The European Union has unveiled a new initiative designed to guide member states as they consider legalizing adult-use marijuana.

The toolkit, known as Cannapol, was created by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and is framed as an evidence-based resource for policymakers.

As reported by Business of Cannabis, Cannapol comes at a time when Germany, the Netherlands, Malta, Czechia, Luxembourg and neighboring Switzerland are all moving forward with their own adult-use frameworks. The initiative also reflects a broader acknowledgment, including from United Nations bodies, that prohibition has failed and a harm-reduction approach is needed.

Michael Greif, Managing Director of the German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW), told Business of Cannabis that Cannapol “marks a careful step into the right direction for European cannabis regulation,” while noting the EU’s limited authority in drug policy could mean it ends up as more of a symbolic gesture. Still, he said the project “provides a great opportunity to shape evidence-based policy-making in collaboration between regulators, researchers and other market and civil society participants.”

Cannapol officially launched in June with support from partners RAND Europe and the Trimbos Instituut. During its first year, the project will collect data from around 50 organizations across 10–12 countries to better understand how recreational policies are being crafted and implemented.

Industry figures have welcomed the effort but urged EUDA to ensure that engagement with businesses and stakeholders is more substantive. Stephen Murphy, Co-Founder and CEO of Prohibition Partners, cautioned that the process so far has lacked clarity, stressing that Cannapol’s success will depend on “building it with those who are shaping the market every day.”

EUDA has said Cannapol will not address medical marijuana, but will focus on adult-use models including home cultivation and retail sales. It will also examine challenges facing reforming nations such as banking, cultivation limits and whether smoking will be allowed.

According to EUDA research, more than two-thirds of EU member states now back recreational marijuana regulation, and 53% of people across the union support some form of adult-use framework.