HHC, HHC-O and THCP in Poland 2026: what is legal (table)

There is a belief surrounding HHC, HHC-O, and THCP that these are substances in a gray area: not described in regulations, thus permissible until the legislator addresses them. In the case of the first two, this belief has been false since May 2023, and stores that repeat it refer to the legal state from three years ago. This article describes the status of each of these substances based on the text of the regulations read in the Journal of Laws register, not based on what sellers say about themselves. It also indicates which cannabinoids consumers can legally purchase in Poland without entering into conflict with criminal law and explains why the list of controlled substances changes several times a year, and the absence of a name on the list is never a permanent feature.

KEY INFORMATION
• HHC has been a controlled substance in Poland since May 5, 2023. It was introduced by the regulation of the Minister of Health from April 17, 2023, Dz.U. 2023 item 744.
• The same regulation and on the same day, HHC-O, or O-acetylhexahydrocannabinol, was added to the list.
• As of July 28, 2026, HHC is listed in a different group than before. This transfer between groups is not a legalization: trade and possession outside the provisions of the Act remain prohibited.
• Δ8-THCP and Δ9-THCP-O were added to the list of new psychoactive substances on July 28, 2026 (Dz.U. 2026 item 934).
• The names cannabidiol and cannabigerol do not appear in the text of the list even once. CBD and CBG from industrial hemp remain the only category for consumers with a clear legal basis.

Is HHC legal in Poland?

No, it is not. HHC, or hexahydrocannabinol, has been listed as a controlled substance in Poland since May 5, 2023, and since that date, trade and possession outside the provisions of the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction are prohibited. There is no legal loophole or transitional period here. Any statement about the gray area surrounding HHC published after this date describes a state that no longer applies.

The basis is the regulation of the Minister of Health from April 17, 2023, amending the regulation on the list of psychotropic substances, narcotic drugs, and new psychoactive substances, published as Dz.U. 2023 item 744. Its text states directly that after position 98 of the annex, positions 99 and 100 are added, the first of which is HHC with its full chemical name. The regulation came into force on May 5, 2023.

Where does the widespread contrary view come from? Sellers refer to the fact that the name HHC does not appear in the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction itself. This is true and irrelevant because the Act does not contain a list of substances. The lists are in the executive regulation of the Minister of Health, and that is what needs to be checked. The argument sounds legal but is based on reading the wrong act.

What changed on July 28, 2026?

HHC changed its position in the list, not its status. The regulation of the Minister of Health from July 7, 2026, Dz.U. 2026 item 934, repealed position 99 in the part concerning psychotropic substances of group I-P and added HHC under position 83 in group II-P. This operation moves the entry between groups of the same list.

The difference between groups concerns permissible applications in pharmaceutical trade and requires analysis of the provisions on permits. For the consumer, it changes nothing: the criminal provision on possession of psychotropic substances covers all groups. The formulation that describes this change without the risk of error is therefore short: HHC is a controlled substance.

If in July or August 2026 you come across a store explaining that HHC has just been unlocked, that is a misrepresentation of this very change. The repeal of a position in one part of the list and its addition in another looks like a deletion when reading only half of the regulation. Related hydrogenated compounds are described separately in the entry about HHCH and its legal status and the text about H4CBD, or hydrogenated cannabidiol.

What is HHC-O and what is its status?

HHC-O, or O-acetylhexahydrocannabinol, is a derivative of HHC with an acetyl group attached. It has been a controlled substance in Poland for exactly as long as HHC: both were added to the list by the same regulation from April 17, 2023, and both have been in effect since May 5, 2023. HHC-O occupies position 100 in the annex, and the change from July 2026 did not affect this position.

Pharmacologically, HHC-O belongs to the group of acetate derivatives of cannabinoids, whose safety profile has not been studied in clinical trials. There is no toxicological data on HHC-O involving humans, which means exactly this: no one knows what the effects of its intake are, in what doses and over what time. Unknown risk is not the same as zero risk.

The inclusion of both substances in one regulation was not accidental. The legislator controlled the basic compound and its derivative at the same time, closing the path for modification by adding a functional group to an already prohibited molecule. The same mechanism is visible in the change from 2026, which included THCP in two forms simultaneously.

What is known about THCP and is it on the list?

THCP, or tetrahydrocannabiforol, was scientifically described only in 2019. Two of its forms have been listed as new psychoactive substances since July 28, 2026: Δ8-THCP under position 67 and acetate Δ9-tetrahydrocannabiforol, designated as Δ9-THCP-O, under position 68. This was introduced by the regulation Dz.U. 2026 item 934, the same one that moved HHC between groups.

The reason for the regulator’s interest is evident in the work that first described THCP. The Citti team isolated from cannabis a molecule with a structure similar to Δ9-THC but with a seven-carbon side chain instead of a five-carbon one, and measured its affinity for the human CB1 receptor. The binding constant was 1.2 nanomoles, a value close to CP55940, a strong full agonist of this receptor, for which 0.9 nanomoles were measured (Citti et al., Scientific Reports, 2019). In a behavioral test in animals, the compound caused hypomotility, analgesia, catalepsy, and a decrease in body temperature.

It is important to maintain precision here, which product descriptions usually do not. The molecule measured by the Citti team is Δ9-THCP, while the list mentions by name the isomer Δ8-THCP and the acetate form of Δ9, i.e., Δ9-THCP-O. These are three distinct chemical positions, and the list operates by indicating the compound by name and formula. If a seller refers to the legal status of one of these forms while talking about another, that is not the same information.

The practical significance of this measurement is simple. A substance that binds to the CB1 receptor with such strength produces an effect at a quantity that cannot be measured by home methods, and the range between the dose producing the expected effect and the dose causing an undesirable reaction is correspondingly narrower. There are no clinical safety studies on THCP in humans, so no dose can be called studied.

Table: what the list says about individual cannabinoids

The following summary reflects the state read from the texts of the regulations in the Journal of Laws register. The list is a closed list of compounds mentioned by name and changes several times a year, so with every decision, it is worth checking the current wording of the act, not the description in the store.

How does the list work and why does it change so often?

The Polish lists of controlled substances take the form of a enumeration: each compound stands under its own position, with a common name and full chemical designation. This also applies to tetrahydrocannabinols, which occupy one position but are detailed by listed isomers and their stereochemical variants. This structure has the advantage of precision and the disadvantage that the market exploits: a compound outside the enumeration must be added by a separate regulation.

Hence the pace of changes. A manufacturer minimally modifies a molecule, extending the side chain or adding an acetyl group, and a substance outside the list is created. The regulator responds with another amendment to the list, usually covering several variants at once, as was the case with HHC and HHC-O in 2023 and with the two forms of THCP in 2026.

The change of the list is not solely a national decision. The regulation from July 7, 2026, was notified to the European Commission on June 15, 2026, under the directive on technical regulations and implements a delegated directive from the Commission from October 2025. The interval between notification and entry into force can be counted in weeks, which is worth keeping in mind before considering the absence of a name on the list as a permanent feature of the legal state.

Which cannabinoids can consumers legally purchase in Poland?

CBD and CBG from industrial hemp are the only cannabinoids with a clear and stable legal basis for consumers. In the consolidated text of the list of controlled substances, the names cannabidiol and cannabigerol do not appear even once, so there is no position to refer to claiming they are under control.

The boundary is set by the definition of industrial hemp from Article 4 point 5 of the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction, in the consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 1939, as amended by the Act of March 24, 2022 (Dz.U. 2022 item 763). The total content of delta-9-THC and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid in the flowering tops or fruiting bodies, from which the resin has not been removed, must not exceed 0.3% when calculated on a dry weight basis, and the result is rounded to one decimal place.

Two things are important in this definition, and often overlooked. First, the threshold concerns the sum of delta-9-THC and THCA, not just delta-9-THC itself, which changes the result of laboratory testing; the role of the latter substance is discussed in the entry about THCA and its differences from THC. Second, the Polish threshold does not stem from EU law but corresponds to it: the EU’s 0.3% was introduced by regulation 2021/2115, effective from January 1, 2023, while the previous EU threshold from regulation 1307/2013 was 0.2% and has been repealed. Referring to the act from 2013 as the basis for today’s threshold is a mistake that circulates in many product descriptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HHC legal in Poland in 2026?

No. HHC has been a controlled substance since May 5, 2023, based on the regulation of the Minister of Health from April 17, 2023 (Dz.U. 2023 item 744). The change on July 28, 2026, moved it between groups in the list and did not legalize anything. Trade and possession remain prohibited.

Is HHC-O legal?

No. HHC-O, or O-acetylhexahydrocannabinol, was added to the list by the same regulation as HHC and has been in effect since the same date, May 5, 2023. It occupies position 100 in the annex, and the amendment from July 2026 did not change this position.

Is THCP in the Polish list?

Yes, in two forms. As of July 28, 2026, the list of new psychoactive substances includes Δ8-THCP under position 67 and acetate Δ9-tetrahydrocannabiforol, or Δ9-THCP-O, under position 68. This was introduced by the regulation of the Minister of Health from July 7, 2026, Dz.U. 2026 item 934.

Why does THCP raise toxicological concerns?

Because it binds very strongly to the CB1 receptor. In the study that described it, the binding constant was 1.2 nanomoles, compared to 0.9 nanomoles for CP55940, a strong full agonist of this receptor. No clinical safety studies on THCP in humans have been conducted, so no dose has been studied.

Are CBD and CBG legal in Poland?

The names cannabidiol and cannabigerol do not appear in the text of the list of controlled substances. Products from industrial hemp are allowed if the sum of delta-9-THC and THCA in the raw material does not exceed 0.3% dry weight, according to Article 4 point 5 of the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction.

Hemp flower from fiber varieties mentioned in the last section can be found in the flower category.

This article is for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The legal state is described as of the date of the update given in the footer: regulations regarding cannabis change several times a year. Before making a decision, consult a lawyer or current legal acts.

Author: Michał Waluk · Published: 2026-08-09 · Updated: 2026-08-11