Germany’s Cannabis Legalization Moves Forward as Planned

Germany’s adult-use cannabis legalization plan won’t be delayed after the Parliament’s upper house refrained from sending legislation to committee on March 22, meaning possession and home grows can start April 1.

This comes after federal lawmakers in the Bundestag, the lower chamber of the country’s Parliament, voted to pass finalized legislation on Feb. 23. While the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house that represents the country’s 16 state governments, could have potentially delayed the legislation’s enactment by up to six months, the chamber did not have the votes to do so on Friday, according to The Associated Press.

Niklas Kouparanis, co-founder and CEO of Frankfurt-based European cannabis company Bloomwell Group, said “reason prevailed” in Germany’s Bundestag.

“The prohibitionists' propaganda failed,” he said in a statement provided to Cannabis Business Times. “In retrospect, the publicized uproar during the run-up to the Federal Council meeting turned out to be hot air. The cannabis industry, patients and the governing parties are breathing a sigh of relief that a nerve-wracking and unnecessary delay to implement the landmark CanG bill, which would have been caused by calling for a mediation committee, was prevented.”

As a result of the passage of the Cannabis Act (also called CanG), adults will be allowed to possess up to 25 grams—just shy of an ounce—in public and up to 50 grams in private residences, as well as grow up to three plants at home, starting April 1. In addition, German residents 18 and older will be allowed to join nonprofit “cannabis clubs,” which will be limited to 500 members who can grow their own cannabis for personal use starting July 1.

RELATED: Germany’s Federal Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis

With the news that these provisions will become effective as scheduled, Canada-based Canopy Growth CEO David Klein said in a statement provided to CBT his company is celebrating the landmark legalization decision.

The company’s German brand, Storz & Bickel, provides vaporization devices to adult-use and medical consumers.

“As a long-standing leader in the German medical cannabis market, Canopy Growth looks forward to expanding our presence as more patients can access medical cannabis following the reclassification of cannabis as a nonnarcotic,” Klein said. “We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this progressive change in Germany, setting a strong precedent for cannabis reform across Europe.”

Under Germany’s medical-only cannabis laws, medical cannabis had retained its classification as a narcotic. But the new law changes that.

Now, Germany joins Canada as the second Group of Seven (G7) country to remove cannabis from its narcotics list, a move that could create a potential domino effect on reform in other European markets.

In a statement provided to CBT, Curaleaf Executive Board Chairman Boris Jordan, whose company entered the German market in the September 2022 through completing the majority-stake acquisition of Four20 Pharma, called attention to how the U.S. continues to fall behind on federal reform policies.

“Today’s passage of the Cannabis Act in Germany represents a watershed moment for patients and adult-use consumers alike,” Jordan said. “This legislation has set the standard for future cannabis regulatory programs across all of Europe and serves as a wakeup call to U.S. politicians and our regulatory agencies who continue to stall progress.”

While Germany’s federal lawmakers paved way for possession and personal cultivation, plans for a commercialized marketplace—one where licensed shops and pharmacies could sell cannabis—were omitted from the legislation after European Union concerns over the possibility of unregulated exports emerged, BBC reported.

Parliamentary leaders indicated complementary legislation to open up commercialized operations is forthcoming and will likely be tied to EU approval.

Specifically, Kristine Lütke, a Bundestag member from the Free Democratic Party, said Friday on social media that unfinished business remains.

“On April 1st, we will strengthen the individual freedom of everyone and ensure a paradigm shift in drug policy. But that’s not enough for us Free Democrats,” she wrote. “The second pillar of the law must now come in as quickly as possible and thus commercial cultivation in regional model projects and the sale of cannabis in licensed shops.”