Is CBD legal in Spain?

Formal status

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.

Spain applies that position through AESAN, and its wording is directly on point for an oil-based ingestible: cannabinoids not classified as psychotropic, such as cannabidiol, cannot be used in food, whether used as such or added, for example, to an oil, and whether their origin is natural or synthetic, because they are novel foods. That is Revision 2 of AESAN's hemp and cannabinoids questions and answers, approved 12 June 2025.

The legal basis is EU novel food law rather than Spanish narcotics law, and this is an agency interpretation applying the EU rule rather than a distinct Spanish decree. In April 2026 AESAN relayed EFSA's provisional safe intake level for cannabidiol while stating expressly that the legal position on CBD has not changed and that novel food authorisation remains required.

Separately and on a different track, the Supreme Court held in April 2026 that hemp flower containing 0.3 to 0.7 per cent THC is a controlled drug under the Criminal Code. That judgment concerns plant material; it does not address oils, capsules or food supplements.

Do we sell here?

Yes, for now: Sleep spray, Sleep capsules.

Spain's food safety agency is explicit, and it is worth quoting the shape of it: cannabinoids that are not classified as psychotropic - cannabidiol among them - may not be used in food, including where they are added to an oil, whether they are natural or synthetic. That is because they are novel foods and no authorisation exists anywhere in the EU. An ingestible CBD product has no approved route in Spain.

We ship to Spain, and the honest reason is about where Spanish enforcement has actually landed. The serious action there has been criminal and it has concerned hemp flower sold in Spanish shops - the Supreme Court ruled on exactly that in 2026. The food-law record against ingestible supplements is much thinner and mostly several years old, and we have found nothing directed at European sellers delivering to customers in Spain.

That is a judgement about enforcement, not a claim that the rule favours us. It does not. We review Spain weekly, and it is the market where most is currently in motion.

Outlook

Spain is the most active of our markets right now, and the activity is running on two separate tracks that are worth keeping apart.

The criminal track concerns hemp flower. The Supreme Court's April 2026 judgment treated flower at 0.3 to 0.7 per cent THC as a controlled drug, and more than thirty companies in the sector have since coordinated a response: a clarification brief filed with the Supreme Court, a constitutional appeal in preparation, and a possible reference to the Court of Justice of the EU on CBD products containing residual THC and their movement between member states. That last question is the one closest to what we do, and we are watching it.

The food track concerns supplements, and there the Spanish record is thinner and mostly older. The August 2026 Ministry of Health alert commits to continuous sampling of direct sales outlets and online platforms, but it is aimed at products adulterated with synthetic cannabinoids rather than at supplements formulated as declared. Watch for that sampling programme widening, and for the first Spanish decision applying the flower judgment to a non-flower product.

Timeline

June 2025

AESAN approves Revision 2 of its questions and answers on hemp and cannabinoids in human food, stating that cannabinoids not classified as psychotropic, such as cannabidiol, cannot be used in food, whether used as such or added for example to an oil, and whether their origin is natural or synthetic, because they are novel foods. The document also applies the Regulation (EU) 2023/915 maximum THC levels for hemp seeds and derived foods.

AESAN

April 2026

AESAN updates its hemp and cannabinoids guidance following EFSA's February 2026 opinion, relaying the provisional safe intake level of 0.0275 mg per kg body weight per day for cannabidiol - roughly 2 mg daily for a 70 kg adult - while stating expressly that the legal position on CBD has not changed and that authorisation through the novel food procedure remains required.

Diario Nutricion, reporting AESAN

May 2026

More than 30 hemp and CBD companies coordinate a collective legal response to STS 301/2026: a clarification and supplement brief filed with the Supreme Court, a constitutional appeal being prepared for the Constitutional Court on presumption of innocence and legal certainty grounds, and a possible preliminary reference to the Court of Justice of the EU on CBD products containing residual THC and their intra-community circulation.

Soft Secrets

August 2026

Ministry of Health alert on products marketed as CBD, CBN, CBC or CBG that contain undeclared synthetic or semi-synthetic cannabinoids such as HHC and MDMB-4en-PINACA. The alert names online e-commerce platforms alongside physical shops and vending machines as distribution channels, states that continuous sampling in direct sales establishments and on online platforms will keep the catalogue of detected substances updated, and refers to corresponding administrative or seizure measures by the competent authorities. Scoped to adulterated product, not to legitimately formulated CBD supplements.

lasDrogas.info, reporting the Ministry of Health