At the counter

Redeeming a prescription in Greece without an AMKA

The obvious objection to this whole route is that a visitor has no Greek social security number. Since August 2024 that is no longer the obstacle it was: the Greek e-prescription system has a dedicated foreign-patient route that identifies you by passport instead.

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

01 · The mechanism

There is a dedicated foreign-patient route, and it has existed since 2024

From August 2024 the Greek electronic prescription system includes a route for foreign patients that is not based on an AMKA (the Greek social security number). The system generates a unique patient identifier — Αναγνωριστικό Ασθενή — which sits in exactly the field where the social security number would otherwise appear.

At the pharmacy, you are located by three data points: country, document type, and document number. The pharmacist is not searching for an AMKA and does not need one.

Why this matters This mechanism is the reason the route works at all. Without it, a visitor with no Greek social security number simply would not exist in the system, and no pharmacist could dispense anything.

02 · The passport

Your passport number must match — exactly

The identifying document is your passport. The passport number recorded on the prescription must be identical to the number in the passport you present at the counter. A mismatch blocks dispensing as a matter of law.

This is not about the pharmacist's discretion or goodwill. The system will not permit it, and the pharmacist is not entitled to work around it.

Two mistakes that waste a trip

A wrong digit in the questionnaire. Check the passport number twice before submitting.
A replaced passport. If you renewed between filling in the questionnaire and flying, the number changed. Tell us immediately.

We verify this match before the request reaches the physician — it is one of the things the service actually buys you.

03 · The limits of what is documented

What we cannot verify publicly

Here we stop and say something most sites in this space will not. The foreign-patient route carries a technical condition: only medicines flagged "foreign patient" in the system's drug registry can be prescribed and dispensed through it. The pharmacist's system blocks anything else.

The list of flagged medicines is not published anywhere we could locate, so we cannot show you a public document confirming that medical cannabis products carry that flag.

What is documented: the order establishing the route expressly covers controlled substances, including the schedules under which medical cannabis preparations sit. Such prescriptions carry a "special narcotics prescription" marking, and a single prescription may include substances from one schedule only.

How we handle that gap Not with assumptions. We confirm that dispensing is feasible with the treating side before the request goes to the physician and before you pay. If the physician does not approve, or if it turns out the route is not workable in your case, the service fee is refunded in full.

04 · The counter

What actually happens at the pharmacy

What to bring

Your passport — the same one whose number is on the prescription.
The prescription — by email or as a printout from the physician. There is no card, no portal and no dematerialised version for someone without an AMKA. Save the file offline too.
Means of payment — payment is in full, at the counter.

Identification

A prescription for a controlled substance requires personal identification of the patient. If someone else collects on your behalf, their full name is recorded. The dispensing is entered in the pharmacist's electronic narcotics register, and you sign an execution sheet that the pharmacy keeps for three years.

Payment

In the foreign-patient route your contribution is 100%. The Greek national health fund reimburses nothing, and the cannabis products are in any case classified as non-reimbursed. The official price list by strain is on the pharmacy prices page.

What this route cannot do

Referrals for tests cannot be issued to a foreign patient — the route covers medicines only.

05 · The product

The product, the packaging, and the device nobody mentions

The strain is fixed on the prescription, not chosen at the counter

Medical cannabis in Greece is prescribed by commercial name. The prescription fixes the exact product, and the pharmacist may not substitute the strain or the concentration. You cannot arrive and ask for something different.

Sealed packaging

Flower is supplied in multi-layer sealed bags with a tamper seal, in 5 or 10 gram sizes. The seal is part of the approved packaging.

A vaporiser — mandatory, and separate

Inhaled use requires a CE-marked vaporising device notified to EOF. It is purchased separately, is not included in the price of the flower, and the patient needs to be able to understand and operate it.

Worth budgeting for This is a cost that appears on no cannabis price list, and it catches people out at the counter. If you plan on inhaled use, account for the device in advance.

06 · Hours

Opening hours and the duty rota — what the rule actually is

Pharmacy opening hours in Greece are set regionally, not nationally. The regional governor sets them after consulting the local pharmaceutical association, subject to a minimum of 40 hours per week. Mandatory opening applies Monday to Friday only, between 08:00 and 21:00.

Saturday can never be set as a compulsory opening day. Saturday opening is voluntary, declared in advance, and a pharmacy that declared it is not bound to keep it.
Sunday opening is prohibited, except for duty pharmacies.

The pattern most travellers meet — morning, a long midday break, then reopening in the afternoon — is a widespread regional custom, not a national rule. Do not plan around a specific hour without checking.

The duty rota, by contrast, is legally binding

Day duty runs 08:00 to 21:00 and night duty 21:00 to 08:00. Every pharmacy must participate, and the local pharmaceutical association compiles rotas valid for a year.

The official way to find a duty pharmacy is fixed in law: the rota is posted on the front of every closed pharmacy, and published on the regional authority's and the pharmaceutical association's websites. Commercial sites aggregate this conveniently, but the binding source is the one on the door.

07 · Questions

Frequently asked questions

I have no Greek social security number. Can I redeem a prescription at all?

Yes. Since August 2024 the Greek electronic prescription system has included a dedicated foreign-patient route that is not based on an AMKA. The system generates a unique patient identifier, and the pharmacy locates you by country, document type and document number.

Which document identifies me at the pharmacy?

Your passport. The passport number recorded on the prescription must be identical to the number in the passport you present at the counter. A mismatch legally blocks dispensing — it is not a matter of the pharmacist's discretion.

Where do I actually receive the prescription?

By email, or as a printout from the physician. In the foreign-patient route there is no card, no Greek portal login and no dematerialised version. Save the file offline in case you have no signal.

Does every pharmacy in Greece dispense medical cannabis?

Dispensing takes place at ordinary private pharmacies rather than a restricted network. However, neither EOF nor the Health Ministry publishes a list of dispensing pharmacies, and there is no guarantee that any given branch holds stock. It is worth calling ahead.

Can I choose a different strain at the counter?

No. The product is prescribed by commercial name and the pharmacist may not substitute the strain or the concentration. You cannot arrive and ask for something else.

What are pharmacy opening hours in Greece?

Opening hours are set regionally, not nationally, by the regional governor after consulting the local pharmaceutical association, with a minimum of 40 hours per week. Mandatory opening applies Monday to Friday only, between 08:00 and 21:00. Saturday can never be set as a compulsory opening day, and Sunday opening is prohibited except for duty pharmacies.

Sources: IDIKA — the Greek e-prescription operator · EOF · Greek Ministry of Health. Last updated: September 2026. General information, not medical or legal advice.

What to read next

Pharmacy pricesOfficial per-gram prices, identical nationwide. DestinationsWhere a prescription can actually be redeemed. Who qualifiesThe four recognised indication groups, in full.

The route exists. The question is whether you qualify.

We check the passport match and dispensing feasibility before anything reaches the physician.

Start the eligibility check