Is CBD legal in Cyprus?

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. That baseline applies in Cyprus as it does in every member state.

Cyprus then adds a second, harder bar that most member states do not. In December 2016 the Cyprus Pharmaceutical Council decided to treat CBD as a medicinal product, so a CBD product requires a marketing authorisation before it may be sold - and the National Addictions Authority states the requirement applies regardless of the quantity of CBD the product contains. No CBD product holds such an authorisation in Cyprus, and the only CBD medicine authorised anywhere in the EU is a prescription treatment for rare childhood epilepsies. The Head of Pharmaceutical Services and the head of the police drug squad have both stated publicly that CBD products may be distributed only through licensed pharmacies.

CBD is not scheduled as a narcotic in Cyprus. The bar is the medicines regime, not the Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law of 1977.

¿Vendemos aquí?

Sí, por ahora: Sleep spray, Sleep cápsulas.

Cyprus takes a stricter line on CBD than almost anywhere else in Europe. Since 2016 the Cyprus Pharmaceutical Council has treated CBD as a medicinal product, which means a CBD product needs a medicines marketing authorisation before it can be sold there - and that applies whatever the dose. No CBD supplement holds one.

We ship to Cyprus, and we would rather explain that than leave it unsaid. Cypriot enforcement in this area is real and active, but it has consistently been directed at shops and importers inside Cyprus rather than at established European sellers delivering to customers, and we have found no case of a seller in our position being pursued. That is the basis on which we currently ship. It is a judgement about how the rules are actually applied, not a claim that the underlying legal question is settled in our favour - it is not.

We review this weekly. If it changes, we will stop shipping to Cyprus rather than wait to be told to.

Perspectivas

The 2016 classification has been restated consistently for a decade by three separate arms of the state, and no proposal to reverse it has been published, so the formal position is unlikely to soften on its own.

What has changed recently is at the border. Cypriot customs intercepted two separate consignments of cannabinoid consumer products arriving from other EU member states during 2026, in June and July. Both were commercial shipments carrying false declarations rather than ordinary consumer orders, but they show that inbound interception is no longer only theoretical.

Two things to watch: whether the Addictions Authority's July 2026 warning about products sold as CBD is followed by action rather than advice, and whether any EU-level Novel Food authorisation emerges, which would put pressure on the gap between the Cypriot medicines classification and how CBD is treated in most other member states.

Cronología

December 2016

Cyprus Pharmaceutical Council decides to treat CBD as a medicinal product requiring a marketing authorisation, and the requirement applies regardless of the quantity of CBD a product contains. No CBD product has obtained such an authorisation in Cyprus since.

Cyprus National Addictions Authority (AAEK)

Abril de 2023

Police raid shops in Latsia and central Nicosia over unlicensed CBD, THC and HHC products, with seized goods sent to the Health Ministry for laboratory testing. Pharmaceutical Services and the police drug squad separately confirm that CBD products may be distributed only through licensed pharmacies.

Cyprus Mail

January 2025

Joint Police and Health Ministry operation raids shops in Nicosia and Paphos, seizing 244 packages of suspected CBD product and 43 of suspected THC product. The stated basis is that CBD products are medicinal products requiring a valid circulation licence; owners face trial and possible permanent closure of the business.

Cyprus Mail

Febrero de 2025

Police, the National Cannabis Control Authority and Pharmaceutical Services report a nationwide crackdown: over 1,450 cannabis-based items totalling 29 kg seized, and 2,142 illegal preparations identified during 2024, roughly 1,800 of them containing CBD or THC. Targets are commercial retail premises, with criminal charges against shop owners.

Cyprus Mail

Junio de 2026

Customs Department and the drug squad seize 1,440 cannabis lollipops at a Limassol transport company's premises, from three containers arriving from Greece, alongside suspected counterfeit goods. Detection followed random inspection of a consignment mis-declared as personal items.

Cyprus Mail

Julio de 2026

Customs officers and police intercept two packages at Larnaca airport arriving from another EU member state, containing 24 kg across 1,600 cannabis-based products including tea, coffee, chewing gum, jelly and electronic cigarettes, declared as souvenirs. The consignment was destined for retail sale in Cyprus; the intended recipient and a shop employee were arrested.

Cyprus Mail

Julio de 2026

National Addictions Authority president Dr Christos Minas issues a public warning that products sold as CBD or as herbal preparations may carry unpredictable health effects because they can contain synthetic or semi-synthetic cannabinoids, and that no such product holds a marketing authorisation.

Dialogos