Cannabis in Austria

Austria has no legal channel for THC cannabis. Anything above 0.3% THC is a narcotic under the Narcotics Ordinance, and §27 of the Narcotic Substances Act (SMG) punishes acquiring, possessing, growing it to obtain narcotics, or passing it on with up to one year in prison, or six months when it is purely for personal use. In practice, most personal-use cases never reach a courtroom: under §35 SMG the prosecutor must provisionally withdraw from prosecution, with a probation period of one to two years. For cannabis-only first cases, even the health authority's assessment can be skipped. The offense stays on the books, though, and police report every case. The full rules are in our guide to cannabis law in Austria. In 2025 police recorded 36,801 reports under the SMG nationwide, 11,204 of them in Vienna, where cannabis featured in 62.8% of cases, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office's report published in July 2026.

What is legal is low-THC hemp, and its sale has been reorganized. After the Supreme Administrative Court ruled on November 21, 2024 that smokable hemp products are subject to tobacco tax, the Finance Ministry moved hemp flowers into the tobacco monopoly: since July 2025 every Trafik can sell them at officially set prices, with warning labels and a ban on online sales. The Abgabenänderungsgesetz 2025, passed in December 2025, gave existing CBD shops a way to continue until December 31, 2028, if they obtain a licence from the Monopolverwaltung GmbH. The licence list of June 18, 2026 names only 23 shop locations, 13 of them in Vienna and none in Styria or Burgenland. Tobacco tax has applied to hemp since April 2026. See which CBD shops may still sell flowers.

Other CBD products follow food and medicines law. AGES, the Agency for Health and Food Safety, says CBD oils and extracts are unauthorized novel foods and may not be sold as food or supplements; CBD may not be used in feed or in tobacco and nicotine products. The only authorized CBD medicine is Epidyolex, on prescription.

Medical cannabis means cannabinoids, not flower. §14 of the Narcotics Ordinance lets doctors prescribe dronabinol (pure THC) for pharmacy-made preparations and approved extract medicines such as Sativex, but not cannabis flower. The extract Exilby was being prepared for Austrian market entry in 2026. Medicinal cannabis is grown only by the state agency AGES or its subsidiary (§6a SMG). Details: medical cannabis in Austria.

Seeds and cuttings are a peculiarly Austrian grey zone: grow shops sell them openly because seeds are not narcotics and growing is only punishable when the aim is to obtain narcotics. Flowering a THC plant for harvest crosses that line. Police counted 290 grows in 2025 and name the legal cuttings trade as a policing priority (how the Stecklinge rule works).

For visitors: cannabis legally bought in Germany becomes a narcotic at the Austrian border, and there is no THC limit for drivers. Driving under the influence costs 800 to 3,700 euros and at least a one-month licence withdrawal, according to ÖAMTC. Political change is not imminent: the ÖVP–SPÖ–NEOS government programme for 2025–2029 does not mention cannabis. This page is general information, not legal advice.