🇵🇱 Poland Overview
Poland’s legalised medical cannabis in 2017 and its regulatory framework is restrictive in terms of commercial activity. Typically, medical cannabis products undergo a lengthy and bureaucratic authorisation process, which has delayed products entering the market and caused supply chain issues in its founding years. Since 2022, the country permitted the commercial cultivation of medical cannabis through special permits. However, no cultivation activities have yet begun.
Poland’s medical cannabis market saw significant growth from 2029 to the end of 2024 due to several factors including: a rise in product authorisations, stronger import/distribution supply chains, a reduction in the price of products, increased awareness of medical cannabis by healthcare professionals and the rise of telemedicine.
However, in November 2024 Poland’s Ministry of Health restricted the use of online consultations for medical cannabis. The new rules require prescribers to conduct initial examinations in person, allowing the use of remote consultations only after an initial examination has been conducted in person. Although there was a significant drop in patients and prescriptions, patient numbers have begun to rise again as more in-person clinics open their doors.
Poland remains an import-reliant market. A small amount of imported products are re-exported, however there is no domestic production industry for medical cannabis in the country.
🇵🇱Regulations
Medical cannabis in Poland is regulated under the Law on Preventing Narcotics Addiction (LPNA), the Pharmaceutical Law Act as well as the corresponding regulations set by the Ministry of Health.
In order for a company to manufacture, process, import and distribute medical cannabis, they are required to hold a regular authorisation in the relevant business activity as well as a narcotic authorisation which is issued by the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector (ChPhI).
In terms of the cultivation of medical cannabis, only research institutions are allowed to cultivate medical cannabis and a special permit is required and issued by the ChPhI. Only one entity has received such a permit thus far.
Placing a medical cannabis product on the Polish market is a lengthy application process and can take over two years. Products need to obtain a marketing authorisation, which lasts for five years, issued by the President of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products. Products are authorised as raw forms of cannabis which are processed in pharmacies.
🇵🇱 Patient Access
Who Can Prescribe?
In Poland, any doctor can prescribe medical cannabis as long as they are permitted to prescribe narcotics. In practice, the majority of doctors who do so are physicians with appropriate qualifications and specialisations in the fields of:
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Anaesthesiology
Patients can also obtain a prescription from general practitioners, specialised health clinics, and medical cannabis clinics.
What are the treatable pathologies?
In Poland, there is no official list of which indications can be treated with medical cannabis and it is left to the decision of the practising physician. However, the main indications for which medical cannabis is prescribed include, but are not limited to:
- Related symptoms caused by cancer and chemotherapy
- Pain
- Autoimmune diseases
- Mental health disorders
- Epilepsy
- Neurological disorders
Reimbursement & Dispensation
Currently, there is no reimbursement for medical cannabis in Poland thus, patients have to pay for their treatment out-of-pocket.
The amount of medical cannabis dispensed in Polish pharmacies has seen a significant increase year-over-year. The most dramatic increase was observed between 2023 and 2024, with dispensed grams in pharmacies reaching over 4.7 tonnes, nearly double the amount dispensed in 2023, when approximately 2.4 tonnes were dispensed. The strong growth from 2019 to 2024 was attributed to the increasing number of patients, the introduction of new approved products to the market, stronger supply chains, and lower prices. Additionally, the rise of doctor education on medical cannabis and the use of telehealth clinics to obtain a prescription increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, easing patient access dramatically.
After the government implemented restrictions on telehealth for medical cannabis in October 2024, the number of patients and amount dispensed initially dropped. However, in 2025, the volumes dispensed started to rise again as more specialized in-person medical cannabis clinics opened, improving patient access. Prohibition Partners anticipates that the volumes dispensed in 2025 will return to levels similar to those seen in 2024.
🇵🇱 Products & Prices
There are roughly 40 authorised flower products available on the Polish market, with the most common price ranging between €9 and €10 per gram. There are currently only a few varieties available to Polish patients, as companies must undergo a lengthy product authorisation process to launch their products on the market. Additionally, as there are currently no reimbursement schemes for medical cannabis in Poland, patients have to pay out-of-pocket for their medication; thus, prices for products remain similar across the board.
The majority of medical flower products available on the Polish market are imported from Portugal, while the remaining are imported from Canada. However, it must be noted that a significant portion of Portuguese imports consists of Canadian-produced products that undergo final processing stages in Portugal. Most products are packaged in Germany and rexported to Poland.
To a large extent, the Polish medical cannabis market consists of flowers. Currently, 77% of the available products on the market consist of medical flowers, compared to 23% being extracts.
As of December 2025, there are 12 extract products authorised in Poland which are marketed by PharmaCann, CanPoland, Auforia, PhytoPur Bio and Vetos Farma. The majority of extract products are used for magistral preparations with some pharmacies also offering magistral vape cartridges and rosin products.
As the process of receiving a market authorisation for raw medical cannabis products is a time-consuming task due to the lengthy review process, the number of medical cannabis products available to Polish patients is fairly limited when compared to other European markets such as the UK and Germany.
In Poland, there are currently over 50 medical cannabis products that have received a marketing authorisation as a raw material product. These products include flowers, extracts and vape cartridges. As the medical products are obtained by pharmacies as raw materials they are packaged and dosed in pharmacies based on the prescription criteria placed on individual patients.
🇵🇱 Imports & Exports
In the first years of the medical cannabis framework in Poland, the country faced significant shortages. Although patient and prescription numbers were increasing, the supply of medical cannabis was falling short as it was a burdensome and time-consuming task for companies to obtain an import permit as well as receiving product authorisations. However, as time progressed, stronger supply chains were established as more companies received import permits and marketing authorisations for products.
Poland’s medical cannabis market is an import-reliant market as there are currently no active domestic commercial businesses cultivating cannabis for medical purposes.