Lithuania Decriminalized

Legal Framework

Lithuania's cannabis status is stricter, and more contested, than some general overviews suggest. In 2017, Lithuania recriminalized cannabis and is sometimes cited as the only country to have criminalized cannabis in the 21st century, reversing an earlier period of more lenient administrative treatment. Since then, several attempts to reintroduce non-criminal treatment for small-scale possession have produced only partial, contradictory results. In December 2022, the Seimas held two related votes on the same day: one adding administrative fines for small-scale possession to the Code of Administrative Offences passed, but a separate vote to remove cannabis possession from the Criminal Code failed - leaving both criminal and administrative provisions technically able to apply to the same conduct. The draft was sent back to committee for further work, sat largely dormant, and was revived by the parliamentary Committee on Law and Order in April 2025 for fresh consideration. As of mid-2026, no final law has resolved this overlap, so cannabis possession in Lithuania should be treated as a criminal matter unless and until reform is actually passed - not as something already decriminalized in practice.

Medical Cannabis Program

Lithuania's Seimas passed a law on 11 October 2018 permitting the manufacture, import, export and distribution of medical cannabis, which took effect on 1 May 2019. On paper, it covers patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and AIDS. In practice, the program has never become operational: as of 2025, no patients had received medical cannabis treatment in Lithuania, because no products have been formally approved and no prescriber protocols or reimbursement mechanisms exist. The framework exists in law but not, so far, in practice.

Traveling with Medical Cannabis

We found no official Lithuanian statement addressing foreign patients bringing medical cannabis into the country. Article 75 of the Schengen Implementing Convention in principle allows carrying physician-certified controlled medicines within Schengen states for up to 30 days, but we found no Lithuania-specific confirmation of how, or whether, this is applied to cannabis-based medicines. Given that Lithuania's own medical cannabis program is non-operational and its criminal-law stance on cannabis is stricter than most EU peers, travelers should treat bringing cannabis-based medicines into Lithuania as high-risk and verify directly with Lithuanian customs and the State Medicines Control Agency before any trip - do not rely on a Schengen certificate alone.

Recent Developments

• April 2025: the parliamentary Committee on Law and Order revived the decriminalization draft that had been dormant since 2023, for renewed committee review.
• 2025 market overviews confirm the medical cannabis framework remains non-operational, with no approved products available through Lithuanian pharmacies.
• As of 2026, no government-backed legislation to legalize or decriminalize recreational cannabis has passed; the administrative-versus-criminal overlap created by the December 2022 vote remains unresolved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cannabis possession decriminalized in Lithuania?
Not clearly. Lithuania recriminalized cannabis in 2017. A December 2022 vote added administrative fines for small amounts but failed to remove possession from the Criminal Code, leaving an unresolved overlap. A revived draft has been under committee review since April 2025, with no final law passed as of mid-2026.

Can I access medical cannabis in Lithuania?
Not in practice. A 2018 law technically permits it for conditions such as cancer, MS, epilepsy and AIDS, but as of 2025 no approved products or prescribing systems exist, so no patients have received treatment through this framework.

Can I bring my foreign medical cannabis prescription into Lithuania?
No official confirmation was found either way. Given the strict criminal-law stance and non-functional domestic program, treat this as high-risk and verify directly with Lithuanian authorities before traveling.

Is Lithuania likely to reform its cannabis laws soon?
A decriminalization draft revived in April 2025 remains under committee review. Given the contradictory 2022 vote and years of stalled attempts, near-term reform is uncertain.