Spain’s cabinet has given the green light to a royal decree authorising the medical use of cannabis-based medicines – a landmark move that formally regulates a treatment long surrounded by debate.
Proposed by the Ministry of Health, the measure permits these products to be prescribed only for patients with clearly defined medical conditions and under strict supervision. Among the illnesses covered are chronic pain, severe forms of epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.
Health Minister Mónica García said that ‘a precise dosage’ will be administered in each case to guarantee both safety and efficacy.
Oversight will fall to the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), which will maintain a register detailing the specific formulas used in treatments.
Each product must comply with limits on cannabis content and maintain prescribed proportions of THC and CBD. Should the THC concentration exceed 0.2%, it will be subject to a higher tax rate throughout the supply chain – from manufacture to sale.
While cannabis remains tightly controlled at the international level, the new decree cites scientific studies indicating that it can relieve chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and refractory epilepsy.
Its medical use, however, will be strictly monitored to ensure prescriptions are limited to approved cases and that doses do not risk dependency.
Every patient’s progress will be overseen by a physician, who will evaluate therapeutic outcomes and watch for any side effects.
The regulation is set to take effect immediately, granting Spain’s regional health authorities access to a tracking system that supervises the distribution of these products. The framework also allows for remote access to medication for patients living in hard-to-reach or underserved areas.
Officials describe the reform as a long-awaited breakthrough – one that paves the way for more individualised treatments grounded in scientific evidence.
It also marks the country’s first step toward legitimising a substance that, until now, has been widely stigmatised. According to the Ministry of Health, this is an opportunity to prove both the reliability and the therapeutic value of cannabis-derived medicines.
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Aprobamos en el Consejo de Ministros el Real Decreto que regula el uso medicinal del cannabis en preparados estandarizados.
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— Ministerio de Sanidad (@sanidadgob) October 7, 2025
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