Poland sits among Europe’s most commercially significant medicinal cannabis markets, even as recreational cannabis remains firmly prohibited. For business readers weighing import partnerships, clinic operations, or distribution arrangements, the short answer is that cultivation, supply, and recreational use of cannabis are criminal offences under Polish law, while a regulated medicinal cannabis programme has operated since November 2017 and now serves more than 100,000 patients. Recent regulatory changes around telemedicine prescribing have reshaped the commercial landscape and offer a pointed lesson in how quickly access policy can move.
The legal background: prohibition with a medicinal carve-out
Cannabis sits within Poland’s Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction of 29 July 2005, which classifies cannabis-type substances as controlled drugs. Possession, cultivation, supply, and trafficking of cannabis for non-medicinal use remain criminal offences. Prosecutors retain discretion under Article 62a of the Act to discontinue proceedings in cases involving small quantities for personal use, but this is a procedural discretion rather than a decriminalisation regime, and outcomes vary considerably across regions and prosecutors.
The medicinal carve-out came into force on 1 November 2017, when amendments to the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction permitted herbal cannabis to be used as a pharmaceutical raw material in prescription preparations dispensed by pharmacies. Poland did not establish a domestic cultivation programme at that point. Instead, the framework relied on imported cannabis flower and finished products, processed and dispensed under the supervision of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products (URPL) and the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate (Główny Inspektorat Farmaceutyczny, GIF).
Current status of the medicinal programme
Polish patients access medicinal cannabis through a prescription issued by a licensed physician and dispensed at a pharmacy holding the required permits. Products approved for the market include imported flower, oils, and registered medicines such as Sativex. Doctors can prescribe for any indication where they consider it clinically appropriate, with no statutory list of qualifying conditions.
The market grew steadily after 2017 and accelerated sharply during 2022 and 2023, driven in large part by private telehealth clinics offering rapid consultations and electronic prescriptions. That expansion drew a regulatory response. From 7 November 2024, an amendment to the Act on the Profession of Doctor and Dentist required an in-person examination before a physician could issue a prescription for controlled substances, including cannabis, fentanyl, morphine, and oxycodone. An exception was preserved for follow-up prescriptions issued within the public primary care system where the initial consultation had been in person.
The immediate effect was a sharp contraction. Monthly prescription volumes fell by more than 50 per cent within weeks of the rule change, before rebuilding through 2025 as clinics adapted. Polish pharmacies dispensed close to 5,450 kilogrammes of dried cannabis flower in 2025, a 12 per cent rise on the previous year, and monthly dispensing surpassed the pre-ban peak by December. Industry estimates put the active patient base at more than 105,000 by the end of 2025, making Poland one of the largest medicinal cannabis markets in the European Union by patient numbers.
CBD and hemp-derived products
CBD products containing no more than 0.2 per cent THC may be sold legally in Poland as food supplements, cosmetics, or industrial preparations, in line with the wider European Union framework. Health claims are not permitted, labels must state that the product is not a medicine, and the THC content must be declared. Following the European Commission’s continuing position that CBD extracts fall within the scope of the Novel Foods Regulation, Polish authorities have stepped up enforcement against products marketed as foods without authorisation, an issue that has affected importers and distributors active across multiple EU member states.
Why Poland matters to international operators
Poland’s combination of patient growth, an established import-led supply model, and pharmacy distribution makes it one of the most commercially relevant markets in Europe for licensed producers in Canada, Portugal, North Macedonia, and elsewhere. Several international operators rely on Polish wholesalers and pharmacy chains as a primary European outlet, and the country has become a useful indicator of demand trends across the wider EU medicinal cannabis sector.
The 2024 telemedicine restrictions have also turned Poland into a reference case for regulatory risk in cannabis access models built on remote consultations. Similar debates are under way in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic, and operators with cross-border exposure are watching Poland closely for signs of how a market recovers, consolidates, and reprices after a sudden access shock.
Key considerations for businesses entering or supplying Poland
Operators evaluating a Polish strategy should weigh several factors. Import authorisations are issued on a per-shipment basis through GIF, and applicants must hold the appropriate wholesale or manufacturing licences. Products supplied to Polish pharmacies must meet European Union Good Manufacturing Practice standards and be accompanied by full quality and analytical documentation. Pricing has also become more sensitive following adjustments to the national reimbursement framework during 2025, which affected list prices and patient co-payments for some categories.
Distributors and clinic operators should monitor any further changes to prescribing rules, particularly any extension of the in-person consultation requirement or amendments to the controlled-substances schedule. Engagement with the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate, the Ministry of Health, and patient organisations is increasingly part of the standard playbook for credible market participants.
Outlook
There is no government bill before the Polish parliament to legalise adult-use cannabis, and the political balance after the 2023 elections has not produced a working majority for that step. Industry attention is therefore likely to remain on the medicinal programme, on the post-2024 normalisation of prescribing channels, and on the alignment of Poland’s CBD enforcement with the wider European Union novel foods debate.
Cannabis is not legal for recreational use in Poland, but the country has built one of Europe’s most active medicinal cannabis markets and is now central to how the sector tests, prices, and adapts to regulatory change. Businesses considering entry, supply agreements, or investment should treat Poland as a fast-evolving access market rather than a static one. For a wider view of how Poland fits alongside its neighbours, see Cannabis Europa’s guide to European cannabis regulations in 2026. The Polish market and the broader European regulatory picture will be examined in detail at Cannabis Europa London 2026, where regulators, operators, and investors gather each year.