The Greek government has come under criticism after quietly unveiling sweeping changes to the country’s cannabis laws late on Holy Saturday, with opponents accusing ministers of using the Easter holiday to minimise scrutiny of controversial reforms.
At 8.30pm on the eve of Orthodox Easter Sunday—one of the most significant holidays in the Greek calendar—health minister Adonis Georgiadis placed a draft bill on public consultation containing far-reaching amendments to Greece’s narcotics legislation, including measures that would effectively wipe out the domestic retail market for low-THC cannabis flower.
Critics say the timing of the announcement, released when much of the country was observing Easter celebrations, suggests an attempt to avoid public debate over reforms with major implications for Greece’s cannabis and hemp sectors.
The cannabis provisions are buried within a broader healthcare bill titled “Establishment of a Pharmaceutical Innovation Fund – Patient Access to New Medicines and Therapies – Improvement of Health Services and Other Provisions”—a piece of legislation whose title gives little indication that it contains one of the most significant overhauls of Greek cannabis regulation in years.
At the centre of the reforms is Article 41, which raises the legal THC threshold for industrial hemp from 0.2% to 0.3%, a change welcomed by cultivators who have long argued that Greece’s previous limit was overly strict and exposed crops to destruction because of minor natural fluctuations in THC levels.
Yet the same provision also prohibits the retail sale, distribution, purchase and use of dried cannabis flower containing up to 0.3% THC, whether raw or processed, in what industry figures describe as an effective ban on CBD flower products in Greece.
The move is expected to hit businesses that had invested heavily in the rapidly expanding CBD retail market, while also shutting down sales of vape and smokable cannabis-derived products by excluding them from the list of permitted low-THC goods.
At the same time, the legislation loosens rules for pharmaceutical cannabis producers manufacturing for export, simplifying licensing modifications and sharply reducing regulatory fees. The contrasting measures have prompted accusations that the government is squeezing domestic low-THC retailers while favouring larger pharmaceutical cannabis investors focused on overseas markets.
Under further provisions in the bill, cannabis products will in future be sold only through specially licensed standalone stores located at least 500 metres from schools and nurseries, a framework likely to favour larger, well-financed operators able to meet strict zoning and compliance requirements.
The legislation also creates a digital registry for cannabis businesses under the Ministry of Health, expands inspection powers for regulators and police, and imposes steep penalties for violations, including fines of €100,000 and prison sentences of up to five years for the sale of prohibited cannabis products.
Taken together, the reforms place unprecedented control over the sector in the hands of the Ministry of Health, consolidating regulatory and enforcement authority under the minister’s supervision.
