Medical cannabis in Poland: the law, prescriptions and travel

Cannabis remains a controlled narcotic; possession is a crime

The Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction of 29 July 2005 (ustawa o przeciwdziałaniu narkomanii) and the ministerial list made under it classify cannabis herb other than fibre hemp, its extracts and tinctures, and cannabis resin as group I-N narcotic drugs. Fibre hemp is defined as Cannabis sativa L. whose combined THC and THC-acid content in the flowering or fruiting tops does not exceed 0.3% of dry mass. Under Article 34, narcotic drugs may be possessed only by businesses, organisational units or natural persons authorised under the Act.

Article 62 makes possession of narcotic drugs contrary to the Act punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment. Possession of a significant quantity carries one to ten years; a case of lesser gravity carries a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to one year. Article 62a allows proceedings to be discontinued, even before an investigation is formally opened, when the quantity is insignificant and intended for the offender’s own use and punishing them would be pointless given the circumstances and the low social harm of the act. That is a discretionary decision by the prosecutor or court, not a right of the person caught.

Cultivating cannabis other than fibre hemp, or harvesting its herb or resin, contrary to the Act is punishable under Article 63 by up to three years’ imprisonment, and by six months to eight years where the crop could yield a significant quantity. A prescription for medical cannabis does not authorise home cultivation.

SourceDziennik Ustaw · Dziennik Ustaw

Medical cannabis since 2017: a raw material for compounded medicines

The Act of 7 July 2017 amending the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction inserted Articles 33a to 33d and entered into force three months after its publication on 31 July 2017. Under Article 33a, cannabis herb other than fibre hemp, together with extracts, pharmaceutical tinctures, other extracts and cannabis resin, may constitute a pharmaceutical raw material for compounded medicines (leki recepturowe) once the President of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products (URPL) has granted a marketing authorisation. The authorisation is issued by administrative decision for five years, on application by the responsible entity; a regulation of 5 December 2017 sets out the application form and the documents required.

This structure has practical consequences. There is no branded medicine called “medical marijuana” on the Polish market; the pharmacy prepares a compounded medicine from an authorised raw material such as dried cannabis flower or an extract. Article 33b(4) gives these compounded medicines the availability category of Article 23a(1)(4) of the Pharmaceutical Law, the Rpw category used for narcotic medicines, and provides that a veterinarian may not prescribe them. Supply depends on import permits: in a communication of 1 March 2023 the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector (GIF) noted that permits already issued that year covered 2,704,928 g of cannabis against a national annual estimate of 3,000,000 g, and announced that permits exceeding the estimate would not be issued.

The same 2017 Act amended the Reimbursement Act. Compounded medicines made from reimbursed raw materials are normally dispensed for a flat fee; Article 6(5a) excludes compounded medicines made from cannabis raw materials authorised under Article 33a from that rule. We found no official source showing reimbursement of medical cannabis by the National Health Fund (NFZ). In practice the patient pays the pharmacy price in full; we do not publish prices because they vary by raw material and pharmacy.

SourceDziennik Ustaw · Dziennik Ustaw · Dziennik Ustaw · Główny Inspektorat Farmaceutyczny · Dziennik Ustaw

Getting a prescription: in-person examination, 90 days, 30 days

Prescriptions for medical cannabis follow the Minister of Health’s regulation on narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors. A prescription for a group I-N preparation may cover no more than the patient’s needs for 90 days of use, and up to three prescriptions may be issued for consecutive periods totalling no more than 90 days. Only one narcotic preparation may be prescribed per prescription, the dosage must be stated, and the pharmacy fills the prescription no later than 30 days after its issue. When a pharmacy dispenses a compounded medicine containing a narcotic drug it also issues a description of the prescription (opis recepty), which belongs with the medicine.

An amending regulation of 29 October 2024, in force since 7 November 2024, added a further condition. A prescription for a preparation containing cannabis herb other than fibre hemp, its extracts or tinctures, or cannabis resin, all listed in the new Annex 2 alongside fentanyl, morphine and oxycodone, is issued after the prescriber has examined the patient in person, in addition to checking through the national e-health system or a patient interview that earlier prescriptions do not already cover the therapy. The examination must be recorded in the medical file. The only exception is a primary-care doctor working under an NFZ primary-care contract who continues an existing treatment; it does not extend to night and holiday care. The Patient Ombudsman explained on 7 November 2024 that qualification for treatment with, among others, medical cannabis now requires a personal examination, while remote consultations remain possible for continuation within primary care.

The law names no medical specialty; it requires a physician who has examined you and who decides whether treatment is indicated, and it rules out veterinarians. How the examination rule applies to your follow-up prescriptions is a question for your doctor. Be wary of services that promise a prescription for cannabis flower after a video call alone; since November 2024 that is not how the regulation reads.

SourceDziennik Ustaw · Dziennik Ustaw · Rzecznik Praw Pacjenta · Dziennik Ustaw

Carrying your medicine, police checks and driving

A patient treated with a compounded cannabis medicine possesses a narcotic drug lawfully, but dried flower from a pharmacy looks like any other cannabis. In 2023 the Commissioner for Human Rights (RPO) wrote to the Police Headquarters (KGP) that treatment under Article 33a is lawful and that patients must not be treated a priori as suspects or detained. The KGP replied on 29 June 2023 that following a medical procedure in line with a doctor’s recommendations is not a basis for police action, that officers must nevertheless assess each case because medical cannabis has intoxicating potential and illegal cannabis can be passed off as medicine, and that documents such as a certificate of treatment, copies of prescriptions and personal invoices for the purchase give the possibility of concluding a check without starting criminal proceedings. Keep the pharmacy packaging, the opis recepty and proof of purchase with the medicine.

Driving is a separate risk. Article 178a § 1 of the Penal Code punishes driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of a narcotic drug with up to three years’ imprisonment; a repeat offence carries three months to five years. Article 87 § 1 of the Code of Petty Offences punishes driving after the use of alcohol or a similarly acting substance with detention or a fine of at least PLN 2,500, and a driving ban is mandatory. The Penal Code defines intoxication for alcohol in numbers (Article 115 § 16: over 0.5 per mille in blood), but neither code sets a THC concentration for “under the influence” or “after use”; that assessment is made case by case, and no provision exempts patients. Discuss driving with your doctor and treat any positive roadside drug test as a matter for a lawyer.

SourceRzecznik Praw Obywatelskich · Dziennik Ustaw · Dziennik Ustaw

Travelling with prescribed cannabis: Poland is in Schengen

Poland belongs to the Schengen area, which the European Commission lists as 29 countries. Article 37(10) of the Act allows the import, export, intra-EU supply or acquisition of narcotic drugs for one’s own medical needs on the basis of documents defined in a ministerial regulation. Since 12 July 2026 that regulation is the Minister of Health’s regulation of 8 June 2026 on permits and documents for the import, export, intra-Community acquisition or supply of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and category 1 precursors; GIF has confirmed that documents issued under the earlier rules remain valid on the previous terms.

For travel to another Schengen State, the competent voivodeship pharmaceutical inspector (wojewódzki inspektor farmaceutyczny, WIF) issues the document, following the instructions of the Schengen Executive Committee decision of 22 December 1994 on the Article 75 certificate. It is issued for a fixed period of no more than 30 days, on an application submitted no later than 15 days before you cross the Polish border. The Bydgoszcz WIF, for example, asks for the prescription and the confirmation that it was filled, both from the IKP patient account. GIF states that it does not issue documents for travel within the EU or Schengen and refers travellers to the WIF for their area.

For destinations outside the EU and Schengen, the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector issues a document permitting import or export for personal medical needs, again for at most 30 days and on an application filed at least 15 days before crossing the border, with the prescription or medical documentation attached. GIF accepts a PDF of the e-prescription from pacjent.gov.pl or the IKP app, or a doctor’s certificate naming the medicines, active substances and dosage, issued no earlier than 120 days before travel. Documents are issued on paper only and authorise crossing the Polish border only; GIF has no information on other countries’ rules and points to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Poland’s entry in the INCB travellers’ database names GIF as the competent authority and records 30 days.

Entering Poland: the general exemption for bringing up to five smallest packs of a medicine for personal use does not extend to medicines containing narcotic or psychotropic substances. A resident of another Schengen State should therefore carry the Article 75 certificate issued or authenticated by the authority of their country of residence, and travellers from outside Schengen should contact GIF in advance. Before any trip:

• Apply to the WIF (Schengen) or GIF (other destinations) at least 15 days before departure; the document is valid for at most 30 days.
• Carry the prescription or its e-prescription printout, the opis recepty and the pharmacy packaging.
• Check the destination country’s own rules; a Polish document only covers the Polish border.
• Do not carry more than the quantity covered by the document and the prescription.

SourceEuropean Commission · Dziennik Ustaw · Dziennik Ustaw · Główny Inspektorat Farmaceutyczny · Główny Inspektorat Farmaceutyczny · Wojewódzki Inspektorat Farmaceutyczny w Bydgoszczy (BIP) · Główny Inspektorat Farmaceutyczny · INCB

Prepare a lawyer callback about Poland

If your question concerns Polish law, choose Poland as the country where advice is needed, even if you live elsewhere. Give a callback number with country code, a supported language and a short factual timeline. If the police have seized medicine or documents, note the date, the unit and the receipt for the seized items, and keep them to hand for the call.

Useful questions include whether Article 62a could apply to your situation, what a summons or charge means for you, what a roadside test result implies and what work falls outside the initial consultation. Keep medical records with your clinician and substantive legal advice with your lawyer; the card’s QR code is not the place to share them.

What CannaCards membership does and does not cover

Poland is one of the 50 countries listed for CannaCards membership. The €60 annual membership includes digital and physical membership cards and one 30-minute initial legal consultation per membership year, with a lawyer callback within six elapsed hours for eligible requests under the service terms.

The card is a private membership card. It is not a prescription, a licence or a government ID, and it gives no permission to possess, buy or carry cannabis in Poland or anywhere else. It does not replace a Polish prescription, the opis recepty or a WIF or GIF travel document. The optional one-off €60 medical assessment through CannaCards’ EU clinical network is priced separately and depends on country and language availability; a doctor decides whether any treatment is appropriate, and whether a prescription can be filled in Poland is a matter for the prescriber and the pharmacy under Polish rules. Further legal representation requires its own agreement.