Is Weed Legal in Greece?

Last reviewed: August 3, 2026

No — recreational cannabis is illegal in Greece. Medical cannabis is legal on prescription. Possession of even a personal-use quantity is a misdemeanor under Law 4139/2013, punishable by up to five months' imprisonment — in practice almost always suspended or converted to a fine for a first offense, but still a prosecutable criminal charge, not a civil infraction. Medical cannabis has been legal since 2017, with finished products dispensed by pharmacies on prescription under Law 4523/2018.

Greece Cannabis and Hemp Overview

Greece runs two regimes side by side. For consumers, it remains a prohibition country: no decriminalization statute, no possession threshold that removes criminal liability, no coffee-shop or club model. For industry, it has spent nearly a decade building an export-oriented medical cannabis sector — licensed cultivation and processing, EU-GMP manufacturing, and a pipeline aimed at the German and broader European market. The gap between those two tracks is the thing visitors most often misread: the country producing medical cannabis at industrial scale in Corinthia will still prosecute a joint on a Mykonos beach.

What Greek Law Actually Says

The Narcotic Drugs Code, Law 4139/2013, is the controlling statute. For a user caught with a quantity consistent with personal use, Article 29 makes the offense a misdemeanor with a maximum of five months' imprisonment; courts routinely suspend the sentence or convert it to a monetary penalty for first offenders, and the charge can be expunged if no repeat offense follows. Cultivation of a few plants for personal use is treated the same way. Everything above personal use escalates fast: supply and trafficking offenses carry a minimum of 8 years and fines up to EUR 300,000. Law 4523/2018 carved out the medical framework, permitting licensed cultivation, processing, and export of medicinal cannabis under joint oversight of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, and the National Organization for Medicines (EOF).

The Medical Program in Practice

Prescriptions are written by physicians and filled at pharmacies; there is no dispensary system separate from the pharmacy network. Product availability improved materially in 2024-2025 as domestic production came online. Tikun Europe's plant in Examilia, Corinthia — among the largest medical cannabis facilities in Europe — anchors the cultivation side, and Lavipharm launched the first Greek-produced cannabis-based prescription medicine. Parliament has kept adjusting the industrial framework to favor investment and exports; our briefing on the 2025 investment and export amendments covers the current licensing posture, and pharmaceutical packaging changes are tracked in our note on Greece's serialization and repackaging rules.

What This Means for Travelers

There is no legal way for a visitor to buy cannabis in Greece — not in Athens, not on the islands. Street purchases are supply offenses for the seller and possession charges for the buyer. Enforcement is real in central Athens, Thessaloniki, and the party islands in season; police do not need much product to charge the misdemeanor. A foreign medical cannabis prescription or patient card does not authorize you to carry product into Greece — importing cannabis without an EOF/narcotics permit is trafficking, whatever the paperwork from home says. CBD products from hemp at or below 0.3% THC are sold openly in Greek shops under EU hemp rules, though Greece has no dedicated retail CBD statute, so quality and labeling vary. If your itinerary continues to another country, do not fly with any THC product in either direction.

What This Means for Operators

Greece is an export play, not a domestic-market play. Licenses cover cultivation and processing for medicinal use, the operative standard for finished product is EU-GMP, and the realistic customers are German and other European importers. Domestic prescription volume remains modest. The 2025 amendments simplified some licensing steps and signaled continued state support for the sector. Zero-tolerance rules still apply to anything outside the licensed chain, including hemp-derived intoxicants: there is no Greek market for Delta-8 or THCA products.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can tourists buy weed legally anywhere in Greece?
No. There are no legal sales channels for recreational cannabis. Anyone selling to tourists is committing a supply offense, and buying exposes you to a misdemeanor possession charge.

What actually happens if I'm caught with a joint in Greece?
Expect confiscation, a police report, and a misdemeanor charge under Law 4139/2013. First offenders with clearly personal quantities usually walk away with a suspended sentence or fine — after a court process, not instead of one.

Is CBD legal in Greece?
Hemp-derived CBD at or below 0.3% THC is sold openly, consistent with EU hemp rules. There is no Greek retail framework regulating it specifically, so buy from reputable sellers. THC products of any strength are narcotics.

Can I use my foreign medical cannabis prescription in Greece?
You cannot import product on the strength of a foreign prescription; that is treated as unauthorized narcotics importation. Access inside Greece runs through a Greek prescription filled at a Greek pharmacy.

Is weed legal in Mykonos or Santorini?
The islands follow national law. Seasonal policing on Mykonos targets exactly the tourist assumption that island rules are looser.

Will Greece decriminalize or legalize recreational cannabis?
No bill is advancing as of August 2026. Political energy is going into the medical export sector, not consumer reform.

This page is provided for informational purposes by ComplyAssistAI LLC and is not legal advice. Greek narcotics law leaves meaningful discretion to police and courts, and rules change. Travelers and operators should verify current requirements with Greek counsel. Find one in our Cannabis Lawyer Directory.