Germany’s Medical Cannabis Industry Is Booming
Germany’s emerging medical cannabis industry was already the largest in Europe before the nation’s new CanG law took effect. However, since April 1st, 2024 when the first provisions of adult-use legalization became effective in Germany, the nation’s medical cannabis industry has already grown exponentially.
“Since April 1, the medical cannabis market has almost doubled in Germany,” says David Henn, CEO of the medical cannabis wholesaler Cannamedical, per original reporting by ntv.de.
The recent growth in Germany’s medical cannabis industry is also evident in new data published by Bloomwell Group. The brokerage service company ‘provides both doctors and pharmacies with a digital platform for medical cannabis.’ The company reported a “1,000 percent” increase in business since legalization started in Germany.
A main contributing factor to the recent growth of Germany’s medical cannabis industry was the removal of cannabis from the nation’s Narcotics List, which was a key component of the new CanG law. The removal of cannabis from the list made it easier for doctors to prescribe cannabis in Germany, in addition to improving the medical cannabis supply chain and boosting domestic medical cannabis production.
Medical cannabis is arguably the biggest winner of Germany’s adult-use policy modernization effort so far, and the boost in patient numbers is still very much in the early stages. Prior to April 1st, researchers estimated that Germany had between 200k and 300k active medical cannabis patients. That number is projected to increase to as much as 5 million in the not-so-distant future.
A February 2024 market analysis by Zuanic & Associates determined that if 1% of Germany’s population (roughly 838,000 people) became cash-paying medical cannabis patients, the German medical market ‘could reach €1.7Bn in value by the end of 2025.’ If current trends persist, the 1% threshold could be surpassed far earlier.
The legal German cannabis market is projected to reach an estimated $4.6 billion in value by 2034 according to a recent market analysis by researchers at The Niche Research, which is an impressive sum. However, if Germany’s medical cannabis industry continues to increase at its current rate, the projection could prove to be too conservative as time goes on.
Germany’s medical cannabis industry boom is paralleled by a dramatic increase in the nation’s ancillary cannabis industry, and that increase is having a butterfly effect on other parts of Europe. A recent survey by YouGov found that 7% of surveyed German adults have already purchased cannabis seeds or clones, and another 11% reported that they will in the future.
In a separate nationwide survey conducted in Germany by Pronova BKK, among self-reported ‘regular’ cannabis consumers participating in the survey, 51% selected “Yes, I can imagine having my own cannabis to grow at home” when asked about home cultivation. Another 40% of ‘occasional’ cannabis consumers also selected that option in the survey.
Cannabis seed banks across Europe have reported a significant sales spike due to German home cultivation legalization, and presumably the same is true for companies specializing in home cultivation equipment.
Cannabis opponents in Germany are pointing to the increased size of the nation’s medical cannabis industry and trying to use it to justify their prohibitionist positions. What those opponents fail to recognize is that a boost in patient numbers is not indicative of a ‘broken system.’ Rather, it is a testament to the cannabis plant’s wellness properties and the evolving attitudes of medical professionals.
According to tens of thousands of peer-reviewed studies, countless patient testimonials, and the professional opinions of licensed medical doctors throughout Germany, cannabis is a safe, effective medication that can treat numerous ailments and conditions. Suffering patients deserve to have safe access to therapies that their doctors deem appropriate, and that includes medical cannabis therapies.
Germany’s new medical cannabis policies are working exactly as they should be, regardless of the fear-mongering talking points that cannabis opponents choose to cling to.
