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Regulatory Hierarchy

Spanish regulatory structure for medicinal cannabis

Regulatory Structure Verified 2026-04-20

Workflow steps

  1. AEMPS — Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios
    Primary medicines regulator. Issues import authorizations, manages GMP certification, oversees pharmaceutical-grade cannabis access. Spain's EU-GMP enforcement authority.
    • Import authorizations for pharmaceutical-grade cannabis
    • EU-GMP certification and inspections
    • Pharmacovigilance
    • Narcotic import/export licensing
  2. Ministry of Health — Ministerio de Sanidad
    Sets national cannabis access policy. Oversees AEMPS. Spain permits magistral preparation (Fórmula Magistral) as the primary patient access pathway — no nationally authorized cannabis medicines beyond Sativex.
    • National medicinal cannabis policy
    • Oversight of AEMPS
    • EU treaty obligations
  3. Authorized Importers — Licensed cannabis importers
    Importers licensed by AEMPS to bring in pharmaceutical-grade cannabis for magistral preparation. Must hold EU-GMP compliant wholesale authorization.
    • AEMPS wholesale authorization
    • EU-GMP Part I compliant supply chain
    • Per-shipment import authorization from AEMPS
  4. Pharmacies (Fórmula Magistral) — Compounding pharmacists — PRIMARY access pathway
    THE PRIMARY patient access pathway in Spain. Pharmacies compound cannabis formulations (Fórmula Magistral) from imported pharmaceutical-grade cannabis, against physician prescriptions. Not a dispensing model — a compounding model.
    • Spanish pharmacy license
    • Magistral preparation capability
    • Physician prescription required
    • Narcotic dispensing register
  5. Patients — End recipients
    Receive cannabis via magistral preparation at pharmacies. Sativex is the only nationally authorized cannabis medicine. Cannabis clubs operate in legal grey area (Barcelona, Catalonia) — NOT the official pathway.
Import Authorization