🇭🇺 Medical cannabis in Hungary

D — named-patient/exceptional. Hungary has no cannabis programme and no Hungarian-authorised cannabis flower or extract; a THC medicine can only be obtained if your treating doctor asks the NNGYK (Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ, National Centre for Public Health and Pharmacy) for an individual authorisation to use a medicine not authorised in Hungary.

The individual route is the 'egyedi gyógyszerigénylés' (individual medicine request) under 448/2017. (XII. 27.) Korm. rendelet (Government Decree on the authorisation of individual prescription and use of medicines). It applies to medicines that lack a Hungarian marketing authorisation ('olyan gyógyszer alkalmazására van szükség, amely Magyarországon forgalombahozatali engedéllyel nem rendelkezik'). The treating physician or specialist must initiate it ('A gyógyszer alkalmazása iránti igényt a kezelőorvosnak, illetve a szakorvosnak kell kezdeményezni'). For a product authorised elsewhere in the EEA the doctor notifies the NNGYK and receives a statement within 8 working days (§ 5(2)); for a product from outside the EEA a formal NNGYK authorisation is needed (§ 6). The decree contains no cannabis-specific provisions.

Source: NNGYK/OGYÉI — Egyedi gyógyszerigénylés (Individual medicine request) · read 27 September 2026

No cannabis flower, extract or magistral cannabis preparation is available in Hungary. Epidyolex (cannabidiol, CBD) is authorised EU-wide and is therefore legally available; THC products such as nabiximols (Sativex) or dronabinol could only be obtained one patient at a time through the NNGYK individual-request procedure.

Epidyolex (cannabidiol) has an EU central marketing authorisation issued 19 September 2019 (Jazz Pharmaceuticals Ireland Ltd) for seizures in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome and tuberous sclerosis complex from 2 years of age; a central authorisation is valid in all EU Member States including Hungary. Whether it is actually stocked or reimbursed in Hungary is not published on the pages opened. No Hungarian marketing authorisation for Sativex, dronabinol or any cannabis flower product could be confirmed in the NNGYK medicines database (the database requires an interactive search; see notes). Under 44/2004. (IV. 28.) ESzCsM rendelet §§ 2/A–2/B and § 3(5), an EEA-authorised medicine without Hungarian authorisation may be prescribed only with a written NNGYK statement confirming its EEA authorisation.

Source: EMA — Epidyolex EPAR (central authorisation) · read 27 September 2026

Only a Hungarian treating doctor or specialist can start the process, because the individual request to the NNGYK must be filed by the physician, not by the patient.

448/2017. Korm. rendelet names the treating physician (kezelőorvos) with appropriate qualification as applicant; the NNGYK decides. The NNGYK page states the request is initiated by the treating or specialist doctor using designated forms, with a standard decision time of 8 calendar days and a maximum of 3 days in urgent cases. There is no published list of cannabis-prescribing doctors and no specialist restriction specific to cannabinoids.

Source: 448/2017. (XII. 27.) Korm. rendelet (Government Decree on individual prescription and use of medicines) — Nemzeti Jogszabálytár · read 27 September 2026

THC-containing medicines are narcotics (K1/K2 lists) and are prescribed on the Hungarian narcotic prescription regime; an ordinary Hungarian prescription is valid for three months, but a narcotic medicine imported for one patient is dispensed against the NNGYK authorisation and the doctor's prescription.

44/2004. ESzCsM rendelet § 18(1): a prescription may be dispensed 'a rendeléstől ... számított három hónapig' (for three months from issue) unless a shorter period applies (§ 18(1a)). Medicines containing K1, K2 or P2 substances are subject to the separate narcotic regime (43/2005. EüM rendelet, which could not be opened in this session; the specific narcotic-prescription validity and quantity limits are therefore not quoted here). Prescriptions are issued electronically via the EESZT system for patients with a Hungarian social security (TAJ) identity.

Source: 44/2004. (IV. 28.) ESzCsM rendelet az emberi felhasználásra kerülő gyógyszerek rendeléséről és kiadásáról (Decree on prescribing and dispensing medicines) — Nemzeti Jogszabálytár · read 27 September 2026

Not published: none of the official pages opened says whether a cannabinoid medicine may be first prescribed in a video consultation. Because the NNGYK individual-request route is doctor-initiated and paper/form based, the practical gate is having a Hungarian treating physician, not the consultation format.

The NNGYK individual-request page and 448/2017. Korm. rendelet are silent on the consultation format. No official telemedicine rule specific to narcotic or cannabinoid medicines was found on the NNGYK pages opened.

Source: NNGYK/OGYÉI — Egyedi gyógyszerigénylés · read 27 September 2026

Dispensing is through community pharmacies against a Hungarian prescription; an individually imported medicine is supplied via the pharmacy/wholesaler channel once the NNGYK has approved it. There is no cannabis compounding and no mail-order route for narcotics.

44/2004. ESzCsM rendelet governs pharmacy dispensing. § 20(2) provides that medicines containing K1, K2 (narcotic) or P2 (psychotropic) substances 'nem adható ki' (may not be dispensed) on prescriptions issued abroad; § 20(3)–(4) set the general conditions for foreign prescriptions (patient name and date of birth, identifiable prescriber, date, signature) and cap non-EEA prescriptions at a 30-day quantity. Medicines imported from outside the EEA need NNGYK authorisation; those from inside the EEA need a statement of justified need (NNGYK page).

Source: 44/2004. (IV. 28.) ESzCsM rendelet — Nemzeti Jogszabálytár · read 27 September 2026

No cannabis product is on a Hungarian reimbursement list. A patient whose doctor has obtained an NNGYK individual authorisation may separately ask the NEAK (Nemzeti Egészségbiztosítási Alapkezelő, National Health Insurance Fund) for individual equity support.

The NNGYK individual-request page states that patients may separately request individual financial support through NEAK procedures ('egyedi méltányosság'). No published NEAK decision or price on cannabis products was found. Reimbursement status of Epidyolex in Hungary is not published on the pages opened.

Source: NNGYK/OGYÉI — Egyedi gyógyszerigénylés · read 27 September 2026

No public price: individually imported medicines are priced case by case and no official Hungarian price list for cannabis products exists.

Hungary publishes prices only for products on the NEAK reimbursement lists; no cannabis flower, extract, nabiximols or dronabinol product appears in the official channels opened in this session. Price of an individually imported product depends on the exporting country and wholesaler and is not published by the regulator.

Source: NNGYK/OGYÉI — Egyedi gyógyszerigénylés · read 27 September 2026

Driving under the influence of any substance that impairs driving ability other than alcohol is a criminal offence in Hungary (Btk. § 237, 'járművezetés bódult állapotban'). There is no published legal THC limit and no medical-use defence in the statute; in practice a positive THC finding is treated as impairment.

2012. évi C. törvény a Büntető Törvénykönyvről (Criminal Code, Btk.) § 237 penalises driving a motor vehicle on a public road under the influence of a substance adversely affecting driving ability other than alcohol; § 55(2) of the same Code refers to disqualification from driving for this offence. The statute sets no concentration threshold. Note: the full text of § 237 could not be displayed in this session (the legal-gazette page was truncated), so the wording is not quoted verbatim; the section reference is confirmed via § 55(2).

Source: 2012. évi C. törvény a Büntető Törvénykönyvről (Criminal Code) — Nemzeti Jogszabálytár · read 27 September 2026

Hungary is in Schengen. Leaving Hungary with a controlled medicine for up to 3 days needs only a GP-completed certificate (Annex 3/A); for longer trips or injectables the NNGYK must countersign an Annex 3/B certificate applied for by post. Entering Hungary, you need your home country's international certificate or the certificate of your home competent authority; the NNGYK issues nothing for incoming travellers.

NNGYK travel page: 'A kezelés alatt álló személy személyes poggyászában a kezeléséhez elegendő mennyiségű fokozottan ellenőrzött szert a háziorvosa által kitöltött 3/A. számú melléklet szerinti igazolás birtokában vihet magával' (up to 3 days). For trips over 3 days or injectable preparations, NNGYK registration/countersignature of form 3/B is required before departure; 'A hitelesítés iránti kérelmet postai úton kell az NNGYK részére előterjeszteni.' For inbound travellers the page says patients may carry controlled substances with an international certificate from the treating physician or documentation from the originating country's competent authority and that NNGYK has no role. The pages do not name Schengen Art. 75 or a 30-day cap; the K1/K2/P lists referenced are those of 78/2022. (XII. 28.) BM rendelet. Whether cannabis flower would be accepted at the border is not addressed on these pages.

Source: NNGYK/OGYÉI — Gyógyszerkivitel, gyógyszerbehozatal: Mit kell tudni az utazóknak? (Travellers' guide) · read 27 September 2026

A non-resident cannot realistically start cannabis treatment in Hungary: there is nothing to prescribe without a Hungarian doctor's NNGYK request, and a foreign prescription for a narcotic (K1/K2/P2) medicine may not be dispensed in a Hungarian pharmacy. You may bring your own medicine with your home-country certificate; a foreign telemedicine prescription cannot be filled here.

(1) Prescription for non-residents: no legal bar in 448/2017. Korm. rendelet, but the request must come from a Hungarian treating physician and dispensing runs through the Hungarian e-prescription (EESZT) system, so the practical gate is having a Hungarian doctor and identity in the system (source: NNGYK individual-request page). (2) Foreign EU/EEA prescriptions: 44/2004. ESzCsM rendelet § 20(3)–(4) allows dispensing of EEA prescriptions that identify patient (name, date of birth) and prescriber with date and signature, but § 20(2) excludes medicines containing K1, K2 and P2 substances ('nem adható ki') — this is Hungary's use of the Directive 2011/24/EU Art. 11(6) exclusion; non-EEA prescriptions are capped at 30 days' quantity. (3) Bringing medicine in: NNGYK travel page — an international certificate from the treating physician or a document from the home competent authority is required; no Hungarian permit exists for incoming travellers and no quantity/day cap is stated (Schengen residents use the Art. 75 certificate issued at home). (4) Foreign telemedicine prescriptions: not dispensable, because narcotic medicines cannot be dispensed on any foreign prescription (§ 20(2)); non-narcotic cannabinoid medicines (e.g. Epidyolex) on a valid EEA prescription follow § 20(3).

Source: 44/2004. (IV. 28.) ESzCsM rendelet § 20 (dispensing of foreign prescriptions) — Nemzeti Jogszabálytár · read 27 September 2026

Nothing pending: no draft law, decree or NNGYK notice creating a Hungarian medical cannabis programme was found on the official pages opened.

The individual-request regime under 448/2017. Korm. rendelet remains the only route; the decree has been amended through 2025 without cannabis-specific provisions. No consultation or bill on medical cannabis was located on njt.hu or NNGYK pages in this session (see notes).

Source: 448/2017. (XII. 27.) Korm. rendelet — Nemzeti Jogszabálytár · read 27 September 2026

Not published: the NNGYK does not publish the number of individual cannabis-medicine authorisations, and there is no national patient register because there is no programme.

Neither the NNGYK individual-request page nor the legal texts opened contain statistics; no NEAK or KSH dataset on cannabis prescriptions was found.

Source: NNGYK/OGYÉI — Egyedi gyógyszerigénylés · read 27 September 2026