Medical Marijuana in Greece: Reform, Stigma, and Industry Growth

Greece, a small mountainous country with an extensive coastline and a thriving tourism industry, is the most recent member of the European Union to legalize the production and use of medical marijuana. In addition to its rich history and significant contributions to Western civilization—such as the invention of democracy—ancient Greece is also one of the earliest documented sources showing that humanity has used marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes since ancient times.

Despite this cultural heritage and the formal implementation of last year’s medical reform, much of Greek society remains highly skeptical about marijuana legalization and its use, even for therapeutic purposes. Greece is considered one of the most “cannaphobic” countries in Europe, with authorities banning the cultivation, sale, and use of the plant as early as 1890—long before criminalization in the US, UK, or on the international stage. The issue of marijuana reform was not even discussed until 2016, when the government began considering legalization and export of medical marijuana as an alternative way to address the country’s financial problems.

“Greece has its own unique and longstanding marijuana culture,” says a 26-year-old Greek man who chose to remain anonymous due to the stigma surrounding marijuana use. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug among Greeks aged 18 to 65. The anonymous source adds that police actively crack down on marijuana use, imposing strict penalties even for minor offenses, which forces users to keep their habits secret. As a result, organized crime groups—mainly operating in areas rarely visited by police—control most of the marijuana trade.

“Despite the government and society’s aversion to marijuana, authorities do allow two legalization festivals each year, which are attended by thousands of open supporters,” the source adds. In Athens, the capital, an annual cannabis industry expo has been held for two years, where the public can learn about various forms of pharmaceutical marijuana, consumption devices, and attend lectures on the benefits and risks of medical use. The last expo, held in January, featured 150 companies and 20 scientists and activists discussing therapeutic and recreational marijuana use. There are also many informal festivals, similar to the Boston Freedom Rally or Seattle Hempfest, which change locations each year to avoid police interference.

“Open marijuana use in public places is strictly prohibited in Greece,” says Yiannis Zervos, a native Greek born in 1944. “In my youth, the black market was mostly filled with hashish, sold in bohemian and poor neighborhoods. That’s probably why marijuana use is still associated with counterculture or crime,” Zervos notes, pointing out that immigrant gangs, mainly Albanians, control most of the import and sale of marijuana, which further damages its image. “Because of this association with crime, the average citizen is unlikely to support full legalization.”

However, over the past decade, previously harsh penalties for marijuana users have begun to ease. In 2013, the Greek parliament passed a law decriminalizing personal marijuana use, following Portugal’s example and declaring marijuana use a “public health issue, not a law enforcement issue.” Still, the law allows police to detain offenders at their discretion, but the maximum penalty is now five months and is mainly applied to repeat offenders.

The anonymous source also notes that the criminalization of marijuana in Greece is largely supported by a lack of public awareness about marijuana’s properties and global legalization trends, as well as a culture of corruption. (For reference, Greece scored only 45 out of 100 on the EU’s corruption index, indicating a significant problem.)

The first steps toward marijuana reform began in 2016, when the socialist SYRIZA party, led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, came to power. At the end of 2016, the parliament began discussing medical legalization, and in early 2017, Tsipras publicly supported the import of medical marijuana for chronic illnesses. By the end of the year, Greece had established a formal medical marijuana market, which differs from other countries in that doctors can prescribe marijuana for import and purchase, not just recommend its use. However, as Health Minister Andreas Xanthos notes, the system is far from perfect: patients must pay the full cost out of pocket (insurance does not cover any part of it), and only ready-made marijuana extracts with no more than 0.2% THC can be imported. Cultivation and processing of industrial hemp is also allowed, but requires a separate, paid license.

Despite the system’s disorganization, several thousand Greeks now regularly import marijuana-based medicines. In early 2017, the government allowed companies from Canada and Israel to sell marijuana to Greek citizens and passed a bill in June permitting certain users to grow a small number of plants at home. “It’s gratifying that, despite Greece’s slow progress on therapeutic reform, our authorities allow those in need to freely import or grow their medicine at home, unlike some supposedly more ‘progressive’ countries,” says Konstantinos Syros, head of a medical marijuana advocacy group and professional activist.

Import and home cultivation of marijuana is formally allowed for citizens suffering from HIV, cancer, various forms of epilepsy, neuropathy, and chronic pain. Technically, doctors can prescribe marijuana for import at their discretion, allowing the local medical market to grow faster than in other EU countries.

While importing marijuana is not a problem, developing a local production base for the marijuana industry remains slow. Although the government has been certifying legal producers for over a year, only two companies have received production licenses so far. Deputy Minister of Economic Development Sergios Pitsiorlas promised licenses to 12 more organizations, but noted that they would not be able to start production and sales for another 12–18 months due to legal and organizational barriers.

Nevertheless, Greece is becoming a regional marijuana market that is rapidly attracting investors. Following successful deals with Canadian and Israeli producers, entrepreneurs from over 30 countries—including Germany, France, other EU nations, Saudi Arabia, and Russia—are now interested in the Greek cannabis industry. If the government continues to support new plantations, Greece could become Europe’s leading marijuana producer within a few years, surpassing current leader Denmark.

According to Mr. Pitsiorlas and other analysts from the Ministry of Finance, developing industrial and medical cannabis cultivation could create over 7,000 new jobs and attract up to 1.5 billion euros in investment.

In summary, despite the stigma surrounding marijuana use and long-standing government resistance to reform, Greece has made an impressive start in developing its marijuana industry. Further reforms aimed at expanding the market and raising public awareness could soon make Greece a global leader in the export of therapeutic cannabis.