece: possession, even for personal use, remains a crime punishable by imprisonment.
The Use and Production of Medical Cannabis have, however, been authorized recently, but it wasn't until 2024 that it truly became accessible to patients, and CBD containing less than 0.2 % of THC is available over the counter.
Recreational users may still be subject to penalties imprisonment.
Find all the latest news and laws regarding cannabis in Greece here.
Recreational cannabis use is not legal in Greece. The debate over its legalization has begun, but no law has been enacted to legalize recreational use.
Medical cannabis has been legal in Greece since 2017, with prescriptions authorized for certain medical conditions. Production was legalized in 2018, and sales in pharmacies began in 2022.
Greece has a narrow definition of legal CBD-based products, which could disrupt the market and affect the availability of minor cannabinoids.
Possession of cannabis is illegal in Greece.
Personal cultivation of cannabis is not legal in Greece.
Last checked: October 8, 2026
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Greece banned the production and use of hashish as early as 1890, but these laws remained largely ineffective. Consumption increased after World War I, with the return of soldiers and the arrival of refugees from Asia Minor, who brought the practice of hashish use with them to Greece. This resurgence faded after World War II, due to the destruction and chaos caused by the German occupation.
Repression intensified toward the end of the 20th century. Law 1729 of 1987, which provides for prison sentences for all forms of drug use, even applies to individuals arrested with cannabis for personal use. It was subsequently amended several times, culminating in Law 4139 of 2013, which today serves as the legal framework for possession.
The turning point was the legalization of medical cannabis. In 2016, the government established a working group to study the issue. In June 2017, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced a joint ministerial decision, published in the Official Gazette, authorizing the medical use of cannabis by prescription. In March 2018, Parliament passed a law (4523/2018) authorizing the cultivation and production of medical cannabis within Greece, opening the market to pharmaceutical companies and industrial hemp producers. However, prescriptions did not become truly accessible until 2024, due to administrative delays.
Recreational cannabis is illegal in Greece. Under Law 4139 of 2013, possession—even of an amount intended for personal use—constitutes a misdemeanor (not a simple traffic violation) punishable by imprisonment for up to five months. In practice, the sentence is most often suspended or converted into a fine for a first offense, but the offense remains prosecutable. Greece has no decriminalization, no threshold below which criminal liability ceases, and no system of coffee shops or clubs. Cultivation, distribution, and sale for non-medical purposes are also prohibited and treated as more serious offenses, with harsher prison sentences in cases of trafficking.
Medical cannabis is legal in Greece with a prescription from a licensed Greek physician. The products are dispensed exclusively by authorized pharmacies, under the supervision of the National Organization for Medicines (EOF), in the form of oils or flowers. Patients with conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, or chronic pain may have access to it. Foreign prescriptions are not recognized, and it is prohibited to import or export cannabis—even for medical use—without specific authorization.
Since the 2018 law, local production of medical cannabis has been legally permitted, and the country is seeking to become a European hub for the production of medical cannabis. However, patient access remains limited by bureaucracy, the small number of authorized pharmacies, and the cost of the products, which are still largely imported.
CBD products are legal in Greece if they contain less than 0.2 % of THC. They are available at pharmacies, specialty stores, and online, without a prescription. The cultivation of industrial hemp is permitted under the same THC threshold, with a license from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. However, regulations governing the manufacturing and quality control of CBD products remain somewhat vague.
Greece combines very strict legislation on recreational cannabis with a gradual opening up to medical cannabis and hemp. No bill to decriminalize or legalize recreational use is currently under discussion. Key issues to watch include the development of local medical production, improved patient access, and changes to the regulatory framework for CBD. Follow our Cannabis News in Greece See below for updates to the law.
Greece is significantly tightening its regulations on CBD and hemp-derived products, restricting certain full-spectrum CBD oils and other extracts...
At the end of April, the deadline for the Greek industry to vote on a controversial new ban on hemp expired. The project...
Greece has officially made medical cannabis available to patients in the country. After a seven-year journey fraught with pitfalls and pleas, some of the country's...
Greek MEP Stelios Kouloglou has called on the European Commission (EC) to remedy the lack of a legislative framework for medical cannabis, which leaves patients...
Greek patients hope to finally have access to legal cannabis-based medicines in 2023, six years after the law was first amended....
In an interview with the Greek Reporter, the Minister of Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiadis, maintained that medical cannabis would be produced and sold in...
The Greek Parliament voted last Friday in favor of a bill to legalize the sale of medical cannabis in Greece and its export....
It's a potential cannabis Eldorado. Greece has a warm, dry Mediterranean climate, with twelve hours of sunshine in summer. Its workforce is...
Europe is not a uniform block where all cannabis legislation is aligned. While the Netherlands has long supplied Europe with medical cannabis, Germany...
The Greek government has granted 14 medical cannabis production licenses since November 2018. The General Secretariat for Industry and the Ministry of Economy and...
Greece legalized medical cannabis in 2017 and in 2018 allowed domestic production in the hope of attracting foreign investment. It recently...
Some nine months after Parliament approved the bill allowing local production of medical cannabis, the government has just awarded the two...
The Greek parliament has approved a bill allowing the production of medical cannabis. Medical cannabis has already been legal in Greece since 2017, but the...
A bill laying the foundations for the regulation of medical cannabis cultivation in Greece was tabled in Parliament yesterday. The bill...
Greece was one of the last European countries to legalize the medical use of cannabis, last July. While the legal therapeutic industry is not yet...
The Greek Parliament has announced that cannabis will now be legal for medical use. «From now on, the country turns the page, Greece...
The Greek Ministry of Health is ready to propose changes to the legislation governing the use and production of medical cannabis, according to the newspaper...
Greece, via its Health Minister, announced on July 21 the formation of a working group for the possible legalization of medical cannabis....
