Is kava legal in the European Union?

Piper methysticum has no entry in the EU Novel Food Catalogue; authorities treat kava foods as unauthorised novel food (ec.europa.eu). The EMA Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products has not adopted an EU herbal monograph for kava rhizome (www.ema.europa.eu). National rules differ; the table above covers all 27 member states.

In which EU countries is kava banned?

Banned: France, Italy and Netherlands. Banned in food: Belgium, Croatia, Czechia and Malta. Not acceptable in food: Denmark. The table above names the act for each and links to it.

Where is kava treated as a medicine?

Prescription-only: Germany. On the list of medicinal substances: Estonia and Finland. The acts are linked in the table above.

What does "no national act found" mean?

We looked for a national act naming kava and found none, as of 12 October 2026, in: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. That is not a statement that kava is legal there; the EU-level position above still stands.

Is kava legal in Europe?

It depends on the country. Piper methysticum has no entry in the EU Novel Food Catalogue, so authorities treat kava foods as unauthorised novel food. Banned: France, Italy and Netherlands. Banned in food: Belgium, Croatia, Czechia and Malta. Prescription-only: Germany. For 13 of the 27 member states we found no national act.

Checked 12 October 2026

Country by country

Country	Status	Act	Source
Austria	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Belgium	Banned in food	Royal Decree of 31 August 2021, art. 3 (plant list 1); kava placed on list 1 by Ministerial Decree of 23 January 2002	ejustice.just.fgov.be faolex.fao.org
Bulgaria	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Croatia	Banned in food	Pravilnik NN 160/2013, Prilog III (plants banned in food and food supplements)	narodne-novine.nn.hr
Cyprus	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Czechia	Banned in food	Vyhláška č. 58/2018 Sb., příloha č. 2, položka 75 (Piper methysticum)	zakonyprolidi.cz
Denmark	Not acceptable in food	Drogelisten (DTU Food / Danish Veterinary and Food Administration guidance): kava root “Ikke acceptabel”	backend.orbit.dtu.dk
Estonia	Medicinal list	Ravimiamet list of substances and plants defined as medicinal	ravimiamet.ee
Finland	Medicinal list	Fimea list of medicinal substances (decision 230/2025): “Kava juuri”	data.finlex.fi
France	Banned	AFSSAPS decision of 13 March 2003 (JORF 26 March 2003): kava banned in all forms (homeopathy from 5CH excepted)	legifrance.gouv.fr
Germany	Prescription-only	AMVV Anlage 1: “Kava-Kava-Wurzelstock und seine Zubereitungen” (prescription-only); BfArM revoked approvals in 2019, litigation ongoing	gesetze-im-internet.de bfarm.de
Greece	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Hungary	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Ireland	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Italy	Banned	Ministerial Decree of 29 May 2002 (GU 18 June 2002); Piper methysticum absent from the 2018 list of plants allowed in supplements Confidence: medium.	gazzettaufficiale.it gazzettaufficiale.it
Latvia	Novel-food only	Not on the national list of 61 plants banned in food (Cabinet Regulation No. 19, 2021); food authority (PVD, 2024, non-binding) says import as food is not allowed	likumi.lv lvportals.lv
Lithuania	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Luxembourg	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Malta	Banned in food	Kava-Kava Regulations 2004 (L.N. 40 of 2004): manufacture, sale and import of kava food prohibited	legislation.mt
Netherlands	Banned	Warenwetbesluit Kruidenpreparaten, annex (kava added by Stb. 2003, 181); covers herbal preparations for human use	wetten.overheid.nl zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl
Poland	No current act	No current act names kava (listed as a narcotic, group I-N, 2009–2018); GIS supplement panel resolution 6/2021 says it may not be used in supplements; 5 RASFF notifications by Poland 2024–2026	api.sejm.gov.pl gov.pl webgate.ec.europa.eu
Portugal	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Romania	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Slovakia	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Slovenia	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—
Spain	No current act	The 2004 plant list (Orden SCO/190/2004) that restricted kava was annulled by the Audiencia Nacional on 29 June 2008; authorities treat kava as unauthorised novel food (RASFF 2022.1985)	boe.es webgate.ec.europa.eu
Sweden	No national act found (checked 12 October 2026)	—	—

At EU level

Piper methysticum has no entry in the EU Novel Food Catalogue; authorities treat kava foods as unauthorised novel food. ec.europa.eu
The EMA Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products has not adopted an EU herbal monograph for kava rhizome. ema.europa.eu

Questions about kava and the law

Is kava legal in the European Union?: Piper methysticum has no entry in the EU Novel Food Catalogue; authorities treat kava foods as unauthorised novel food (ec.europa.eu). The EMA Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products has not adopted an EU herbal monograph for kava rhizome (www.ema.europa.eu). National rules differ; the table above covers all 27 member states.
In which EU countries is kava banned?: Banned: France, Italy and Netherlands. Banned in food: Belgium, Croatia, Czechia and Malta. Not acceptable in food: Denmark. The table above names the act for each and links to it.
Where is kava treated as a medicine?: Prescription-only: Germany. On the list of medicinal substances: Estonia and Finland. The acts are linked in the table above.
What does "no national act found" mean?: We looked for a national act naming kava and found none, as of 12 October 2026, in: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. That is not a statement that kava is legal there; the EU-level position above still stands.

This page lists acts; it is not legal advice. Each row links to the text it is based on.