A chain of German grocery stores recently made international headlines when it announced it would stock cannabis seeds. Multiple polls have been conducted since the Netto discount supermarket chain announced that cannabis seeds from Gutmut Saatgut would be sold at 255 branches in Berlin and northeastern Germany.

The German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW) recently asked its members, “What is your opinion on the sale of recreational cannabis seeds in the food retail sector?” (translated from German to English).

“The vast majority were in favor: 81% are strongly in favor, another 7% are somewhat in favor. 7% answered “partly/partly”. 1% are somewhat against, 4% are strongly against.” BvCW wrote about the poll results in a recent newsletter. The BvCW survey was conducted from March 9, 2026 to March 16, 2026.

Media outlet RTL also conducted a poll asking its readers how they felt about cannabis seed sales at Netto locations. A strong majority (64%) said they were ‘completely fine’ with the sales, while only 35% opposed them.

“The sale is a milestone for consumer protection and for combating the unregulated black market. Furthermore, home cultivation protects against potentially highly dangerous adulterants and additives, and is therefore in the interest of health and consumer protection.” stated Dirk Heitepriem, president of the German Cannabis Business Association, about the seed sales.

“We need to move away from a politics of fear and towards a policy of controlled quality. The sale of seeds at Netto is an important step in the right direction: guaranteed origin, guaranteed quality, normalization and destigmatization instead of criminalization. Whether it’s alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis: instead of checks on private households, we need evidence-based regulation. For cannabis, this requires research projects on regulated distribution.” added BvCW Managing Director Michael Greif.

“According to the BvCW (German Association for Seed and Plant Protection), the availability of high-quality seeds in brick-and-mortar retail stores is a crucial step towards achieving the legal objectives: promoting safe home cultivation and effectively combating illegal market structures. The BvCW believes this requires low-threshold access.” BvCW wrote in a press release.

“Therefore, the BvCW aims for regulated sales within the framework of scientific research projects. This goal is also supported by the Federal Drug Commissioner, Streeck; however, a political majority within the current governing coalition of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats is lacking.” BvCW added.