The German Cabinet approved changes to its Medical Cannabis Act which will affect patient access to cannabis.
The imports of cannabis-based products to Germany are on the rise. The first three months in 2025 saw a huge increase of imports, with 37.223 tons of cannabis imported for scientific and medical purposes compared to the 8.143 tons of Q1 2024. Germany’s federal government reports that imports of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes increased more than 400% in the first six months of 2025. From 19 tonnes in the same time period in 2020, the number has risen to 80 tons.
Germany’s federal government, however, says that this increase is not due to an increased number of seriously ill people requesting prescriptions for medical cannabis. Medical cannabis in Germany is covered under statutory insurance.
It is time to take political action against the massive increase of imported cannabis, and prescriptions made online by doctors without any contact with patients. said Nina Warken is the Federal Minister for Health.
The changes will mandate that a doctor and patient meet face-to-face, in a doctor’s clinic or on a home visit, before prescribing any medical cannabis. A face-to-face consult will also be required for all follow-up prescriptions.
Also, mail-ordered medicines will be prohibited. The reason given for this (translated): “… there are comprehensive information and consultation obligations that must be provided during a personal consultation at the pharmacy.” The pharmacy’s delivery service will not be affected.
Cannabis will be available to patients for legitimate medical purposes, the Government assures.
In that regard, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices in Germany (BfArM), which was established earlier this year. reportedly said The country has temporarily suspended new import licenses because it believes that the estimated demand of medical cannabis for 2025 is already met. The 122-ton import limit for this year gives an indication of the amount of cannabis imported in the past 20 years.
There isn’t a ban on imports per se, but the time it takes to process import applications may be increased. The temporary suspension is not known for how long, since the quotas for 2025 could be changed.