CBD in Austria: This is what the future looks like for legal hemp

CBD in Austria: What's next for legal hemp?

Austria and cannabis. Anyone hoping for peace after years of legal gray areas is now being served up the next round of regulation. The federal government has passed an amendment to the Tobacco Monopoly Act, which stipulates how legal hemp and CBD products will proceed in the coming years. It sounds technical, but it affects virtually every CBD shop in the country and many consumers who have become accustomed to flowers with less than 0.3 percent THC.

The most important aspects of the new rules

The core of the reform is the clear allocation of smokable legal hemp to the tobacco monopoly. This means the future of CBD flowers in Austria depends directly on tobacconists and authorized tobacco wholesalers. Existing hemp shops have a transition period that, at first glance, seems generous, but on closer inspection resembles a countdown.

CBD shops between transition period and end date

Officially, the transition period is intended to give hemp shops sufficient time to reorient themselves. In practice, this means that anyone currently operating a CBD specialty shop has a few years to either become part of the new system or find a new business model. A hemp license is mandatory for this. Without a license, there can be no legal hemp flowers on the shelves.

The conditions are relatively strict. Only companies that were already active at the beginning of 2025 and whose main business is hemp products with a maximum THC content of 0.3 percent can even apply for this license. Latecomers are therefore excluded.

From 2029, the sale of CBD flowers will be permanently restricted to tobacconists. This not only defends but expands the monopoly on sensitive consumer goods. For many existing shops, this means either cooperating with tobacconists, switching to other product categories, or an orderly withdrawal. In this light, the transition period seems less like a gift and more like an extended winding-up phase with friendly wording.

What does this mean for consumers?

For buyers of legal hemp, everyday life is becoming both easier and more inconvenient. Easier, because the state clearly dictates where the products can be found. More inconvenient, because the diversity and specialization of CBD shops in this form hardly fit on the shelves of tobacconists.

• CBD flowers with less than 0.3 percent THC are available primarily in tobacconists in the long term.
• The product selection is more strongly oriented towards wholesalers and their product range.
• Price increases are realistic due to the link to tobacco tax and monopoly.
• Online sales of smokable hemp flowers will remain severely restricted.

Officially, the protection of youth and health is the top priority. Unofficially, the budget is also pleased with the additional revenue. When a reform happens to combine youth protection, the preservation of monopolies, and almost 500 million euros in expected tax revenue, Vienna likes to call it a win-win situation. For the industry, however, it's more of a win-lose situation with unanswered questions.

Criticism from within the industry: Monopoly instead of market

The Austrian Cannabis Association and many hemp companies are strongly criticizing this development. From their perspective, CBD flowers are being artificially forced into a tobacco system where they don't technically belong. Hemp products with very low THC content are more akin to agricultural products than traditional tobacco goods. Nevertheless, they are now being placed in the same distribution channels, complete with fixed retail prices, a monopoly structure, and tobacco tax.

The industry points to several issues that are often discussed less frequently in political circles. The Austrian market for legal hemp products is estimated to be worth several hundred million euros annually. Instead of developing this sector as an independent industry with clear regulations, it is being managed through the existing tobacco monopoly. This is efficient, but primarily for those already entrenched in the system.

Furthermore, the question remains whether an exclusive distribution of CBD flowers through tobacconists is legally sustainable in the long term. Expert opinions and industry associations doubt this. At the same time, all parties involved know that legal proceedings can drag on through several instances and take years. Politicians are using this time to establish a fait accompli. For many shops, this is too long to continue operating with the brakes on.

Nicotine pouches, e-liquids and the new control rail

The amendment is not solely a CBD law. Nicotine pouches and e-liquids will also be integrated into the tobacco system and taxed starting in April 2026. Specific tax rates per liter are planned for e-liquids, which will increase gradually until 2028. Nicotine pouches may only be sold in tobacconists in the future. This will bring a previously very free market into a more regulated framework, one that happens to run precisely where the tobacco monopoly has operated for decades.

From a public health perspective, this can be justified by uniform regulations, strict youth protection, and clear distribution channels. However, from the users' point of view, the impression is that harm-reducing alternatives to smoking are being lumped together with traditional cigarettes. Those who hoped that differentiated risk assessments would play a major role in tax policy will likely not be enthusiastic about this reform.

What does this mean specifically for CBD in Austria?

In the short term, the reform brings one thing: legal certainty for a period until the end of 2028. CBD shops know that with a hemp license they can sell their flowers again, albeit under certain conditions. At the same time, the expiration date of this model is already enshrined in law.

• In the short term: a return of some planning security for licensed CBD shops, clear requirements and more control.
• In the medium term: Increasing pressure to diversify the business model, for example through other hemp products, services, consulting or cooperation with tobacconists.
• In the long term: The stationary sale of CBD flowers will concentrate on tobacconists; the rest of the industry will have to define itself through new niches.

For consumers, this means: CBD remains legal, but access will be centralized. Those who value the typical hemp shop with expert advice, a wide selection, and its own community should take advantage of the next few years. From 2029 onward, the selection in many places could be significantly more limited.

What CBD shops should do now

The amendment cannot be ignored. It is the framework within which the industry in Austria must operate. Therefore, it is all the more important to actively use the transition period.

• Check whether the requirements for a hemp license are met and prepare the application in good time.
• Analyze the product range and identify products that may no longer be sold through the company's own shop in the long term.
• Develop alternative revenue streams, such as cosmetics, food, textiles, education and advice about hemp.
• Explore collaborations with tobacconists, wholesalers or other partners in order to remain visible.
• Inform customers early and honestly about what will change and when.

The future of CBD in Austria is not hopeless, but it will be more structured, bureaucratic, and heavily influenced by the tobacco monopoly. Anyone wanting to continue playing a role in this environment needs less wishful thinking and more strategy. The good news: hemp remains a legal raw material with potential. The not-so-good news: the government has now very precisely defined who profits from this potential and how.