Austria
Europe
#38 of 196 worldwide
#13 of 45 in Europe
Possession for personal use leads to a health referral instead of prosecution. Cuttings and seeds are sold legally; medical access is limited to dronabinol and a few products.
Score breakdown ▏world average
Select a segment to show or hide the exact rules and sources.
Possession · 25%2/10adds 5.0 of 25 points
Possession is still a criminal offence under the Narcotic Substances Act, but for small amounts for personal use prosecutors must normally step back: since 2016 the case goes to the health authority instead ('therapy instead of punishment'), and proceedings are dropped if the person cooperates with any health measure ordered. No fixed gram limit is written into the law.
Personal cultivation · 25%2/10adds 5.0 of 25 points
Growing cannabis to obtain THC is an offence. Seeds and non-flowering plants and cuttings are sold openly in shops as ornamental plants; the offence begins when plants are grown to produce the drug.
Punishment & enforcement · 20%4/10adds 8.0 of 20 points
First-time users are diverted rather than convicted. Dealing and larger quantities are punished with prison.
Sharing & gifting · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Passing cannabis to another person is an offence, treated more leniently when unpaid and for personal use.
Consumption · 10%2/10adds 2.0 of 10 points
Consumption itself is not an offence, but it implies possession and so triggers the same diversion procedure.
Legal access · 10%0/10adds 0.0 of 10 points
No legal source. CBD and low-THC products are sold in shops under restrictions; no clubs or dispensaries.
More context not part of the score
Cannabis for medicines is grown only by the state health agency. No private licensing.
Low-THC hemp and CBD products; plants and seeds as ornamentals.
Limited to pharmaceutical cannabinoids such as dronabinol on prescription. Herbal cannabis flower cannot generally be prescribed.
Diversion avoids a conviction but involves the health authority, and can affect a driving licence through fitness-to-drive checks.
All sources
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