Türkiye set to expand the use of cannabis

Türkiye has dramatically grown its industrial cannabis production over the past five years and now aims to tap into the plant’s medicinal potential through a new health care regulation, aligning with global trends in cannabis utilization.

Part of a legislative package recently presented to parliament, the proposed regulation broadens cannabis cultivation to include applications in pharmaceuticals, health care products, supplements, and personal care items.

The goal is to meet the demand for raw materials through carefully controlled domestic cultivation.

To guarantee product safety and oversight, sales will be restricted to licensed pharmacies.

Cannabis’s versatility has already made it a sought-after material across various sectors in Türkiye, including the automotive industry—where natural fibers from the plant are used in components—as well as in construction, textiles, paper production, and biofuel manufacturing.

Currently, industrial cannabis can be legally grown in 19 of Türkiye’s 81 provinces, with officials considering expanding cultivation to additional regions in the future.

Professor Selim Aytaç, a prominent cannabis researcher in Türkiye, stressed the need for the country to stay abreast of international developments. He highlighted that Türkiye’s agricultural lands are well-suited for cannabis cultivation, provided strict monitoring and safety measures are maintained.

“We need a strategy that takes us from cultivation to producing high-value final products,” Aytaç said. “That’s the path to maximizing benefits for both farmers and the nation.”

Türkiye’s cannabis cultivation had nearly vanished by 2018 following a steep decline in the early 2000s. But interest reignited after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly urged farmers to resume growing the crop in 2019.

Since then, production has surged—from 280 tons in 2020 to over 1,700 tons in 2024.