Regions a group of countries in Europe
European Union
The 27 member states of the European Union. EU farm rules set a THC limit of 0.3% for hemp, while each member state writes its own criminal law on cannabis. The average score is 21.0 of 100, 7.7 above the world average; Czechia is the freest and Cyprus the harshest.
- average score · world 13.3
- 21.0
- countries
- 27
- people
- 451 million
- legal for adults · 10 with a medical route
- 4
European Union on the map
Each country coloured by its score: red means prison risk, green means free. Select a country for its profile.
Since 1 January 2026 adults aged 21+ may grow three plants and keep 100 g of cannabis at home or 25 g elsewhere. Recreational sales remain illegal. Pharmacies dispense medical cannabis on electronic prescription, with insurance covering 90% of the cost up to 30 g a month.
Since April 2024 any adult may carry 25 g. People who have lived in Germany for six months may keep 50 g at home, grow three plants and join a non-profit growing association. There are no shops, but medical cannabis is easy to obtain through pharmacies.
First EU country to legalise (2021): 7 g in public, 50 g at home, four plants per household, and licensed non-profit associations. Public consumption remains prohibited.
Adults may grow four plants from seed per household and use their harvest at home. Small possession elsewhere can bring a €145 warning payment or a criminal fine. There is no legal recreational retail market.
Formally illegal but tolerated: coffeeshops sell up to 5 g per person and five plants are usually only confiscated. A regulated supply-chain experiment now covers ten municipalities.
Private use and cultivation out of public view are not crimes; possession or use in public brings fines from €601. Hundreds of cannabis social clubs operate in a legal grey zone.
Personal possession brings administrative sanctions such as licence suspension. Courts have tolerated minimal home growing. Medical cannabis is legal since 2013; a 2025 decree banned the hemp-flower trade.
All drugs were decriminalised in 2001. Since 1 October 2023, 25 g of flower and 5 g of hashish are the ten-day reference amounts: proven personal possession stays an administrative matter for a dissuasion commission even above them, while a larger amount can still start a criminal inquiry. Cultivation remains a crime. Portugal is a major medical exporter.
For adults, up to 3 g or one plant is the lowest prosecution priority — usually a simple police record. Medical access is confined to a few pharmaceutical products.
Possession for personal use is a minor offence punished by a fine. Voters backed medical and personal use in 2024 referendums, and a 2025 law set up a full medical cannabis system.
People caught with cannabis for personal use can have their case dropped after probation and any required health measures. Growing to obtain the drug is a crime. Patients can receive cannabinoid medicines, including dronabinol.
Possession for personal use has been a misdemeanour since 2013. The penalty is a fine of €663.61 to €2,654.46, or up to 90 days' detention. Medical cannabis is prescribable since 2015.
A small quantity for personal use is a misdemeanour, punished by a fine or detention. A large quantity, enough to intoxicate at least ten people, carries one to ten years. Medical access exists but is rarely used.
Possession is punished with fines. The medical cannabis programme became permanent in 2026, and Denmark hosts licensed producers. Christiania's open market was shut down in 2024.
Possession of any amount has been a criminal offence since 2017; decriminalisation has been repeatedly debated. Cannabinoid medicines are permitted.
Use itself is a criminal offence, typically fined. Medical cannabis is available to a small number of patients.
One of Europe's strictest laws alongside its highest use rates. Since 20 August 2026 ordinary illicit use can be ended by a fixed fine of €500, or €400 if paid within 15 days and €1,000 if the fine is increased. A medical experiment has run since 2021. CBD flower is legal.
Personal use is a misdemeanour that is rarely jailed. Medical cannabis was legalised in 2017 and production licences are issued.
Since September 2026, eligible first-time possession cases can receive a health referral. The Medical Cannabis Access Programme covers only a few conditions.
Possession and home growing remain crimes, though small personal-possession cases can be dropped. Patients can obtain prescribed cannabis through pharmacies; prescribing normally requires an in-person examination. A proposal to exempt 15 g and one personal plant remains before parliament.
The first-offence small-quantity tier depends on the product: up to 1 g dried cannabis, 5 g undried, 0.1 g hashish or 0.05 g resin/oil/extract. Above the relevant ceiling, or after a repeat warning, criminal penalties can apply.
Possession for personal use carries prison of three months to two years or a fine. Medical access is largely theoretical.
Possession and personal growing remain crimes: even the lowest cannabis quantity band carries up to one year in prison, and up to two plants carries up to six months. Medical cannabis has no lawful access programme.
Zero-tolerance model: use itself is criminal and police can compel drug tests.
Zero-tolerance policy, toughened further in 2025; diversion is available only for first-time small-quantity offenders.
A high-risk drug: ordinary possession carries one to six years and a fine. Minor cases carry a fine up to €511.29; qualifying first offenders can receive administrative release.
Cannabis possession and home growing remain crimes. Young first offenders have a two-year prison cap for personal-use offences; medical oil has a restricted approval-and-prescription route, alongside licensed hemp and medical-production laws.
How the 27 countries divide
For adults
- Legal 4Czechia, Germany, Malta, Luxembourg
- Partly legal / tolerated 2Netherlands, Spain
- Decriminalized 8Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia…
- Illegal 13Denmark, Lithuania, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland…
For patients
- Legal 10Czechia, Germany, Malta, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy…
- Limited 13Spain, Belgium, Austria, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania…
- None verified 4Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria
European Union over time
The average score and the share of countries, or of people, in each band, rebuilt from the recorded history.
Cannabis freedom in EU over time
EU average score
21.0Restrictive−79.0 since 186021.0Restrictive+4.9 since 201125.0Restrictive−75.0 since 186025.0Restrictive+7.3 since 2011
Countries under prohibition or worse
Countries under prohibition or worse
People under prohibition or worse
People under prohibition or worse
48%13 of 27+48 points since 186048%13 of 27−4 points since 201141%of EU's people+41 points since 186041%of EU's people−1 points since 2011
Every country, ranked
The index score from 0 to 100 and its six parts from 0 to 10.
| # | Country | Score | Adults | Patients | Possession | cultivation | enforcement | Sharing | Consumption | Legal access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1#4 | CzechiaLegal with limits | 44 | Legal | Legal | 6 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 2#5 | GermanyLegal with limits | 44 | Legal | Legal | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 3#6 | MaltaLegal with limits | 41 | Legal | Legal | 4 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 4#13 | LuxembourgTolerant | 37 | Legal | Legal | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 5#14 | NetherlandsTolerant | 37 | Partly legal / tolerated | Legal | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 6#18 | SpainTolerant | 31 | Partly legal / tolerated | Limited | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 7#24 | ItalyTolerant | 26 | Decriminalized | Legal | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 8#26 | PortugalTolerant | 25 | Decriminalized | Legal | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 9#27 | BelgiumRestrictive | 25 | Decriminalized | Limited | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 10#31 | SloveniaRestrictive | 23 | Decriminalized | Legal | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 11#34 | AustriaRestrictive | 22 | Decriminalized | Limited | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 12#40 | CroatiaRestrictive | 20 | Decriminalized | Limited | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 13#41 | EstoniaRestrictive | 20 | Decriminalized | Limited | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 14#43 | DenmarkRestrictive | 20 | Illegal | Legal | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 15#58 | LithuaniaProhibition | 15 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 16#59 | FinlandProhibition | 14 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 17#60 | FranceProhibition | 14 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18#61 | GreeceProhibition | 14 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19#62 | IrelandProhibition | 14 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 20#64 | PolandProhibition | 14 | Illegal | Legal | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 21#68 | LatviaProhibition | 14 | Decriminalized | None verified | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 22#94 | RomaniaProhibition | 11 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23#95 | SlovakiaProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 24#97 | SwedenProhibition | 11 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 25#105 | HungaryProhibition | 10 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26#143 | BulgariaProhibition | 8 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27#151 | CyprusProhibition | 6 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
The second number under the rank is the country's place worldwide, of 196.
Latest in European Union
The newest entries in the history. All history →
- 17 October 2026
- October 2026
- 9 October 2026
- 6 October 2026
- 9 September 2026
- 1 September 2026
- 1 September 2026
- 1 September 2026
- 21 August 2026
- 20 August 2026
- 30 July 2026
- 24 July 2026