It is truly historic times in Germany where recreational cannabis is now legal for adults aged 18 and older. After decades of cannabis prohibition policies, lawmakers in Germany adopted an adult-use legalization law, CanG, in 2024.
The first provisions of the new German cannabis legalization law took effect on April 1st, 2024, ushering in a new era for adult cannabis consumers in the European Union’s most populous member nation. As a result, there has never been a better time to be an adult cannabis consumer in Germany than now.
The modern push for recreational legalization started in Germany leading up to the 2021 federal election. For the first time in the nation’s history, representatives from every major political party participated in a cannabis-focused policy debate, with the discussion occurring at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin mere weeks before the election. Many of the ideas discussed at the conference would make it into a legalization measure later introduced by Germany’s Health Minister.
Starting on April 1st, 2024, adults in Germany can now cultivate up to three plants for recreational purposes in their private residences. Home cultivation is a cornerstone of Germany’s legalization model and has led to an industry boom for entrepreneurs and innovators who help service the home cultivation sector. Seeds, clones, soil, grow tents, lights, drying equipment, environment controls, and many cultivation accessories are experiencing record demand in Germany thanks to the enactment of the CanG law.
In addition to being able to cultivate a personal amount of cannabis plants, adults in Germany can now possess up to 25 grams of cannabis when they are away from their homes, and up to 50 grams within their homes. Possessing and/or consuming a personal amount of cannabis used to result in consumers being subjected to cannabis prohibition enforcement in Germany, but now adults can do both in Germany without fear of prosecution.
Recreational consumers were not the only winners of last year’s cannabis policy modernization efforts in Germany. Arguably the biggest winner of German legalization was the nation’s emerging legal medical cannabis program. Legal medical cannabis sales were launched in Germany in 2017; however, the nation’s rules and regulations limited the growth of the program in many ways.
A major component of Germany’s new CanG law was the removal of cannabis from Germany’s Narcotics List. The removal from the list drastically improved safe access to medical cannabis in Germany by removing the arbitrary quota system that limited domestic medical cannabis production and helped streamline the supply chain process. Cannabis consumers who qualify for medical cannabis in Germany due to one or more qualifying conditions now have more options.
In the new CanG era of German medical cannabis, the use of telemedicine has increased significantly. Suffering patients no longer have to travel to a doctor’s office to receive approval to legally acquire medical cannabis products. Instead, they can meet with a qualified doctor via an online appointment to go over their documented condition(s) and receive approval in a much more convenient manner.
Telemedicine is a vital convenience for suffering patients who cannot travel due to their condition(s) or live in an area where specialized doctors are not located such as in rural parts of Germany. A recent report was published indicating that between March 2024 and December 2024, medical cannabis prescriptions have increased by 1,000% in Germany.
Another major component of Germany’s new legalization model involves permitting cultivation associations. Starting on July 1st, 2024, people can apply to launch a member-based cultivation association, and conversely, adult cannabis consumers can apply to become members of a local cultivation association and legally source their recreational cannabis.
So far 83 cultivation associations have received approval in Germany since the application process was launched, with several hundred more cultivation association operators waiting for their applications to be processed. Eventually, thousands, if not tens of thousands, of cultivation associations are expected to operate across Germany.
Germany will also launch regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials soon, which will permit adult participants to make legal recreational purchases from registered stores. Pilot trials are already operating in the Netherlands and Switzerland with no major issues reported. However, the number of pilot trials in Germany is expected to be significantly greater than what is currently in place in other European nations.
European Union agreements prohibit cannabis commerce models like what is in place in Uruguay and Canada. The combination of home cultivation, cultivation associations, and eventual pilot trials will serve as the foundation for Germany’s legalization model for now, although Germany is leading the push for EU-level reform which will hopefully be achieved sooner rather than later.
These topics and more will be discussed at the upcoming International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) in Berlin, taking place on April 29th-30th, 2025 at the iconic Estrel Berlin Hotel. ICBC Berlin is the largest and longest-running cannabis B2B event in Europe and has long served as the top cannabis event for policy, industry, and entertainment in Germany. If you want to be a part of history in the making and find out more about Germany’s and Europe’s emerging legal cannabis industries, ICBC Berlin is the best place to do it. Secure your tickets now before the event sells out.
