Cannabis in the Czech Republic: the 2026 law, its limits and the trip back to France

The Addictive Substances Act exempts people over 21 from needing a permit for three acts (Act 167/1998, section 5). They may keep cannabis for their own use within set limits, grow 3 plants, and harvest or process that crop. The Czech government speaks of legalising cultivation of up to 3 plants and possession for personal use.

According to the Office of the Government, the reform also resolves a paradox. Before it, growing a few plants was a minor offence. Harvesting and drying them could be requalified as producing a drug, with a far heavier sentence. The reform also creates a separate crime for producing and distributing cannabis, less severe than for other drugs.

The text says "starší 21 let", literally "older than 21". The press sums it up as "21 and over" (Expats.cz, 2 January 2026). The provisions read set no nationality or residence condition. The law provides neither a legal point of sale nor cannabis clubs, however.

The table follows the Addictive Substances Act (sections 5 and 39) and the Criminal Code (sections 283a and 285). It applies to people over 21.

The 100 g limit applies at home: a house, a flat or any space used for living, outbuildings included. It covers the total of cannabis and of products made from the plant with more than 1% THC, hashish and extracts included. The text does not say whether a hotel room or a holiday rental counts as a home. For a traveller, the 25 g limit is the safe reference.

Growing includes harvesting and processing. It must take place on property the person owns or occupies under some other legal relationship. The police can impose the fine for a minor offence on the spot.

Worked example A 20-year-old traveller holds 10 g outside his accommodation in Prague. The 100 g and 25 g limits only apply to people over 21. For him, possession is a minor offence, with a fine of up to 50,000 koruna. At 22, with the same amount outside his home, he would stay below the 25 g limit.

The Criminal Code punishes with up to one year in prison anyone who produces, offers, sells or supplies cannabis to someone else without authorisation. The same penalty covers importing, exporting and transit (Criminal Code, section 283a). Penalties rise for an organised group, a repeat offence or a minor victim.

People aged 21 or under have no legal allowance. For them, possession remains a minor offence up to 200 g at home and 50 g outside, and growing up to 5 plants. Allowing a person under 21 to use an addictive substance is also a minor offence.

The sections read set limits on possession and growing. They say nothing about using cannabis in public. General and local rules may regulate it: check with the municipality before assuming that a possession limit gives you the right to use cannabis anywhere.

Cannabis for medical use forms a separate regime, with its own rules for production, preparation and dispensing.

Czech law does not class all hemp as a narcotic. It defines "technical hemp". This is a plant from which cannabis with at most 1% THC can be obtained, or one grown from varieties in the EU common catalogue. Extracts and tinctures with at most 1% THC also fall outside the list of addictive substances, provided they meet product safety rules. Technical hemp needs no handling permit, including for industrial, food, cosmetic or horticultural uses (Act 167/1998, sections 2 and 5).

This 1% threshold separates technical hemp from narcotic cannabis. It does not say which consumer products may be sold: other rules apply, such as EU novel food law. Our article on hemp and cannabis explains the equivalent line in France, set at 0.30%.

The gap with France is the one described in our article on Swiss CBD in France. A product at 0.5% THC stays below the Czech threshold but exceeds the French one. For a purchase in France, the useful check is the analysis of the batch actually sold. At Phytogrammes, each product page shows a reference cannabinoid profile; no laboratory certificate is published there as of 18 October 2026. The laboratory page lists the catalogue products.

The permit exemptions only cover possession (section 5, subsection 12) and growing (subsection 13). Exporting cannabis, that is, moving it from one state to another, is still covered by section 283a of the Criminal Code. Luxembourg, close to this model with home growing and no sales, is covered in our article on cannabis in Luxembourg. Malta chose cannabis associations restricted to residents, presented in our article on Malta.

France does not recognise these limits. According to the French public service website, possessing, transporting or bringing narcotics into the country is illegal (Service-Public, checked on 24 November 2025). Article 222-36 of the Criminal Code provides for ten years in prison and a fine of 7,500,000 euros for illegal importation (Légifrance). Article L3421-1 of the Public Health Code punishes use with one year in prison and a fine of 3,750 euros (Légifrance). Since August 2026, a fixed fine of 500 euros can end the prosecution.

For CBD, France applies 0.30% THC to the product held, for a variety listed in the catalogue (order of 30 December 2021, Légifrance). The summary published by MILDECA, the French interministerial drugs agency, in September 2026 restates this (MILDECA, 2026). Our article on the authorised THC level explains which part of the plant that rate is measured on.

A CBD flower looks like cannabis and can trigger a check: see our article on police checks with CBD. For flying, our guide to flying with CBD sets out what to check.