It is no secret that Europe is an amazing place for a multitude of things, including art, food, and architecture. Most countries in Europe are also home to well-established cannabis communities that have existed in the shadows for decades. Much like their peers on other continents, European cannabis consumers have lived in fear due to prohibition policies. Thankfully, many jurisdictions in Europe are actively working toward modernizing their cannabis laws to permit suffering patients and adult consumers to partake in cannabis activity.
In 2021, Malta became the first European country to expressly adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. Unlike the Netherlands, which has historically tolerated, but not legalized, recreational cannabis, or Spain, which relies on case law for affording personal cannabis freedoms, lawmakers in Malta adopted legalization outright. Adults in Malta can cultivate up to four plants in their private residences, possess up to 50 grams of cannabis, and join one of the nation’s licensed cultivation associations to source cannabis legally.
Europe’s next country to adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure was Luxembourg in 2023. Luxembourg’s model is much more restrictive compared to Malta, and is objectively considered to be the most restrictive out of the world’s national legalization models. Still, Luxembourg allowing adults to cultivate up to three plants in their private residences and to possess a personal amount of cannabis is better than outright prohibition. An estimated 14.6% of adults in Luxembourg have consumed cannabis within the last year, and 11.5% of the nation’s adults report having cultivated cannabis in their homes post-legalization.
The most significant adoption of legalization in Europe so far, and arguably the world, is in Germany, where lawmakers implemented the first provisions of the nation’s historic CanG law in April 2024. Given Germany’s population size and position as a continental and world economic leader, the significance of German legalization cannot be overstated. It is a major reason why the upcoming International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin is a must-attend, with leading industry members from around the world converging to network and discuss the latest developments in Germany and other emerging European markets.
Germany’s legalization model is limited from the perspective of national adult-use sales due to European Union agreements, and there is certainly room for regulatory improvement. However, the cannabis freedoms afforded to adult cannabis consumers in Germany are far more in line with reality compared to the pre-CanG era. Safe access to medical cannabis products is better than it has ever been for suffering patients, and adult consumers can cultivate, possess, and consume cannabis legally. Opponents can try to impede progress, but the German cannabis revolution train has already left the station, and the community is not going back.
Czechia is the most recent European country to approve a national recreational cannabis measure, with adult-use legalization taking effect on January 1st, 2026. The approved measure permits Czech adults to cultivate up to three plants in their private residences and possess up to 100 grams of dried cannabis. Czechia’s possession limit is the greatest by far among the currently legalized European nations, which was made possible by the hardworking Czech activists who fought so hard for so many years.
Europe’s cannabis communities are vibrant and resilient by every measure, and cannabis use is going to occur across Europe, whether it is legal to do so or not. The history is very clear on that point. Fortunately, an increasing number of lawmakers are finally getting on the right side of history when it comes to cannabis policy, and every prohibition domino that falls increases the momentum for the next country to modernize its cannabis laws. Eventually, as the reform victories pile up enough to hit critical mass, continental agreements will also be modernized to permit a robust European adult-use commerce system. Hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later.
