Is CBD Oil legal in Portugal?

In Portugal, CBD oil is legal for medicinal use, requiring no prescription provided it contains less than 0.2% THC. This article examines Portugal's progressive drug laws, including the decriminalization of...

Yes, CBD oil is legal in Portugal. While lots of people argue that CBD oil is a part of the medical cannabis industry hence requiring a prescription, its usage should not get you in any sort of legal trouble.

Let’s clarify the background of this statement.

In the year 2001, the government of Portugal passed Law 30/2000, which decriminalised the consumption and possession of all drugs for personal use, including cannabis). This made Portugal one of the first countries in the world to adopt a position of this kind.

As a matter of fact, this law passed to help the country overcome the problem of drug usage. In 1997 a study revealed that the most pressing social problem in Portugal was related to drugs. After this law was imposed, in 2009 when they repeated the study, this drug usage dropped to the 13th place on the list. So the decision and the law worked.

According to Portugal’s national drug coordinator, “decriminalisation is not the solution for everything, but everything is much easier when thinking about addiction as a disease with the same dignity as other diseases.”

Nowadays, a person caught possessing or using a small quantity of drugs for personal use, will be evaluated by the local Commission for Dissuasion of Drug Addiction via 3 experts – one a legal expert, the other two either medical professionals, psychologists, social workers or sociologists. The goal is to understand if the problem requires treatment.

The law identifies a ‘small quantity for personal use’ as an amount not exceeding that required for individual consumption over a 10-day period.

BUY CBD IN PORTUGAL ONLINE: YES

CBD is legal for medicinal purposes. It can also be purchased and consumed without prescription, as long as the THC content (the substance responsible for giving people the ‘high’ effect) is below 0.2%.

BUY CBD IN PORTUGAL OFFLINE: YES

If you wish to purchase CBD in a pharmacy, you will need the help of a valid prescription from a certified doctor. Sativex is the only available cannabis and CBD-based medicine available in pharmacies in Portugal at the moment, however given the fast pace of this industry, this might be changing in the near future.

GROW HEMP FOR CBD IN PORTUGAL: NO

No. Personal cultivation of cannabis for medical use is not permitted — this includes both hemp and marijuana.

In 2001 when Portugal was debating changes to drugs policies, the Portuguese government considered decriminalising cultivation of cannabis for personal use. However, the government decided to specifically exempt cannabis cultivation from the decriminalisation law.

BUY PRODUCTS CONTAINING ABOVE 0.2% OF THC FOR MEDICAL USE? YES

In June 2018 the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes was approved by Portugal’s government. This bill stated that all medicines must be prescribed by a doctor, when and only if all other conventional treatments fail to work. Medicinal cannabis can be prescribed for people who suffer from symptoms associated with chronic pain, cancer therapy, post-traumatic stress disorder and many more.

All drugs require a licence from Infarmed, which is a division of the Portuguese Health Ministry, responsible for the regulation, control and evaluation of medicines and health products for the protection of public health. In 2017, they authorised creating a medicinal cannabis plantation in Portugal. The crops harvested from the plantation are planned to be exported.

The 2018 law also states that the government should support scientific research on cannabis and its potential therapeutic benefits.

BUY PRODUCTS CONTAINING ABOVE 0.2% OF THC FOR RECREATIONAL USE: NO

Portugal’s stance regarding selling cannabis with a quantity of THC higher than 0.2% makes it clearly illegal and the offender can be given a one to five-year prison sentence. This may be extended to four to 12 years, depending on the severity of the crime.

If the offender is found to be selling drugs to fund their own personal addiction, the sentence is usually reduced. This is also the case if the crime is regarded as a ‘traffic of minor importance’.