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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Cannabis legalization appears to be off the chopping block in Germany for now
Stratcann Wednesday 09 Apr 2025 Though this doesn’t necessarily mean a change of heart of the newly elected Conservative government, say some in the industry, but is merely an example of the issue not necessarily being a priority. The newly elected Conservative Party, which won a recent election in February, had previously said during its election campaign that it wanted to repeal the country’s recently implemented cannabis laws. However, a new coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD did not include the reversal of Germany’s (partial) legalization of cannabis for adults in their coalition agreement. “I think the challenge of the CanG [the German Cannabis Law, the Cannabisgesetz] by the Christian Democrats, has not changed, and the most probable incoming Health Minister has a rather critical mind when it comes to recreational cannabis. But the Conservatives are known for actually being supportive when it comes to medical” Sascha Mielcarek, CEO of Canify AG The CDU/CSU is a coalition with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). The Bavarian CSU had pushed to end and reverse the cannabis laws, but did not have the leverage to formalize these efforts. The CDU was less focused on these efforts. Germany first allowed the prescribing of cannabis flowers for medical purposes by physicians in 2017. The country then legalized recreational cannabis in March 2024. The law came into effect in two main phases. The first phase, which allowed for personal cannabis cultivation and possession, came into force on April 1, 2024, and cultivation clubs were allowed in July. More than 80 of those cannabis clubs have been approved, with several hundred still being processed. 349 applications are still being processed, and 12 have been rejected so far. The second phase was supposed to allow for regional model projects with commercial supply chains, but shifting domestic politics appears to have slowed that process down. A joint document from the CDU, CSU, and SPD says that there will be “an open-ended evaluation of the law on the legalization of cannabis” in the fall, which was already planned as part of the original legislation. “Even though we believe the evaluation will come to a positive result for cannabis regulation, the industry will face an additional six months of insecurity on what will happen with the law—and insecurity is not good for the long-term planning of investments.” Finn Haensel, CEO and Founder of Sanity Group, Sascha Mielcarek, CEO of Canify AG, a licensed pharmaceutical company based in Germany focusing on medical cannabis, tells StratCann that the lack of any inclusion in the agreement of language pushing back against Germany’s cannabis legislation shouldn’t be interpreted as approval. Instead, he sees the cannabis file being delegated to the Ministry of Health. “I think the challenge of the CanG [the German Cannabis Law, the Cannabisgesetz] by the Christian Democrats has not changed, and the most probable incoming Health Minister has a rather critical mind when it comes to recreational cannabis. But the Conservatives are known for actually being supportive when it comes to medical” Finn Haensel, CEO and Founder of Sanity Group, a Berlin-based cannabis-focused business, explains that the new German government has simply delayed a decision on how to proceed with the country’s cannabis laws. But this added uncertainty with the new conservative government has some investors weary, he adds. “The coalition agreement states that the law should be evaluated in fall 2025 and next steps will be taken from that point onwards,” Haensel tells StratCann. “That is also what the old government planned, so nothing has changed. However, even though we believe the evaluation will come to a positive result for cannabis regulation, the industry will face an additional six months of insecurity on what will happen with the law—and insecurity is not good for the long-term planning of investments.” Despite the lack of a reference to repealing legalization in the recent coalition between the Conservatives and the Social Democrats, Bavarian Health Minister and CSU member Judith Gerlach recently said that the traffic light coalition’s (SDP) legalization laws would be “quickly” reversed. “The legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes must now be reversed quickly and completely,” she told local media in late March. “With the traffic light coalition, their dangerous cannabis misguided course has also been voted out.” The German Medical Association has also recently called for a repeal of Germany’s liberalized cannabis laws, calling it a danger to young people. Germany also has a thriving medical cannabis market, with several Canadian cannabis companies exporting to serve those demands. In 2023, Germany imported a record 31,398 kg of medical cannabis products, with approximately 50% of that originating from Canada, and the numbers have only increased from there. Further, several Canadian companies, including Organigram, Tilray, Aurora, Cronos Group, and others, have expanded their presence in the German market. https://stratcann.com/news/cannabis-legalization-appears-to-be-off-the-chopping-block-in-germany-for-now/
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