A guide to medical marijuana and recreational use laws across the continent and the United Kingdom.
In
April 2024, Germany legalized recreational marijuana, becoming the largest country in Europe to turn green. And the rest of the European Union is right behind them. There are currently 28 EU countries with some form of legalization, either for medical marijuana or adult use. For now, the EU market is small compared to the $32 billion U.S market when it comes to legal cannabis sales—but it’s growing. In 2025, EU sales hit $1.7 billion, according to a report by Prohibition Partners. It is projected to reach $2.4 billion by the end of this year and $3.8 billion in annual sales by 2029, or more than a 124% jump from last year.
Germany, the EU’s largest economy, is the continent’s largest legal marijuana market with about $944 million in sales last year, up from $500 million in sales at the end of 2024. The UK, which has not been part of the EU since Brexit in 2020, currently has a legal medical market with about $322 million in annual sales.
Compared to the United States—where 40 states have legalized medical use and 24 states permit recreational use—Europe’s cannabis market is about the size of New York’s marijuana economy, which hit $1.5 billion in sales in 2025. And while President Donald Trump issued an executive order in December 2025 directing his Attorney General to reschedule marijuana as a less dangerous drug, no laws have been changed at the federal level, meaning marijuana is still banned and cannabis companies cannot access the public markets. But in Europe—especially in countries like Germany, which made marijuana federally legal—the potential upside and sensible regulations that allow cannabis to be grown in Spain and Portugal and exported to other countries legally, has created a solid economic thesis for companies to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the burgeoning EU cannabis industry.
Will Muecke, an American who cofounded the London-based marijuana-focused private equity firm Artemis Growth Partners, which has nearly $400 million in assets under management, says Europe is still a better investment opportunity than the U.S. He is currently raising $200 million for Artemis’ seventh fund. About 75% of the capital will be invested in Europe, while the rest will be deployed in South America and the Caribbean. No capital will be invested in the United States.
“We have a large U.S. portfolio, we care about the U.S., and I love that Trump came out with the executive order but it’s not a game changer,” says Muecke, explaining that a move to Schedule III will not open up public markets, nor will it allow institutional capital to be safely invested in the U.S. cannabis industry. “But Europe is a fast-growing industry with well-honed operators and a fully legal framework. I’m not in the shadows. The U.S. doesn’t have this yet, but Europe has that today.”
Here are the cannabis laws across Europe and the United Kingdom for 2026.
Pharmaceutical Cannabinoid Drugs
Pharmaceutical cannabinoid drugs are entirely distinct from medical and adult-use marijuana products. Most countries that allow some form of legal cannabinoid products only allow pharmaceutical drugs made with THC, the compound known for getting people high, and CBD, a cannabinoid known for its medical benefits. (There are no legal joints to be found in this group.) In these countries, pharmaceutical products such as Sativex, which contains THC derived from marijuana, and dronabinol, synthetic THC, are legal only for people who get a prescription from a doctor.
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Finland
- Ireland
- Liechtenstein
- Poland
- San Marino
- Turkey
Illegal
Marijuana, for adult-use and medical purposes, is still illegal in most European countries. See below for a list of countries where cannabis remains an illegal drug.
- Andorra
- Bulgaria
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Belarus
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Kosovo
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Monaco
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Sweden
More from Forbes
