DHV Issues Statement Against Harmful German Draft Amendment
Last month, Germany’s Ministry of Health released a draft amendment that, if approved, would negatively impact the nation’s medical cannabis program, and with it, Germany’s suffering patients and emerging industry. As proposed, the draft amendment would:
- Mandate in-person doctor consultations
- Ban on mail-order medical cannabis dispensing
- Impose stricter rules for medical cannabis prescriptions
Pushback to the draft amendment by medical cannabis patients, advocates, and industry members was swift. The German Hemp Association (DHV) recently issued its own statement calling for the proposed amendment to be defeated.
“Telemedical prescriptions of cannabis medications and online delivery were already possible before the MedCanG “in the days of the Narcotics Act.” The planned changes would essentially catapult us back to pre-digital times when it comes to cannabis medicine, while the federal government otherwise wants to catch up with its significant lag in digitalization. This not only feels anachronistic for citizens and patients in Germany, but is likely to cause head-scratching abroad as well. No online delivery of (cannabis) medications? Picking everything up in person? In Canada and the USA, this will be hard to believe. This is reminiscent of the strength of the pharmacist lobby, just as it is in Germany.” stated DHV in a recent news release (translated from German to English).
DHV is calling out the apparent selective focus by the Ministry of Health on cannabis flower but not cannabis extracts. Germany has experienced exponential growth in medical cannabis flower imports over the last year. However, the increase in exports has not been directly tied to any increase in public health issues.
“It is unclear why the planned regulations should only apply to cannabis flowers and not to extracts with significantly higher THC concentrations. The justification merely states that the import of flowers has increased significantly. However, it is likely that the import of extracts is also likely to have increased significantly from the first to the second half of 2024. However, the Federal Ministry of Health does not provide any figures on this. The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) also does not provide any information on the development of extracts. Furthermore, it is unclear whether and to what extent extracts are produced and distributed within Germany after the import of cannabis flowers. ” DHV points out.
“Without data on the import of extracts and the processing of flowers into extracts within Germany, an objective assessment is impossible, and a one-sided restriction on flowers is incomprehensible. For years, we have seen a one-sided negative portrayal of flowers compared to other cannabis medications because they resemble the traditional recreational drug cannabis, even though the flowers certainly have their justification for medical use through simple inhalation.” DHV also stated in its news release.
DHV’s full statement can be read at this link here, and people are encouraged to read it in its entirety. Readers can also check out our previous coverage of statements from other advocates and organizations, as well as information on where to sign petitions against the draft amendment, at this link here.
