Union of Cannabis Retailers — knowledge platform — Recreational Cannabis Foundation

A living overview of cannabis policy per jurisdiction, based on primary official sources.

• Netherlands — Medical programme since 2001/2003; tolerated coffeeshop retail since the 1970s; statutory closed-chain pilot in the experimentation phase since April 2025.
• Germany — Medical cannabis since 2017; CanG legalised possession, home cultivation and non-commercial cultivation associations in April 2024.
• Czechia — Medical cannabis regime since April 2013; government RIA and reform pathway visible but no confirmed adult-use opening in primary sources.
• Switzerland — Federal law amendment (2021) created the pilot basis; medical use freed from BAG exception permits in August 2022.
• United Kingdom — Cannabis-based products for medicinal use rescheduled by UKSI 2018/1055; no adult-use opening in primary UK legislation.
• Italy — State organism for medical cannabis established in 2015; no adult-use market opening in the sources reviewed.
• Austria — SMG-Novelle 2007 anchors medical cannabis cultivation under AGES; no adult-use opening.
• Malta — Medical production act (2018); Responsible Use of Cannabis Act (2021) enables home cultivation and non-commercial associations; amendments in 2025.
• European Union — No own consumer market competence; European Parliament resolution on medicinal cannabis (2019) and EU Drugs Strategy 2021–2025 as overarching frameworks.
• Thailand — Narcotics Act No. 7 (2019) as medical basis; 2022 delisting from Category 5 opened adult-use briefly; 2025 controlled-herb notifications refocus on medical channels.
• United States — Subnational commercial adult-use markets since Washington I-502 (2012); California Prop 215 (1996) opened medical; federally still Schedule I with rescheduling procedure pending.
• Australia — Federal medical cannabis since Narcotic Drugs Amendment Act 2016; ACT personal cannabis use regime in force January 2020 (territorial).
• Canada — Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (2001) established medical access; Cannabis Act (2018) created the federal adult-use retail market.
• Lebanon — Law No. 178 of 2020 legalised cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial use. The Regulatory Authority has now published a package of draft regulations, technical annexes (GACP, GSP, GMP, track-and-trace) and nineteen digital licence application procedures. No adult-use market.