Old Continent, early 2026. The headline lands like this: “The Department of Health clears cannabis for four medical conditions.” Back in 2025, Spain joined the list of more than 40 countries that had already brought cannabis into their healthcare systems. And if that was the “first big step,” then what we’re seeing now, right at this moment, are the second ones.
So what actually changed?
The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS), the public body that regulates medicines and healthcare products, published a monograph detailing which cannabis-based treatments specialist physicians are now allowed to prescribe, and under what conditions.
“It’s news that’s been received with relief, and with a certain degree of respect,” says Jesús de Santiago, coordinator of the Cannabinoids Working Group at the Spanish Pain Society. “For years, we operated in a very ambiguous space. We knew there were patients who could benefit, but there was no clear framework to do things properly.” In practical terms, AEMPS brings order. It sets rules. It demands quality. “For the scientific community, that matters. It means working with standardized medicines, with controls and traceability. That’s the only way to generate reliable data and actually protect patients,” de Santiago adds.
Still, not everyone is convinced.
Some voices have described the new regulation as “very timid,” among them Manuel Guzmán, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Complutense University of Madrid and a member of the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy. By most accounts, he’s also one of the most authoritative voices on cannabis in Spain. “The regulation establishes fairly restrictive conditions for access to and use of these medications,” Guzmán says.
From the patient side, the response has been cautious. One such case is Carola Pérez, president of the Spanish Observatory of Medicinal Cannabis, who lives with …
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Author: Hernán Panessi / High Times
