Is CBD legal in Bulgaria?

Situación jurídica

CBD has been classified as a Novel Food across the EU since January 2019 (Regulation (EU) 2015/2283), and no CBD ingestible holds Union list authorisation anywhere in the EU.

Bulgaria has no national authorisation route either. The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BABH) stated in a 2024 enforcement context that cannabinoids are not permitted as ingredients in food, and that the abbreviation "CBD" should not appear on a food label at all.

A widely repeated claim that Bulgaria became the first EU country to permit free sale of CBD in 2019 should not be relied on. That story rested on a company-specific Free Sale Certificate which worked by treating the products as traditional rather than novel foods - a position Bulgarian authorities no longer sustain.

Separately from food law, cannabis sits in Schedule I of the Narcotic Substances and Precursors Control Act, with an exemption for industrial hemp below 0.2% THC by weight. CBD itself is not listed as a controlled substance in Bulgaria.

¿Vendemos aquí?

Sí, por ahora: Sleep spray, Sleep cápsulas.

Bulgaria hasn't authorised CBD as a food ingredient - and neither has any other EU country, so this is the unresolved EU-wide position rather than something specific to Bulgaria. We keep selling here because, on what we can currently observe, no enforcement action has been directed at sellers shipping in from other EU countries the way we do. That's a monitored judgement, not a claim the position is settled or risk-free. We review it regularly and will change where we ship if that picture changes.

Perspectivas

The direction is mildly adverse. The food safety agency's position is explicit, and in May 2026 the Customs Agency ran a two-week operation that intercepted over a thousand courier parcels ordered through online platforms, with officials stating that all parcels ordered online are inspected. That operation targeted narcotics concealed in vapes and confectionery rather than supplements, and no cannabinoid supplement was reported among the seizures - but the inbound screening capability it demonstrates did not visibly exist before.

Two things worth watching: whether the food safety agency publishes guidance naming CBD supplements directly rather than only in enforcement statements, and whether the parcel screening programme broadens beyond narcotics.

Cronología

Junio de 2019

Reporting that Bulgaria had become the first EU country to permit free sale of CBD is clarified: the Free Sale Certificate was company-specific, issued jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture and the food safety agency, and worked by classifying the products as traditional rather than novel foods.

NutraIngredients

Abril de 2024

Parliament rejects a bill that would have permitted industrial hemp to be processed in Bulgaria in addition to being grown. The Customs Agency objected to a proposed 1% THC threshold below which hemp would not be treated as a narcotic. Cultivation remains lawful; domestic processing does not.

Cannabis Law Report

Julio de 2024

A regional directorate of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency halts the sale of hemp-flavoured gums and energy drinks in a Sofia shop, recording THC content above the 0.2% threshold. An official states that cannabinoids are forbidden as ingredients in food and that the abbreviation "CBD" should not appear on a food label.

Tribune.bg

Mayo de 2026

The Customs Agency reports Operation Hydra: more than 1,000 courier parcels containing narcotics, ordered online via EU-based platforms, intercepted in under two weeks across express courier terminals. Officials state that all parcels ordered through online platforms are inspected. The seizures were narcotics concealed in vapes, sweets and baked goods; no cannabinoid supplement was reported among them.

National Customs Agency