Medical Cannabis in Portugal: Products, Prices and Pharmacies

Tilray's dried flower was the first cannabis "substance" a Portuguese pharmacy could sell, in 15-gram bags that Observador reported in 2021 would cost about €150. Five years on, the shelf is longer, but the model has not changed: no dispensaries, no clinics with their own stock, just a prescription and the pharmacy counter.

This guide is for patients and relatives who want the practical route: which products exist, what they cost, and where it goes wrong. The legal background, including decriminalization and the approved indications, is in our Portugal cannabis law explainer.

From consultation to pharmacy counter in four steps

1. Bring your treatment history
   The doctor needs records showing which standard medicines you tried and why they failed or caused significant side effects.
2. Get the prescription
   Any registered physician can prescribe an authorized cannabis preparation or substance for an approved indication; the prescription follows narcotics rules.
3. Ask the pharmacy to order
   Stock is limited. Call ahead with the exact product name; many pharmacies order per patient.
4. Keep the paperwork
   Carry the prescription and pharmacy receipt with the product, especially dried flower.

Which products Portuguese pharmacies can dispense

Everything sold must hold an Infarmed market placement authorization (ACM). The Portuguese Medical Cannabis Observatory (OPCM), which tracks approvals, listed the following in its August 21, 2026 update; "not yet available" means authorized but not on pharmacy shelves.

What it costs, and who pays

OPCM lists reimbursement only for Sativex; for the preparations and dried flower, the pharmacy price is what you pay. Verdex found few published prices; the ones below carry their dates.

Tilray dried flower, 15 g

About €150 (Observador, 2021)

Sativex

€475.27, 37% reimbursement (OPCM, 2026)

Satalliv oral solutions

Discounted price at ANF and AFP member pharmacies under a supplier support program (OPCM)

Epidyolex

Early access program

Foreign prescriptions

Verdex found no official guidance; ask the pharmacy before traveling

Why patients still struggle to fill a prescription

Portugal grows far more medical cannabis than it prescribes. Infarmed data reported by Observador on August 21, 2026 show 66.3 tonnes exported in the first half of the year against 5,413 domestic prescriptions, and 43 entities licensed to grow or manufacture.

• Few prescribers — many doctors are unfamiliar with the products; CNN Portugal reported in 2022 that one product had been prescribed to fewer than 20 patients.
• Stock gaps — several authorized products are not on shelves; pharmacies may need days to order.
• Price — without reimbursement, flower and oils are an out-of-pocket cost every month.
• Narrow indications — only the listed conditions, and only after standard treatment fails.

The export boom, and the trafficking case that followed it

Rapid licensing has a downside. Observador reported that Portugal's central prosecution department (DCIAP) charged 13 people and 11 companies in a case it calls "Erva Daninha", accusing them of using fake export paperwork around medical cannabis licenses to move drugs to European and African markets, and describing Infarmed's checks as weak.

On June 26, 2026 the government said it had "corrective measures" underway: a revision of the medical cannabis decree-law and more licensing and inspection staff at Infarmed, according to Observador. For patients, a tighter regime could mean slower approvals for new products; nothing announced changes the prescription route.