Author: Johnny Green

This year will go down in the history books as the most transformative year ever for German cannabis policy. The approval and continued implementation of the nation’s new CanG law has transformed Germany’s policy and industry landscape in ways that did not seem possible in decades past.

Adults in Germany can now cultivate, possess, and consume cannabis legally. Additionally, applications for German cultivation associations have been rolling in since the start of July, with reportedly over 200 applications being received so far.

Another major component of Germany’s legalization model involves the launch of regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials. Regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials involve permitting a limited number of producers, retailers, and adult consumers to create, distribute, and/or purchase legal cannabis for recreational purposes, with the data gathered from the pilot trials providing insight for national researchers, lawmakers, and regulators.

According to local reporting by Hassenschau, “a total of up to 25 cities want to take part” in German cannabis pilot research projects, which is more than what is currently operating in both Switzerland and the Netherlands combined. Although, even more German cities are expected to announce their intentions to launch pilots in the coming months.

An example can be found in Wiesbaden, a city in the western German state of Hesse, where officials recently published a letter of intent to participate in the nation’s eventual regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot program. The city’s letter of intent provides insight into the pilot trial application process.

“At the end of 2021, Wiesbaden city councilors had already decided that the state capital should pursue a model project for the distribution of cannabis through specialist shops together with other municipalities. On Thursday, August 15, Health Minister Milena Löbcke signed a letter of intent, which is a first step towards implementing the decision.” city officials stated in a recent press release.

“The Cannabis Research Germany association will soon apply for a nationwide and research-based model project under the scientific supervision of the Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research Hamburg at the federal level. In addition to Wiesbaden, other cities from all over Germany and the Rhine-Main region want to join this project. At the request of the Health Department, the pharmacies established in the city and with a high level of expertise are to be considered as future dispensing points for Wiesbaden. The Cannabis Coordination Office in the Health Department, which is currently being filled, will be primarily responsible for municipal support.” stated Wiesbaden officials.

“The final participation of the state capital Wiesbaden in the research project will be decided after the application has been approved by the Federal Office for Food and Agriculture, once the final framework conditions have been established by this office.” the city concluded.

Current European Union policies prohibit nationwide recreational sales, such as what is found in Canada. However, recreational commerce for research purposes is permitted under EU law. Back in February 2023, Switzerland’s first pilot research trial launched in Basel.

“So far, a total of nine pilot trials with cannabis for non-medical purposes have been authorized in various Swiss cities, among them the one in Zürich, which is the largest,” Daniel Dauwalde, media spokesman for Switzerland’s Federal Department of Home Affairs, stated in an email to Forbes in March 2024.

Pilot trials in the Netherlands launched earlier this summer, and currently, ten municipalities are part of the public policy research experiment. Pilot programs in Germany, combined with home cultivation and cultivation associations, will serve as the legal means by which adults can source their cannabis products in Germany for the foreseeable future.

Germany’s medical cannabis industry is the largest on the European continent, and thanks to recently adopted reforms via the nation’s new CanG law, safe access to medical cannabis therapies is more streamlined than ever before.

Lawmakers in Germany first approved the CanG law in February 2024, with the first provisions of the adult-use legalization measure taking effect on April 1st. Part of the CanG law involved the removal of cannabis from the nation’s Narcotics List, and that policy change ushered in a new era for Germany’s medical cannabis industry.

Suffering patients no longer have to jump through as many hoops to become official medical cannabis patients in Germany due to the policy change. Additionally, domestic medical cannabis production is no longer limited by arbitrary quota limits and the supply chain is more effective at getting medical cannabis products where they need to go.

Telemedicine, in which doctors assess patients over the web, is increasing in popularity worldwide. By harnessing technology, medical care is more accessible for suffering patients, especially patients who may be older and/or disabled. Telemedicine is being increasingly used by doctors evaluating patients for medical cannabis in Germany, and rightfully so.

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy about the new era of German cannabis policy. Lower Saxony’s Health Minister Andreas Philippi is reportedly aiming to end telemedicine for medical cannabis qualification purposes.

“It shouldn’t be so easy to facilitate recreational cannabis use with a ‘peace of mind’ package over just a few clicks on the internet,” the SPD politician stated according to local reporting by ASB Zeitung.

The Lower Saxony Medical Association has emphasized, according to reporting by ASB Zeitung, that lawmakers should “promptly examine whether this development aligns with legislative goals – such as improved health protection and controlled cannabis distribution.”

Leading up to the adoption of the CanG measure in Germany, lawmakers made it clear that the aim of the new approach to cannabis policy and regulation was to boost public health outcomes by getting more cannabis consumers, including patients, to source their cannabis by legal means rather than relying on the unregulated market.

With that in mind, the policy change appears to be working exactly as designed and in alignment with legislative goals. People are going to consume cannabis regardless of whether it is legal or not, and affording them legal avenues to acquire cannabis helps mitigate potential harm.

Adults in Germany can now cultivate, possess, and consume cannabis, as well as join one of the growing list of German cultivation associations from which to source their cannabis. Boosting medical cannabis access is part of the equation, but far from being the only component that people will rely on in Germany going forward. The eventual launch of pilot programs will add another legal avenue for consumers.

Whether or not cannabis is an effective therapy for a suffering patient is a decision that should be made by a patient and their medical care providers, which is exactly what happens when a suffering patient uses telemedicine to communicate with, and be evaluated by, their doctor. Fortunately, data is demonstrating that safe access is spreading in Germany.

“Since April 1, the medical cannabis market has almost doubled in Germany,” David Henn, CEO of the medical cannabis wholesaler Cannamedical, previously stated per original reporting by ntv.de.

The recent growth in Germany’s medical cannabis industry is also evident in new data published by Bloomwell Group. The brokerage service company ‘provides both doctors and pharmacies with a digital platform for medical cannabis.’ The company reported a “1,000 percent” increase in business since legalization started in Germany.

Prior to April 1st, researchers estimated that Germany had between 200k and 300k active medical cannabis patients. That number is projected to increase to as much as 5 million in the not-so-distant future.

A February 2024 market analysis by Zuanic & Associates determined that if 1% of Germany’s population (roughly 838,000 people) became cash-paying medical cannabis patients, the German medical market ‘could reach €1.7Bn in value by the end of 2025.’ If current trends persist, the 1% threshold could be surpassed far earlier.

Earlier this year German lawmakers adopted a historic adult-use cannabis legalization measure (CanG), with the first provisions of the new cannabis law taking effect on April 1st. Germany is the largest nation to ever adopt recreational legalization.

The only other countries to adopt an adult-use legalization measure before Germany are Uruguay (2013), Canada (2018), Malta (2021), and Luxembourg (2023). South Africa has since adopted its own adult-use legalization measure.

Adults in Germany (18 years and older) can now legally cultivate, possess, and consume cannabis for recreational purposes. Additionally, starting on July 1st, adults in Germany can join cultivation associations from which to source cannabis legally.

Leading up to the passage of legalization in Germany cannabis opponents in the European nation predicted doomsday scenarios if/when the country adopted adult-use reform. That fearmongering has continued post-legalization.

Unfortunately for cannabis opponents in Germany, and fortunately for sound public policy and logical reasoning, a supermajority of respondents in a recent survey in Germany hold a positive or neutral view about the cannabis public policy change.

“According to a recent representative survey by the Björn Steiger Foundation, 61 percent of Germans have never consumed cannabis, or at least not in the last 12 months. In the new federal states, the figure for never-consumers is almost 50 percent, which is almost 10 percent higher than the figure in the old federal states.” stated the Björn Steiger Foundation regarding its recent survey.

“Around 70 percent of respondents see the partial legalization as positive or neutral, with male respondents showing significantly greater approval.” the organization also stated.

One of the claims made by cannabis opponents leading up to the launch of legalization was that legalization would lead to a substantial spike in cannabis use in Germany. However, the Björn Steiger Foundation found that “only eight percent of respondents want to consume more or even consume for the first time in light of the new legislation.”

Even if survey data demonstrates a spike in cannabis use post-legalization in Germany, such data needs to be put into proper context. Before cannabis became legal in any jurisdiction, consumers were less likely to tell surveyors that they consume cannabis given that it could have resulted in criminal prosecution.

A ‘spike’ in cannabis usage rates in Germany could very well be indicative of more people being willing to admit to their established cannabis use rather than people trying cannabis for the first time.

There appears to be no ‘buyer’s remorse’ in Germany when it comes to legalization, which is not exactly shocking given that the same is true in other jurisdictions that legalized before Germany. According to a recent poll conducted by Research Co., a strong majority of Canadians (54%) were still in favor of legalization five years after the nation’s policy change.

With a population of over 83 million people, Germany is currently the largest country to adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. The first provisions of Germany’s historic CanG legalization law took effect on April 1st, 2024, with adults 18 years old and older now permitted to cultivate, possess, and consume recreational cannabis.

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy with the implementation of the new law. Leading up to the legalization implementation date in Germany, the nation’s conservative opposition vowed to overturn the policy change if/when they gained control of Germany’s government.

“In our view, drugs policy, particularly with respect to protecting young people, is an issue of such central significance that we will revoke the legalization of cannabis in the event we take power,” lawmaker Thorsten Frei previously stated at the time. “In any possible coalition talks, [the rolling back of the legislation] will be a firm standpoint for us.”

“It’s an illusion that the law allowing cultivation for personal use will drain the black market. It’s not the case that every consumer will grow their own or join a so-called social club,” he also said.

Cannabis opponents like Thorsten Frei, who continue to spread prohibitionist talking points in Germany, seem to completely disregard the fact that Germany already had a public policy approach like the one that opponents are demanding, and that approach to cannabis public policy failed miserably.

Under prohibition, the unregulated market had 100% control of the domestic cannabis industry, which is why calls to return to it under the premise that ‘legalization does not completely eliminate the unregulated market’ is disingenuous at best. That point is not lost on Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach:

⁦@_FriedrichMerz⁩ will #Cannabis zurück zum Angebotsmonopol für den Schwarzmarkt. Legale Alternativen zB zum Mocro Clan lehnt er ab. Wähler werden für dumm verkauft, wenn man sagt: wenn Verbot kommt, kifft keiner mehr. Wir hatten Verbot, es half nie https://t.co/HGio6ZwEM4

— Prof. Karl Lauterbach

“⁦@_FriedrichMerz wants #Cannabis to return to the monopoly on supply for the black market. He rejects legal alternatives, such as the Mocro Clan. Voters are being taken for fools when people say: if there is a ban, no one will smoke weed anymore. We had a ban, but it never helped” stated Karl Lauterbach in a recent social media post (translated from German to English).

Whether cannabis opponents in Germany like it or not, legalization in Germany is already showing signs of working. Personal cannabis cultivation is already proving to be very popular with adult consumers in Germany, as reflected by a recent YouGov poll which found that 7% of poll participants indicated that they had already purchased cannabis clones or seeds since legalization took effect. Commercial sales of cannabis clones and seeds were legalized in Germany as part of the nation’s new cannabis law (CanG).

In addition to the 7% of poll participants indicating that they had already purchased cannabis clones or seeds, another 11% of poll participants responded that they plan to purchase cannabis clones or seeds in the future. That increased rate of home cultivation in Germany directly combats the unregulated market.

Another major component of Germany’s legalization model involves permitting adults to join cultivation associations from which to legally source their cannabis. Starting last month, regulators in Germany began accepting applications for cultivation associations.

In a recent nationwide survey conducted in Germany by Pronova BKK, 44% of self-reported ‘regular’ cannabis consumers indicated that they plan to join one of the country’s cultivation associations once they launch in their area. Another 27% of ‘occasional’ cannabis consumers also indicated that they plan to join an association.

Much like the rise in home cultivation, associations will further erode Germany’s unregulated cannabis market. The eventual launch of regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot programs later this year will also further combat Germany’s unregulated market.

The unregulated cannabis market in Germany will never be 100% eliminated, just as the unregulated market for tobacco and alcohol products will never be completely eliminated. However, that is not to say that cannabis policy modernization efforts are not worth it.

According to a 2021 report from Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Germany should save 1.05 billion euros annually by no longer enforcing cannabis prohibition, in addition to judiciary savings of 313 million euros per year. Whether someone consumes cannabis or not, they should realize that cannabis prohibition is a colossal waste of limited public resources, and a more sensible approach to cannabis policy is the right move.

Cannabis opponents in Germany seem to be predicting a potential legalization ‘buyer’s remorse’ on the horizon, but if Germany is like other jurisdictions that have legalized recreational cannabis, the prediction by cannabis opponents will not materialize.

According to a recent poll conducted by Research Co., a strong majority of Canadians (54%) were still in favor of legalization five years after the nation’s policy change. In the United States, youth cannabis consumption rates have plummeted in the last decade as more jurisdictions have modernized their cannabis policies to permit regulated sales.

By every measure, legalization is superior to prohibition, and most German citizens will no doubt recognize that fact as time goes on.