Germany Imported A Record Amount Of Cannabis In 2023
Germany continues to serve as the largest legal medical cannabis market in Europe, and not just for domestically produced medical cannabis products. Germany reportedly imported a record amount of medical cannabis products from other countries in 2023.
In 2023, Germany imported 31,398 kilograms of medical cannabis products according to data from Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), a 26.2% increase compared to last year’s medical cannabis imports.
In 2022 Germany imported 24,876 kilograms, compared to 20,771 kilograms in 2021, 11,746 kilograms in 2020, and 8,057 kilograms in 2019. Canada was the top source of imported medical cannabis in Germany followed by Portugal and the Netherlands. Roughly 50% of imported cannabis to Germany in 2023 originated in Canada compared to 40% the previous year.
Starting in 2017, Germany legalized the use of 14 different varieties of cannabis flower for patients with severe debilitating diseases and no other treatment options. The legal medical cannabis products have been distributed through German pharmacies ever since.
However, it wasn’t until 2019 that Germany allowed medical cannabis to be produced domestically, with the European nation’s medical cannabis industry initially relying solely on medical cannabis imports. Domestic production has ramped up since 2019, yet, medical cannabis imports have remained strong.
With the new German adult-use cannabis legalization law (CanG) taking effect on April 1, 2024, Germany’s medical cannabis industry is set to undergo a fairly substantial evolution going forward.
Three companies were chosen in 2019 to produce medical cannabis in Germany. The companies were capped at 10,400 kilograms of product production over the course of a four-year span. With the new CanG law taking effect, that quota system is going away. More companies can now apply to cultivate medical cannabis within Germany’s borders.
Furthermore, a major component of the new CanG law involves cannabis being removed from Germany’s Narcotics List, which will have a significant impact on patient access to medical cannabis. Germany’s medical cannabis program will no longer require a narcotic prescription form. The policy change will likely result in a dramatic increase in Germany’s legal medical cannabis base.
