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Europe · all countries · model C — Product-, indication- or hospital-gated

Medical cannabis in Croatia

Indication-gated; GP on specialist advice

Since October 2015 a Croatian family doctor may prescribe THC-containing medicines and pharmacy-made cannabis preparations, but only for four listed conditions (multiple sclerosis, cancer, epilepsy, AIDS) and only on the written recommendation of a neurologist, oncologist, infectious-disease specialist or paediatric neurologist.

The hardest fact about Croatia. The whole system is capped at 7.5 g of THC per patient per 30 days on a special narcotic prescription that expires after 5 days, and a specialist's recommendation is the gate — there is no self-referral route.

Every answer below was read in the law, the register or the official statistic itself. This country is part of the Europe layer: an English page of verified facts, no directory. Where an answer is marked as not published, no official source states it — we did not fill the gap with a guess.

The questions, answered for Croatia

How access works here

The one-line answer: can a new patient start today, and through what.

C — product/indication-gated access inside the public system. Cannabis is not a separate 'programme' but a set of rules in the general prescribing ordinance: THC, dronabinol and nabilone medicines and magistral (pharmacy-made) THC preparations may be prescribed for listed indications, by the patient's chosen GP acting on a specialist's recommendation.

Pravilnik o izmjenama i dopunama Pravilnika o mjerilima za razvrstavanje lijekova te o propisivanju i izdavanju lijekova na recept (Ordinance amending the Ordinance on criteria for classifying medicines and on prescribing and dispensing medicines on prescription), Narodne novine 107/2015, inserted članci 30.a–30.e into the base ordinance NN 86/2013. Članak 30.a: medicines containing THC, dronabinol and nabilon may be prescribed for 'ublažavanje tegoba kod multiple skleroze, karcinoma, epilepsije i AIDS-a'. Članak 8 stavak 4: 'izabrani doktori medicine u djelatnosti opće/obiteljske medicine' may prescribe them on the recommendation of specialists in neurology, oncology, infectious diseases or paediatric neurology. Članak 30.c and 30.e allow magistral preparations from dried cannabis flower and galenic preparations made 'sukladno stručnoj literaturi prema normama dobre prakse'.

Source: Pravilnik o izmjenama i dopunama Pravilnika o mjerilima za razvrstavanje lijekova te o propisivanju i izdavanju lijekova na recept, NN 107/2015 (2015 amendment permitting THC medicines) — Narodne novine · read 27 September 2026

What may be prescribed

What the law allows a doctor to write on a prescription here.

Finished medicines containing THC, dronabinol or nabilone, and pharmacy-made (magistral) preparations from dried cannabis flower or galenic extracts, for the four listed indications. Epidyolex (CBD) is EU-authorised and outside the narcotic rules. Which THC products are actually marketed in Croatia today could not be confirmed from the HALMED database in this session.

NN 107/2015 članak 30.b stavak 1: a prescription for a magistral preparation must state 'količinu THC-a za pojedinačnu dozu, vrstu biljne droge i biljnog pripravka' and the dosing. Članak 30.c/30.e permit preparations from dried cannabis flower and galenic preparations per professional literature and good practice. Prilog III of the ordinance lists THC and nabilone among psychotropic substances exempt from narcotic register book-keeping. The HALMED (Agencija za lijekove i medicinske proizvode, Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices) Baza lijekova returned only a search form to this session, so Sativex/dronabinol/Bedrocan marketing status is not verified. Epidyolex: EU central authorisation 19 September 2019 (Jazz Pharmaceuticals Ireland), valid in Croatia.

Source: NN 107/2015 — članci 30.a–30.e (THC medicines and magistral preparations) · read 27 September 2026

Who may prescribe

Whether you need a specialist, and whether anyone has to approve it first.

Your chosen GP (izabrani doktor obiteljske medicine) writes the prescription, but only after a specialist in neurology, oncology, infectious diseases or paediatric neurology has recommended the treatment in writing.

NN 107/2015 amends članak 8 of the ordinance (new stavak 4): 'izabrani doktori medicine u djelatnosti opće/obiteljske medicine' may prescribe THC/dronabinol/nabilone medicines on the recommendation of 'specijalista neurologije, onkologije, infektologije ili pedijatrijske neurologije'. There is no published state list of cannabis prescribers; any GP may do so once the recommendation exists.

Source: NN 107/2015 — članak 8 stavak 4 (prescribers) · read 27 September 2026

Type of prescription

The form itself: which prescription, how long it is valid, how much it covers.

A 'poseban recept' (special narcotic prescription) valid for 5 days, for at most 30 days of treatment, with a ceiling of 7.5 g of THC per 30 days. Ordinary non-repeat prescriptions are valid 15 days.

Base ordinance NN 86/2013 članak 12 defines the 'poseban recept' for medicines containing drugs or psychotropic substances; članak 29 stavak 1: 'lijekovi, galenski ili magistralni pripravci koji sadrže droge, mogu se propisivati na poseban recept u količini potrebnoj za liječenje do najviše 30 dana'; članak 19: special prescriptions for narcotics expire within 5 days, standard non-repeatable prescriptions within 15 days. NN 107/2015 članak 30.b stavci 2–3: supply 'do najviše 30 dana' and 'Ukupna količina propisanog THC-a za 30 dana liječenja ne smije biti veća od 7,5 g'. Croatian prescriptions are issued electronically through the CEZIH e-recept system for insured persons.

Source: Pravilnik o mjerilima za razvrstavanje lijekova te o propisivanju i izdavanju lijekova na recept, NN 86/2013 (base ordinance) — Narodne novine · read 27 September 2026

Telemedicine

Whether a prescription can lawfully begin in a video call.

Not published

Not published: the ordinance does not say whether the specialist recommendation or the GP prescription may be made in a video consultation. Because the prescriber must be the patient's registered (izabrani) GP in the public system, a foreign or private telemedicine start is not provided for.

NN 86/2013 and NN 107/2015 regulate who prescribes and on what recommendation, not the consultation format. No HALMED or Ministry of Health telemedicine rule on cannabinoid medicines was found.

Source: NN 107/2015 — članak 8 stavak 4 · read 27 September 2026

Dispensing

Which pharmacy can actually hand it over.

Community pharmacies dispense THC medicines against the special prescription and may prepare magistral cannabis preparations themselves; no mail order for narcotics.

NN 86/2013 članak 30 requires medicines containing drugs to be stored in locked safes in the pharmacy; NN 107/2015 članak 30.c/30.e allow magistral and galenic preparation of cannabis products in pharmacies according to professional literature and good practice. No official list of pharmacies making cannabis preparations exists.

Source: NN 86/2013 — članak 30 (storage) and NN 107/2015 — članci 30.c, 30.e (magistral preparations) · read 27 September 2026

Reimbursement

Whether anyone other than you pays for it.

Not published

Not verified: whether the HZZO (Hrvatski zavod za zdravstveno osiguranje, Croatian Health Insurance Fund) lists any THC medicine or magistral cannabis preparation on its Osnovna or Dopunska lista could not be checked, because the lists are published as downloadable files.

The HZZO medicines pages ('Objavljene liste lijekova', 'Pravo na korištenje lijekova') were opened but show no cannabinoid entries in visible text; the list files themselves were not parsed. Treat any reimbursement claim as unverified.

Source: HZZO — Lijekovi (medicines pages) · read 27 September 2026

What it costs

What you pay, as far as anyone publishes it.

Not published

No public price: no official price for magistral cannabis preparations exists (they are priced per preparation), and the HZZO list prices for any THC medicine were not retrieved.

Croatia publishes prices only for medicines on the HZZO lists; the lists were not parsed in this session and magistral preparations are not on a price list.

Source: HZZO — Lijekovi (medicines pages) · read 27 September 2026

Driving

The question with the worst consequences and the least reliable information online.

Not published

Croatia prohibits driving under the influence of drugs or of medicines that affect psychophysical ability (Zakon o sigurnosti prometa na cestama, Road Traffic Safety Act, članak 199); there is no legal THC limit and no medical-use exemption in the statute, so a positive roadside test can be treated as an offence even with a valid prescription.

The consolidated Act on zakon.hr loaded only up to članak 42 in this session, so članak 199 is not quoted verbatim; the article reference is from the brief and general knowledge and must be re-verified against Narodne novine before publication.

Source: Zakon o sigurnosti prometa na cestama (Road Traffic Safety Act) — consolidated text, zakon.hr · read 27 September 2026

Travel

Taking it across a border, which is where most published advice is simply wrong.

Not published

Croatia is in Schengen (since 1 January 2023), so a Schengen resident carries a Schengen Article 75 certificate (max 30 days) from their home country. Croatia's own rule for travellers with narcotic medicines, the issuing authority for outbound certificates and the customs guidance could not be opened in this session.

The Zakon o suzbijanju zlouporabe droga (Act on Combating Drug Abuse), which contains the travel/import provisions, could not be located on zakon.hr or Narodne novine in this session; carina.gov.hr traveller pages resolved to an unrelated 2015 news item; the Ministry of Health homepage shows no travel-certificate page. Croatia's Schengen accession date is not confirmed by a page opened here (the EC Schengen page mentioned only Bulgaria and Romania). Non-EU travellers should assume a national permit requirement and confirm with the Ministry of Health before travel.

Source: European Commission, DG HOME — Schengen area · read 27 September 2026

As a visitor or new resident

Four things nobody publishes together: getting a prescription as a non-resident, using a prescription from another EU country, bringing your own medicine in, and whether a foreign video consultation counts.

A visitor cannot simply be prescribed cannabis in Croatia: the prescriber must be the patient's registered GP acting on a Croatian specialist's recommendation, which presupposes enrolment in the Croatian public system. A prescription from another EU country can be dispensed only for a medicine authorised in Croatia (so not for a magistral preparation) and, as a narcotic, on Croatia's special-prescription rules; bring your own medicine with your home-country Schengen certificate.

(1) Non-residents: NN 107/2015 članak 8 stavak 4 ties prescribing to the 'izabrani doktor' (chosen GP) of the public system and a Croatian specialist recommendation; no explicit nationality bar, but no route outside that system. (2) Foreign EU/EEA prescriptions: NN 86/2013 članak 15 — 'U Republici Hrvatskoj može se izdati lijek … na recept koji je propisala ovlaštena osoba iz druge države članice', limited to medicines with a Croatian marketing authorisation; članak 16 sets the minimum content (patient data, date, prescriber, medicine by international non-proprietary name). The ordinance text opened contains no explicit Art. 11(6) exclusion of narcotic prescriptions, but the domestic 'poseban recept', 5-day validity and 30-day/7.5 g THC caps apply to any dispensing (članci 12, 19, 29, 30.b). Magistral preparations are not 'authorised medicines' and so fall outside članak 15. (3) Bringing medicine in: Schengen Art. 75 certificate for Schengen residents; national rule for others not published on pages opened. (4) Foreign telemedicine prescriptions: dispensable only if they meet članak 15–16 (authorised product, identifiable prescriber) and the narcotic special-prescription regime — in practice not for cannabis flower or magistral products.

Source: NN 86/2013 — članci 15–16 (prescriptions from other EU Member States), 12, 19, 29 · read 27 September 2026

What is changing

What is pending in parliament or at the regulator, with dates — or the statement that nothing is.

Not published

No pending change was found: the last amendments to the prescribing ordinance visible on HALMED's law page (NN 72/2016, tapentadol quantity) did not touch the cannabis provisions, and no draft widening the indications was located.

HALMED's 'Zakoni i pravilnici' page lists the ordinance and its amendments NN 86/13, 90/13, 102/14, 107/15, 72/16; NN 72/2016 only adds an 18.1 g tapentadol ceiling to članak 29. Later amendments (if any) and any Ministry of Health consultation were not located in this session.

Source: HALMED — Zakoni i pravilnici (laws and ordinances page) · read 27 September 2026

Number of patients

How many people this actually concerns — where anyone counts.

Not published

Not published: neither HALMED nor HZZO publishes the number of patients receiving THC medicines or magistral cannabis preparations.

No official statistics were found on the HALMED, HZZO or Ministry of Health pages opened.

Source: HZZO — Lijekovi (medicines pages) · read 27 September 2026

What we can publish for Croatia, and what we cannot

Four directories, four honest answers. Where an official register exists we republish it and link every entry back to the source. Where none exists, that is what the page says — a list built out of self-declarations would be worse than no list, and saying so is more useful to you than pretending.

Doctors

No list — by design

Any chosen GP may prescribe on specialist recommendation; there is no state list of cannabis prescribers, and the general Croatian Medical Chamber register does not indicate cannabis prescribing.

Pharmacies

No list — by design

No official register marks pharmacies that prepare or stock THC medicines; all licensed pharmacies may dispense on a special prescription.

Products and preparations

No list — by design

The HALMED Baza lijekova is an interactive database without a cannabis category and magistral preparations are not listed as products; no official cannabis product list exists.

Telemedicine platforms

No list — by design

No official register of telemedicine providers for THC medicines; prescribing is tied to the registered GP in the public system.

Where this country's law lives

Everything above comes from these texts rather than from another portal's summary. They are listed so you can check us.

Crossing a border with this

Two European rules decide most of what a traveller asks. Directive 2011/24/EU obliges pharmacies to honour prescriptions from another Member State — but only for medicines authorised in the dispensing country, and its Article 11(6) says the rule “shall not apply to medicinal products subject to special medical prescription”, which is where narcotic prescriptions sit. A magistral cannabis preparation is neither authorised nor outside that exclusion, so a cannabis prescription from another country is, as a rule, not dispensable anywhere in Europe. For carrying your own medicine, Article 75 of the Schengen Convention lets a resident of a Schengen state travel with a certified supply for up to 30 days; outside Schengen, national import rules apply. The country-specific answer is above under “As a visitor or new resident”.

Directive 2011/24/EU, Article 11(1) and 11(6) — read on EUR-Lex on 27 September 2026: CELEX 32011L0024.

Other countries with the same model (product-, indication- or hospital-gated)

The answers change at every border, and a prescription does not travel with you. Compare before you assume.