The short answer, as of October 2026
Each country sets its own law. The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) defines decriminalization as making an offence non-criminal, so it can still bring a fine, while legalization makes the behaviour permitted. Its European Drug Report 2026 (updated June 9, 2026) lists the countries that have legislated for limited personal use: Malta in December 2021, Luxembourg in July 2023, Germany in February 2024 and Czechia in January 2026. Forbes (January 29, 2026) notes that these models rely on home growing and non-profit clubs, not commercial dispensaries.
Where adults can grow and possess small amounts
- Germany: since April 1, 2024, adults 18 and over may carry up to 25 g, keep up to 50 g at home and grow up to 3 plants, and since July 1, 2024 they can join non-profit cultivation clubs (Wikipedia). The Federal Ministry of Health's FAQ (checked October 7, 2026) adds that home growing requires 6 months' residence, clubs must exclude members who no longer live in Germany, and importing or exporting cannabis can bring up to 3 years in prison. In spring 2025 the governing coalition said it would not change the law right away but would re-evaluate it in the fall (Wikipedia); the ministry says interim evaluations were delivered on October 1, 2025 and April 1, 2026, a final one is due 4 years after the law took effect, and its FAQ still lists these rules.
- Malta: the first EU country to legalize cannabis for personal use, in December 2021. Adults 18 and over may carry up to 7 g and grow up to 4 plants at home, non-profit associations may grow cannabis for up to 500 members, and using it in public brings a €235 fine (Euronews, December 14, 2021, more than 12 months old). The EUDA's 2026 report confirms the model is still in place.
- Luxembourg: since July 21, 2023, adults may grow up to 4 plants per household, from seed, at home, and use cannabis there. Carrying, transporting or buying it in public is prohibited: up to 3 g brings a €145 warning fine or a €25 to €500 fine, and more can mean up to 6 months in prison (Luxembourg Health Portal, updated January 8, 2026).
- Czech Republic: since January 2026 (EUDA), adults may grow up to 3 plants and keep up to 100 g at home and 25 g outside it, while commercial sales remain illegal (Forbes, January 2026). Growing 4 or 5 plants, or holding up to 200 g at home, is a minor offence rather than a crime (Podnikatel.cz, July 4, 2025, more than 12 months old).
Tolerated or decriminalized
- Netherlands: possessing and selling cannabis is against the law, but prosecutors do not pursue coffee shops selling small amounts or people holding up to 5 g. Shops may not sell more than 5 g per transaction or sell to minors, and since 2013 only Dutch residents are supposed to be admitted, though enforcement differs by municipality (Government of the Netherlands, page last updated February 2022, more than 12 months old). Growing cannabis is illegal, and since April 7, 2025 coffee shops in a controlled supply chain experiment may sell only regulated cannabis (notice of April 2, 2025, more than 12 months old); the EUDA's 2026 report says it covers 10 municipalities.
- Spain: using cannabis in public is a serious administrative offence, not a crime, with fines of €601 to €30,000 (EUDA Penalties at a glance, updated September 4, 2024, more than 12 months old). Using cannabis and growing it for personal use in private are legal, while selling or importing any amount is a crime (Wikipedia, checked October 7, 2026). Cannabis social clubs sit in a grey area: Spain's Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that organized cultivation and distribution in an association open to new members counts as drug trafficking (EUDA).
- Portugal: Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001. Using drugs is an administrative offence handled by a commission and punished with a fine or other sanctions, never detention (EUDA Penalties at a glance, September 2024, more than 12 months old), and Wikipedia puts the personal-use limit at a 10-day supply, about 25 g of herb or 5 g of hash.
Still illegal, with limited exceptions
- Switzerland: cannabis with more than 1% THC is illegal, but holding up to 10 g that is not for sale is not punished, while using it can bring a 100 franc fine (Wikipedia, checked October 7, 2026). Since May 15, 2021, the law has allowed time-limited scientific pilot trials that supply cannabis to enrolled participants, for 10 years (Federal Office of Public Health, last updated April 2024, more than 12 months old). A draft law adopted by a parliamentary committee in February 2025 would let adults grow 3 flowering plants and buy from non-profit sellers (Swiss Parliament, February 14, 2025, more than 12 months old); its consultation closed December 1, 2025 (Wikipedia), and it is not law.
- France: using cannabis is a criminal offence punishable by up to 1 year in prison and a €3,750 fine (EUDA Penalties at a glance, September 2024, more than 12 months old). Since September 1, 2020, police can issue a fixed fine instead, set at €200 when it was introduced (Wikipedia).
- United Kingdom: cannabis is a Class B drug. Possession can bring up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both, and supply or production up to 14 years; police can also give a warning or an on-the-spot fine of up to £90 (GOV.UK, last updated October 2023, more than 12 months old, checked October 7, 2026).
- Italy: possessing drugs for personal use is a non-criminal offence, punished with administrative sanctions such as suspending a driving licence or passport (EUDA Penalties at a glance, September 2024, more than 12 months old), while selling cannabis is a crime. A 2025 security law, Decree-Law 48/2025, also banned trade in hemp flowers, the low-THC "cannabis light" once sold in shops, including dried and processed forms (Wikipedia).
How Europe compares with Canada and the US
Since October 2018, adults in Canada have been able to grow and possess limited amounts under federal law (Health Canada), and each province and territory oversees how it is sold. In the United States, Forbes reported in January 2026 that 40 states allow medical use and 24 recreational use, but cannabis is still illegal federally despite a December 2025 executive order directing that it be rescheduled. Europe's legal models are narrower: home growing and clubs, not stores.
Never carry cannabis across a border, including home to Canada
The Government of Canada says it is illegal to take cannabis across the Canadian border in either direction, including edibles, extracts, topicals and all products containing CBD. If you arrive with cannabis you must declare it to the Canada Border Services Agency, and failing to declare it is a serious criminal offence that can lead to arrest and prosecution. Abroad, you are subject to local law, and Canadian citizenship gives no immunity.
Crossing borders inside Europe is no safer, and the EUDA's 2026 report notes cannabis being trafficked into Europe from Canada and the United States. For the same question in Asia, see Thai weed: what travellers need to know.
Laws change: check before you go
European cannabis laws have changed often since 2021, and several sources above are more than 12 months old, as flagged. Before you travel, check the Government of Canada's travel advice and the destination's official sources; if a rule is unclear, do not buy, carry or use cannabis.
Back home in Canada
For how Canada got here, read the history of cannabis prohibition in Canada, and for South America, cannabis in Argentina. In Toronto or the GTA, GasDank offers same-day delivery, usually within 1 to 2 hours, and mail order across Canada; see Toronto weed delivery. Customers must be 19 or older (21 in Quebec), with ID checked at the door.
