Medical eligibility

Who qualifies for medical cannabis in Greece

Greece recognises five groups of indications, and an initial prescription may be issued by five specialties only. That is a narrower list than most visitors expect — this page sets it out in full, including what is not on it.

Current as of 10 September 2026. General information, not medical advice.

01 · Indications

The five recognised indication groups

Prescribing and pharmacy dispensing of medical cannabis became operational in Greece in February 2024, through the national electronic prescription system. As of the most recent update to EOF's core SPC, in November 2025, five groups of indications are recognised:

Treatment-resistant chronic pain. Pain that has not responded to other therapies already tried — including pain of oncological origin, and pain arising from diseases of the central or peripheral nervous system. Specific neuropathic conditions fall here: trigeminal neuralgia, post-herpetic pain and phantom limb pain.
Spasticity. Spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury.
Severe nausea and vomiting. Caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or combination treatment for HIV or hepatitis C.
Appetite stimulation. In palliative care for cancer and AIDS patients.
Inflammatory bowel disease. Symptomatic treatment of abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea and loss of appetite in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. This indication was added in the November 2025 update to EOF's core SPC, and it does not replace the established therapies for the disease.

That is the regulatory frame. Inside it the physician exercises clinical judgement — on whether a particular pain is genuinely resistant to what has been tried, and whether the expected benefit justifies the treatment. The list itself is not frozen: inflammatory bowel disease was only added in November 2025, so it is worth confirming the current position with EOF close to the time you apply.

A young framework The Greek framework is still young, and it moves: the indication list was extended in November 2025, and further specialties have been discussed professionally as candidates for prescribing rights. In any individual case what governs is the position at the time of assessment, not expectations about how it may develop.

02 · Order of treatment

Cannabis is not a first-line therapy

This is the point most people miss. The Greek framework does not position cannabis as a first option but as one for patients whom conventional treatment has not helped — the professional wording in Greek refers to conditions «που δεν ανταποκρίνονται στις συνήθεις θεραπείες», conditions that do not respond to the usual therapies.

In practice that means three questions the physician will be looking to answer:

What did you try? Which medicines, which non-drug treatments, and in what order.
For how long? A treatment abandoned after a week does not show that it failed.
With what result? No help, partial help, or side effects that could not be tolerated.

"I have not tried anything, I wanted to go straight to cannabis" is the most common reason a request does not progress. That is not bureaucracy — it is the clinical rule itself.

03 · Prescribers

Who may prescribe

An initial prescription for medical cannabis in Greece is restricted to five specialties:

Anaesthesiologists (αναισθησιολόγοι)
Neurologists (νευρολόγοι)
Oncologists (παθολόγοι-ογκολόγοι)
Infectious-disease specialists (παθολόγοι λοιμωξιολόγοι)
Rheumatologists (παθολόγοι-ρευματολόγοι)

A physician of another specialty may repeat an existing prescription for six months, after which a specialist re-evaluation is required. In other words: entry to the route is via a specialist, not a general practitioner.

The prescription itself is digital — recorded in the Greek electronic prescription system and read at the pharmacy from that system. How redemption works in practice, including what to present at the counter, is covered in the full guide.

04 · Not on the list

What is not on the list

A good deal of promotional content presents Greece as a place where almost any reason is accepted. That is not accurate, and it is better to know before booking a flight.

Not indications in their own right Sleep disorders, anxiety and migraine are not among the recognised indication groups in Greece. Nor does unspecified "back pain", with no history of treatments tried and no resistant or neuropathic component, fall automatically into the first group.

That does not make those symptoms irrelevant. If insomnia accompanies treatment-resistant chronic pain, it is part of the clinical picture the physician assesses and weighs in judging severity. The distinction is between an accompanying symptom and an independent ground: the first is relevant, the second does not exist on the list.

It is also worth knowing what changed around this. Law 5302/2026 imposed a total ban on retail sale of dried cannabis flower in Greece, CBD products included, while expressly preserving medical cannabis dispensed on prescription. More in CBD in Greece and penalties in Greece.

05 · Foreign licences

A licence from home does not carry over

Many countries operate their own medical cannabis schemes, each with its own indication list. None of them is the Greek list, and this runs in both directions:

A licence issued elsewhere does not create eligibility in Greece. It is not valid there and does not shorten the process. You can submit it as relevant medical history — it documents a treatment history — but the assessment is made afresh against the Greek list.
Being refused at home does not close the door in Greece. You still have to fall within one of the five groups above, but the criteria are not identical, so a refusal elsewhere does not decide the question in advance.

What does not change in any direction: a prescription or licence from one country does not permit moving product across a border. Import is treated as a trafficking act under Greek law. The detail is in flying with cannabis and penalties in Greece.

06 · Preparation

Arriving prepared for the assessment

The assessment is medical, and it is only as good as the information reaching it. Worth bringing:

An existing diagnosis, if you have one — a discharge letter, visit summary, or a treating physician's diagnosis.
A list of treatments tried, with duration and outcome for each.
Medicines you currently take, including doses.
Documentation of side effects that caused a treatment to be stopped, if any.
Relevant documents from your own country, even if a request there was refused.

No certified translation is needed. A clear description of what was tried and what happened is worth more than an official document that says nothing. Our questionnaire has a free-text field for exactly that — the eligibility check.

The decision rests with a Greek-licensed physician alone, on an individual assessment and subject to Greek law. Neither submitting a request, nor paying, nor appearing to meet one of the indications guarantees approval. If the physician does not approve, the service fee is refunded in full.

07 · Questions

Frequently asked questions

Are sleep problems or anxiety enough to get a prescription in Greece?

Not on their own. Sleep disorders, anxiety and migraine are not among the recognised indication groups in Greece. Where they accompany a condition that is on the list — insomnia arising from treatment-resistant chronic pain, for example — they form part of the clinical picture the physician assesses, but they are not grounds in their own right.

Do previous treatments have to have failed?

Yes. Medical cannabis in Greece is not a first-line therapy. It is considered where conventional treatments have not helped, were unsuitable or were not tolerated. Document what you tried, for how long, and what the outcome was.

Which doctors may issue an initial prescription in Greece?

An initial prescription is restricted to anaesthesiologists, neurologists, oncologists, infectious-disease specialists and rheumatologists. A physician of another specialty may repeat the prescription for six months, after which a specialist re-evaluation is required.

Does a medical cannabis licence from my own country qualify me in Greece?

No. A licence issued elsewhere is not valid in Greece and does not create eligibility. The assessment is made afresh against the Greek list. You can submit your existing documents as relevant medical history — they evidence what has already been tried — but they do not carry over.

Is the Greek list closed, or can a physician go beyond it?

The recognised indications are the framework within which the assessment is made, and the physician exercises clinical judgement inside it — for instance on whether a particular pain is genuinely resistant to the therapies already tried. The list itself is updated: inflammatory bowel disease was added in November 2025, so it is worth confirming the current position with EOF.

What happens if the physician decides I am not suitable?

The service fee is refunded in full, with no cancellation charge. The decision rests with the physician alone, and neither submitting a request nor paying guarantees approval.

Sources: Protothema — prescribing and pharmacy dispensing begin · HealthPharma — indications in chronic pain · EOF — National Organisation for Medicines. Last updated: September 2026. General information, not medical advice.

What to read next

The full guideThe process end to end: law, assessment, cost, limits. Remote prescriptionWhat happens before you fly, and what must happen in Greece. DestinationsWhere a prescription can actually be redeemed.

Think you are within the list?

A short questionnaire, reviewed by a Greek-licensed physician. Not approved — the fee is returned in full.

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