With a population of 80.6 million and nearly 140k square miles, the country of Germany is roughly 85% the size of California, and contains over double the population. As medical cannabis laws across Europe become liberalized and attitudes toward adult recreational use continue to soften, Germany is now poised to be the next big thing in the European cannabis market.
Germany is looking primed to become a major producer of medical cannabis since laws were loosened this past summer to allow patients access with a doctor’s recommendation. And now, Berlin is making moves to pseudo-legalize marijuana in its city borders. According to the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), an EU agency based in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, nearly one quarter of German adult citizens – 23.1% – have tried cannabis.
From The Russia Times:
Cannabis has been illegal in Germany but, after a court ruling in 2005, people with specific health conditions such as chronic pain were able to use the drug for self-therapy, but each case was assessed on an individual basis, according to the Local.
Health Minister Hermann Gröhe proposed a law in May to officially legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes and cover it through medical insurance….
In early 2015, Federal Drugs Commissioner Marlene Mortler announced reforms to let chronically ill patients have easier access to cannabis through their health insurance providers and vowed to have legislation in place by 2016.
With the growing awareness of marijuana’s potential therapeutic benefits for a variety of ailments, the German people are aggressively pursuing policies which allow for increased production and use of the cannabis plant. If you are interested in learning more about the upcoming German and European markets and want to know more about their changing laws regarding cannabis, join the cadre of experts who will be attending the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin, Germany on April 10-12.
