Is CBN legal in Greece?

Formal status

CBN is classified as a Novel Food across the EU on the same basis as CBD - hemp extracts concentrated in cannabinoids fall within Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 - and no CBN ingestible holds Union list authorisation anywhere in the EU.

Greece captures CBN by umbrella wording rather than leaving it to inference. EOF's circular of 8 November 2022 states that all cannabinoids, natural and synthetic, including cannabidiol, are Novel Foods, with CBD given as an example rather than as the limit of the category. Only seeds, seed oil and seed flour are recognised edible parts, and extraction that modifies the plant's natural cannabinoid content falls outside what is permitted.

Greece has also acted on CBN by name. In April 2025 EOF prohibited the distribution in the Greek market of a melatonin, CBD and CBN sleep supplement, citing CBD and CBN specifically as unapproved novel ingredients.

Do we sell here?

Yes, for now: Sleep spray, Sleep capsules.

Most European countries have never said anything about CBN specifically. Greece has. Its medicines agency treats all cannabinoids as unauthorised novel foods, and in April 2025 it named CBN directly when ordering a sleep supplement containing CBD and CBN off the Greek market.

So we are not relying on silence here - we know the Greek position and it is against us on the paper rules. We still ship to Greece, because the measures we can see are aimed at products placed on the Greek market and at retailers inside the country rather than at European sellers delivering to customers.

We review this weekly, and Greece is near the top of the list of markets we would expect to change.

Outlook

Greece is one of the few member states where CBN's position is a matter of record rather than read-across, and the record is adverse. That cuts both ways: the rule is clear, so there is no arguable good-faith uncertainty to fall back on, but we are also not guessing about where we stand.

Watch whether EOF repeats the April 2025 approach against further cannabinoid sleep supplements, which would show whether that decision was isolated or the start of a pattern. Note also that an EU-level Novel Food authorisation for CBD would not carry CBN with it; CBN has been assessed by no EU regulator.

Timeline

June 2022

Joint Ministerial Decision D3(a)20492 published in Gazette 2712/B, setting the conditions for lawfully producing and marketing food supplements containing Cannabis sativa L.: notification to EOF with standard food supplement documentation, an analysis certificate for raw materials, a THC analysis certificate for the finished product, a certificate of lawful cultivation, and a production flow diagram.

SustChem, reporting Joint Ministerial Decision D3(a)20492 (Gazette 2712/B, 01-06-2022)

November 2022

EOF issues clarifications on the application of Ministerial Decision D3(a)20492, stating that all cannabinoids, natural and synthetic, including cannabidiol, are Novel Foods; that the only currently recognised edible parts of the plant are the seeds, seed oils and seed flours; and that the 0.2 per cent THC limit set by Article 1 of Law 4139/2013 concerns the harvested material and not the final product, with the aim that in the final product the substance be almost non-detectable.

EOF (National Organisation for Medicines)

April 2025

EOF prohibits the distribution and circulation in Greece of CANNALINE, a melatonin, CBD and CBN sleep supplement manufactured by Euphoria Trade in the Czech Republic, on the ground that it contains the unapproved novel ingredients CBD and CBN. EOF describes the measure as precautionary for the protection of public health.

Ethnos, reporting EOF

May 2026

Law 5302/2026 published in Gazette A' 78. Article 43 prohibits throughout Greek territory the retail sale, distribution and supply to consumers, and the purchase and use by consumers, of dried flower of Cannabis sativa L. varieties with THC up to 0.3 per cent, in processed or unprocessed form. EOF implemented it on 22 May 2026 with immediate effect and no transition period.

Ta Nea, reporting EOF and Law 5302/2026

June 2026

Ministry of Health circular applies the dried flower prohibition to kiosks and mini markets regardless of THC or cannabinoid content, and identifies the banned plant parts as flowers and inflorescences, fan leaves, sugar leaves and bracts bearing trichomes, glandular trichomes, and any processed form containing them. It does not extend to oils, capsules, sprays, edibles or food supplements, which it refers to separate EFET and EOF regulation.

Iatronet, reporting the Ministry of Health circular