Members of the Green Party in Germany’s Bundestag are calling for the faster establishment of cannabis cultivation associations in the European country. According to local media reports, the total number of approved German cultivation association applications is now at 413. However, it is worth noting that the most recent data from the Federal Association of Cannabis Cultivation Associations (BCAv) lists 401 approvals out of 838 total submissions.

“It’s a positive sign that more and more people are growing their own cannabis, alone or collectively, in clubs,” says Linda Heitmann, a member of parliament and the Green Party’s drug policy expert, according to initial reporting by RND (translated from German to English).

Heitmann is encouraging the German government to improve the cultivation association application and approval process by “exchanging information on effective procedures, establishing clear responsibilities, and providing constructive, unbureaucratic support for club formations.”

Starting on July 1st, 2024, adults in Germany can apply to launch member-based cultivation associations from which authorized cannabis consumers can legally source adult-use cannabis products. The approved cultivation association application total has trended upward as time has gone by, but not nearly at the rate that is needed to sufficiently combat Germany’s unregulated cannabis market.

North Rhine-Westphalia has approved the most cultivation association applications so far, with 117 approvals being issued to date out of 211 applications submitted (per BCAv). In second place is Lower Saxony, which has approved 82 permits out of 137 applications. Saarland has only approved 1 application so far, Bremen has only approved 4, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia have each only approved 6.

One state in Germany, Bavaria, is the focus of considerable criticism for its low rate of approval, and rightfully so. Authorities in Bavaria have only approved 9 permits so far out of 44 applications submitted (per BCAv). Cultivation association applicants in Bavaria reportedly must be approved for both a building permit and a separate permit for a “special zone,” which has presumably deterred many aspiring association operators from even applying in the first place.

“If, for example, Bavaria, contrary to the will of the federal legislature, effectively only grants permits in specially designated areas, even though such areas hardly exist, growers’ associations are systematically prevented and the black market is strengthened.” said SPD member of parliament Carmen Wegge, according to RND (translated from German to English).

If Germany’s emerging legal cannabis industry is to ever properly combat the nation’s unregulated market, lawmakers and regulators must embrace cultivation associations nationwide. Additionally, regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials must be approved and allowed to operate wherever German researchers deem them appropriate.