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. There are currently 28 EU countries with some form of legalization, whether for medical marijuana or adult use. So for now, the EU market is small when it comes to cannabis sales. This year sales are expected to reach $1.2 billion, according to a report by Prohibition Partners. It is projected to reach $2.6 billion in 2028 and $6 billion in annual sales within a decade, or more than a 400% jump from this year.
Germany, which is the EU’s largest economy and the continent’s largest legal marijuana market with about $500 million in sales last year, is expected to generate just under $1 billion in sales at the end of 2025. The UK, which has not been part of the EU since Brexit in 2020, currently has a legal medical market with about $255 million in annual sales.
Compared to the U.S.—where 40 states have legalized medical use and 24 states permit recreational use—which generated $32 billion in annual legal cannabis sales last year, Europe’s cannabis market is about the size of New Jersey’s marijuana economy. But 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.
“The growth is slow, but policies are practical,” Beau Whitney, the founder of cannabis data firm Whitney Economics, says of Europe’s legalization rollout. “and they have common sense regulations.”
Here are the cannabis laws across Europe and the United Kingdom.
Adult Use
Only three European countries have legalized adult-use marijuana, but these programs are unlike adult-use markets in the U.S. There are not hundreds of dispensaries, but rather non-profit clubs where members can obtain marijuana.
- Malta: In 2021, the smallest country in the European Union, became the first to legalize and regulate cannabis for personal use. The law allows for the possession and cultivation of marijuana. Residents can grow up to four plants and while it lacks a commercial market like U.S. states that have legalized adult-use, people can buy cannabis products from non-profit cooperatives.
- Luxembourg: In 2023, the EU financial hub legalized adult-use cannabis but still prohibits sales. Households can grow up to four plants under strict rules and private consumption by people 18 and older is legal. The country legalized medical marijuana in 2018.
- Germany: The continent’s largest economy legalized adult-use in 2024, allowing possession of up to 50 grams and growing three plants at home. Like Malta, Germany did not legalize commercial stores, but rather have allowed non-profit cannabis social clubs where members can obtain marijuana. Germany also has a medical marijuana market, which allows doctors to prescribe cannabis to patients.
Medical Marijuana
Medical marijuana programs across Europe vary greatly but most only allow cannabis products to be dispensed through pharmacies. Some countries, such as Cyprus, only allow cannabis oil. Denmark permits pharmaceutical drugs like Sativex, but also botanical forms of marijuana under a pilot program. The United Kingdom’s program allows for flower.
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- France (medical marijuana pilot program until March 2026)
- Greece
- Italy
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Portugal
- Romania (low THC only)
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
Decriminalisation
There are four countries in the EU that have broadly decriminalized marijuana. The largest is Spain, which has a confusing approach to cannabis that has resulted in both a thriving grey market, where sales are technically illegal, as well as a government-approved cultivation program that allows companies to grow marijuana and export to other countries. The Netherlands has a policy of “toleration” when it comes to marijuana, which it classifies as a “soft drug,” which permits Amsterdam’s famous coffee shops to sell marijuana under strict guidelines.
- Estonia
- Netherlands
- Slovenia
- Spain
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. (You won’t find legal joints in this group.) In these countries, pharmaceutical products like 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
- 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
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Sweden
