Will Austria Legalize Cannabis? Where Politics Stands in 2026

Search the 2025–2029 government programme for the word cannabis and you get zero hits. The only mention of drugs is a line in the traffic chapter that promises more effective checks for alcohol and drug use behind the wheel. That silence is the clearest signal of where legalization stands in Austria.

Where the parties stand

The most recent detailed summary we found is Der Standard's from 2023, when Germany was preparing its own law, and the 2025 programme does not change it: the ÖVP firmly opposed, the FPÖ against, the SPÖ unwilling to open the debate, Greens and NEOS in favor.

With the two larger coalition partners unwilling, NEOS' support has not made it into the programme. The FPÖ, the other large party, is also opposed, so no realistic majority exists in the current National Council.

What opposition MPs are actually asking for

The concrete proposal on the table is medical, not recreational. On April 30, 2025 the Greens' motion 247/A(E) was assigned to the health committee, according to the Parliament's press service.

• Magistral preparations — let pharmacists prepare medicinal cannabis themselves.
• New Narcotics Ordinance — rewrite the rules in line with medical evidence and other countries' examples.
• Flowers and extracts on prescription — allow doctors to prescribe cannabis flowers and extracts as medicines.

Today §14 of the Narcotics Ordinance allows only dronabinol and approved extract medicines, which is why Austrian patients cannot get flower. Details are in our guide to medical cannabis in Austria.

What enforcement looks like without legalization

Police numbers show what the status quo means in practice. The Federal Criminal Police Office's 2025 drug crime report, published in July 2026, counted 36,801 reports under the Narcotic Substances Act, down 1.4% on 2024.

The illegal market has not waited for politics. The same report puts street prices for cannabis herb and resin at 7 to 40 euros a gram and wholesale prices at 1,500 to 5,500 euros a kilogram, and estimates the whole illegal drug trade at roughly five billion euros a year.

Under §35 SMG, prosecutors must provisionally withdraw from personal-use cases that meet the conditions, with one to two years' probation, rather than go to trial. In our reading, that diversion system is part of why politicians feel little pressure to legalize: the offense stays on the books, but users are not routinely tried.

Three developments that could shift the debate

1. The CBD shop deadline
   The Abgabenänderungsgesetz 2025 lets licensed hemp shops sell CBD flowers only until December 31, 2028. The industry's constitutional complaint could reopen the question of how low-THC hemp is regulated.
2. Germany's experience
   Austria borders a country where adults may carry cannabis. Germany's own evaluations and any rollback there will be cited by both sides.
3. The next election
   The legislative period runs to 2029. A coalition with the Greens and NEOS in stronger positions would be the precondition for any bill; nothing in current polling gives a basis to predict that.

How Austria compares with its neighbors in 2026

For the day-to-day rules, including the 0.3% hemp line and penalties, read is cannabis legal in Austria and the Austria hub. This is a summary of political positions and published documents as of September 2026, not legal advice.