Is CBD legal in Latvia?

Legal status

CBD is excluded by name from the entry that would otherwise control it in Latvia, so it is not itself a controlled substance under that entry, and a product containing it can still be caught through another listed constituent. The controlling instrument is Annex 2 to the law on the entry into force and application of the Criminal Law, and section 3(2) of the Circulation Law points to it expressly, which is why the former Cabinet Regulation No. 847 is not the current list. Annex 2 addresses CBD by expressly excluding it. The entry reads «Kanabinols un no kanabinola un kanabidiola atvasināti savienojumi (izņemot kanabidiolu)», which is Cannabinol and compounds derived from cannabinol and cannabidiol (excluding cannabidiol), so the exclusion is written into the controlling entry itself rather than inferred from an absence. The entry sits at item 11(10) of Annex 2, in Schedule I, which covers prohibited especially dangerous narcotic and equivalent psychotropic substances and plants. Control extends to specified derivatives, isomers, structural analogues, active metabolites, salts, medicines, plant preparations and mixtures under Circulation Law sections 3(3)(5), 3(3)(6) and 3(4) read with Annex 2 paragraphs 2 and 3. This reading is stated as in force on 18 September 2026. Annex 2 identifies its current version as the 29 April 2021 text, as amended to 13 November 2025, with the cited 2025 change taking effect on 1 December 2025.

Consequences if caught

Capital and life exposure. Latvia has no death penalty and no life sentence for a drug offence, so neither is available here. The 15 year ceiling under subsection (3) of Criminal Law section 253 with a superscript one is not assigned to CBD itself, because the controlling entry excludes it by name, and Annex 2 prints no small ceiling and no large floor for it. That ceiling becomes live only if the product in question contains another listed constituent, and then it attaches to that constituent rather than to CBD. The scale runs from an administrative penalty to fifteen years. Circulation Law section 48(1) makes unauthorised acquisition or possession in a small amount, or unauthorised use, punishable by a warning or 10 to 56 fine units, and section 48(3) requires a written warning about criminal liability if it happens again within a year. Criminal Law section 253(1) covers handling without intent to sell at up to 3 years, and section 253(2) reaches 3 to 10 years for a group or a large amount. The sale provision, numbered 253 with a superscript one, covers sale-purpose conduct and sale at 2 to 8 years in its subsection (1), reaches 3 to 10 years in its subsection (2), and reaches 5 to 15 years in its subsection (3). The printed small ceiling and the printed large floor are not the same boundary. A quantity above the small ceiling but below the large floor is neither small nor large under those two columns, and falls into the ordinary band between them.

If prescribed or medical

There is no controlled drug prescription question for CBD itself, because the entry that would control it excludes it by name. That is a stronger statement than an absence: the instrument considered CBD and carved it out rather than passing over it. Whether a product containing CBD is available on prescription, over the counter or on general sale depends on what else that product contains and on the Latvian medicines and pharmacy regime, which this row did not audit. The State Agency of Medicines of Latvia is the body that answers it.

Documentation

Carry the prescription and the original dispensing packaging for CBD, and get the State Agency of Medicines of Latvia to confirm the position in writing before you travel rather than at the border. That is the carriage answer and it is short because no traveller permit scheme, declaration form or carriage allowance for CBD appears anywhere in what was read for this row, and an absence in what was read is not proof that no scheme exists. Provenance follows. The controlling text was read on likumi.lv, the official consolidated law portal of Latvia, on 18 September 2026: Annex 2 to the law on the entry into force and application of the Criminal Law, the Circulation Law, and the Criminal Law itself. The basis recorded for this row is an express exclusion written into the controlling entry. The instrument pages carry no separate reuse licence, so this row uses short attributed quotation and a link to the official text.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Latvia’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.