Legal Medical Cannabis Imports Surged In Q3 In Germany
During the first three full months following Germany’s enactment of the CanG adult-use legalization law (Q3), legal medical cannabis imports increased by over 70% compared to the previous period. The first provisions of Germany’s CanG law, which removed cannabis from the nation’s Narcotics List, took effect on April 1st, 2024.
Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) recently published medical cannabis import data for Q3 2024, with the BfArM graph below showing “the total amount of cannabis imported quarterly from abroad to Germany for medical and medical-scientific purposes in the form of dried flowers (in kg )”:
“The following figure shows the total amount of cannabis imported into Germany from abroad for medical and scientific purposes in the form of dried flowers and extracts on a quarterly basis. The dried cannabis flowers are included as a weight quantity (in kg ), the extracts as a weight quantity of dried cannabis flowers (in kg ) that were required to produce the respective extracts.” states BfArM (translated from German to English):
Germany adopted a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure earlier this year. The first provisions of the law permitting personal cultivation, possession, and use went into effect on April 1st, 2024. Additionally, as another part of ‘Pillar 1’ of German legalization, cultivation associations became legal on July 1st, 2024.
‘Pillar 2’ of the nation’s legalization model involves launching regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials. Such trials already operate in the Netherlands and Switzerland and are allowed under European Union law.
The German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW) recently called for no further delays in launching pilot trials in Germany to combat Germany’s unregulated market and for the nation’s new government to not regress on cannabis policies and regulations.
“Legal access options such as home cultivation, cultivation associations, but also commercial models with licensed specialist shops are the best solution to push back the black market. Therefore, a new federal government should ensure that these legal accesses to cannabis are created and maintained,” says Michael Greif, Managing Director of the BvCW. “There is no protection for young people on the black market, dealers do not ask for ID. But there are dangerous additives there. The best way to ensure youth and consumer protection is through a legal and regulated market.”
The German cannabis market is home to 4-8 million consumers with a total potential market value of between €7.8 billion and €15.6 billion according to data provided by leading economist firm Whitney Economics.
To completely supply German demand, and thus eliminate the unregulated market, Germany’s cannabis industry would need to produce over 948,000 kg of flower annually according to Whitney Economics.