Bulgaria Illegal

Legal Framework

Cannabis is illegal in Bulgaria for both recreational and medical purposes, and Bulgaria is regarded as one of the most conservative EU countries on cannabis policy. Possession is a criminal offense that can carry imprisonment of roughly 1 to 6 years and fines of up to 10,000 leva (roughly €5,100). Bulgarian law does not formally recognize a personal-use threshold that exempts a possessor from criminal liability; Article 354a, paragraph 5 of the Penal Code allows a judge to impose a fine of up to 1,000 leva for "insignificant" quantities instead of prison, but this is still a criminal conviction, not a decriminalized administrative matter. The only cannabis-related products that are unambiguously legal are hemp-derived CBD goods containing under 0.2% THC. Sources: Cannigma, CMS Expert Guide.

Medical Cannabis Program

Bulgaria has no legal medical cannabis program of any kind. There is no pathway for patients — Bulgarian or foreign — to obtain a prescription for cannabis flower, extracts, or cannabis-based medicines domestically. Independent lawmakers have periodically introduced bills to legalize medical cannabis; one such proposal was put forward by MP Velizar Enchev, but Bulgarian MPs rejected medical cannabis legalization in a parliamentary vote, with only a handful of votes in favor out of 240 seats. Advocacy groups continue to raise the issue for conditions such as chronic pain, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis, but no government-backed reform has advanced, and no timeline for future legislation is confirmed; commentators describe major regulatory movement as unlikely in the near term. This national picture has not been changed by any EU-level harmonization effort, since drug policy of this kind remains a national competence within the EU. Source: Novinite.

Traveling with Medical Cannabis

Because Bulgaria has no legal medical cannabis pathway of any kind, there is no mechanism — including Schengen Article 75 certificates — confirmed to protect a traveler carrying cannabis-based medication into the country. (Bulgaria joined the Schengen area for air and sea borders in March 2024, with land border checks lifted from January 2025, but this affects border-crossing procedure, not drug law.) Given the absence of any domestic legal basis for cannabis as medicine, do not bring any cannabis product — including cannabis-derived medicines legally prescribed elsewhere — into Bulgaria under any circumstances. Even CBD products should be verified to be below the 0.2% THC threshold and, ideally, accompanied by lab documentation, since border enforcement cannot be assumed to be lenient.

Recent Developments

• Repeated legislative attempts to introduce medical cannabis — and separately, industrial hemp processing reform — have been rejected by the Bulgarian Parliament; the most recent documented rejection concerned a bill from independent MP Velizar Enchev.
• No structural reform of Bulgaria's possession penalties has been identified in 2025 or 2026 sources.
• Bulgaria completed its phased Schengen accession (air/sea in 2024, land borders from January 2025), which changes border-crossing procedures generally but does not alter Bulgaria's domestic cannabis prohibition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is medical cannabis legal in Bulgaria?
No. Bulgaria has no legal medical cannabis program, and legislative attempts to introduce one have been rejected by Parliament.

Can I bring my foreign medical cannabis prescription into Bulgaria?
No safe pathway is confirmed. Because Bulgaria has no domestic legal basis for cannabis as medicine, do not bring cannabis-based medication into the country.

Is CBD legal in Bulgaria?
Hemp-derived CBD products under 0.2% THC are legal; products above that threshold are treated as illegal cannabis.

What is the penalty for possession in Bulgaria?
Possession is a criminal offense carrying 1 to 6 years imprisonment and fines up to 10,000 leva; even "insignificant" quantities can still result in a criminal conviction with a reduced fine instead of prison.