Medical Cannabis in Romania

In October 2013, the Eastern European country of Romania legalized medical cannabis derivatives in the form of pills or oil. The law allows individuals and private entities to cultivate medical cannabis if they get permit from the Ministry of Health, the National Antidrug Agency, the Ministry of Justice and the Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigation Agency.

In November 2019, Romanian authorities adopted a draft law that created the framework for medical cannabis distribution, proposing the legalization of cannabis painkillers for patients with chronic terminal illnesses via a special access procedure. For cultivation, farmers must obtain prior authorisations from the local Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development county office.

In January 2021, the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism clarified that the maximum permitted THC content (0.2%) is determined in the cannabis plant (at the cultivation stage) and not in the final product.

Industrial Hemp and CBD in Romania

Cannabidiol (CBD) is legal in Romania in all of its forms, as long as its THC concentration is lower than 0.2 percent.

Farmers who want to grow hemp have to get a licence. In order to get a licence, they have to present a laboratory report for the hemp seeds, a document proving that the land is owned by them and a contract for the plant matter they intend to produce.

In 2019, Romania’s hemp planted area stretched over 3,076 hectares comparing to 1,454 hectares in 2018 and that surface is forecast to increase in coming years.