Is Weed Legal in Belgium?
August 6, 2026
Recreational cannabis is illegal in Belgium, but adults possessing up to 3g or one plant face lowest prosecution priority. Medical access limited to Sativex.
Recreational cannabis is illegal in Belgium, but adults possessing up to 3g or one plant face lowest prosecution priority. Medical access limited to Sativex.
Recreational cannabis remains illegal in Belgium under the Loi du 24 fevrier 1921 concernant le trafic des substances veneneuses (Narcotics Act of 24 February 1921) and the Royal Decree of 6 September 2017 regulating narcotic and psychotropic substances. Cannabis is a controlled narcotic under these instruments, and cultivation, sale, transport, and import all carry criminal penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment depending on quantity and circumstances.
A Joint Directive issued by the Minister of Justice and the College of Prosecutors General in 2005, revised in 2015, established that possession by an adult of up to 3 grams of cannabis or one cultivated plant for personal use receives the lowest prosecution priority. Police typically issue a simplified report rather than detain the user, provided there are no aggravating circumstances such as use near a school, public nuisance, or possession by a minor. This tolerance policy is administrative discretion, not legalization. Public consumption, supply to others, and any quantity above the personal threshold remain fully prosecutable. Medical cannabis access is tightly limited. The Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP/AFMPS/FAGG) authorizes only Sativex, prescribed for multiple sclerosis spasticity, and pharmacists may compound magistral preparations from pure pharmaceutical-grade CBD on prescription; magistral preparations containing cannabis flower or THC remain prohibited. A law of 7 April 2019 created the framework for a federal Cannabis Agency to control medicinal cannabis cultivation and distribution, but implementing rules have never been issued and the agency is not operational.
Last reviewed: August 6, 2026.
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Verify current law with qualified counsel before making compliance decisions.
Illegal
Service Public Federal Justice (FPS Justice); FAMHP/AFMPS/FAGG; College of Prosecutors General
No threshold for recreational
Loi du 24 fevrier 1921; Royal Decree of 6 September 2017; Joint Directive of 25 January 2005 (revised 2015); Law of 7 April 2019 (Cannabis Agency, not operational)
Import and export of cannabis for non-medical purposes is prohibited under the 1921 Narcotics Act and the Royal Decree of 6 September 2017. The law of 7 April 2019 reserves any future medicinal cannabis supply to a federal Cannabis Agency operating in line with the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, but the agency has never been made operational and no cannabis flower is lawfully imported for pharmacy compounding. Sativex is imported by its marketing authorization holder under standard EU pharmaceutical rules. Customs enforcement is handled by the General Administration of Customs and Excise.
