Germany’s cannabis market is preparing for change with deals, courts and coalition splits

It’s now five months since the German Federal Cabinet adopted draft amendments to its pivotal Medizinal-Cannabisgesetzes (MedCanG) bill, and its finalisation is expected in the coming weeks. 

Germany’s medical marijuana market has experienced a growth rate that surprised its most ardent supporters. Imports tripled just in 2025, investors poured in and North American operators scrambled for a foothold. 

These proposed amendments that target mail-order deliveries, foreign prescriptions and advertising, as well as online prescriptions threaten to change the environment that has driven this growth. Who you ask will determine whether the outcome is better for the patients or the industry.

Coalition government is divided on what measures and how much to implement. The SPD and Greens are pushing hard to stop the most restrictive parts of the Bill. It is expected that the final law will look much different from what Nina Warken initially proposed.

Cansativa believes that a tightening of regulations is best for the cannabis industry. 

Jakob Sons told how he co-founded Cansativa along with his brother Benedikt. MEDCAN24: Infrastructure providers who are focused on compliance will benefit from regulatory tightening. “Higher enforcement standards strengthen competition and increase barriers of entry.”

The Bill and its fault Lines

The draft amendment, adopted by the Federal Cabinet in October 2025, was framed as a corrective to what Health Minister Warken has described as ‘clear abuse’ of the framework. 

In order to make this assessment, it is assumed that the number of prescriptions issued by statutory health insurers has only moderately increased in comparison with medical cannabis imported into Germany. This leads the government to conclude that patients who pay for themselves are using online services like prescriptions in order obtain cannabis medically. 

The proposed amendments aimed to rectify the dynamic by requiring a consultation between a doctor and a patient in person before any cannabis prescription could be issued. It also sought imposing stricter advertising regulations, as well as banning mail-order deliveries of cannabis flowers from pharmacies. Bundesrat had proposed that pharmacies refuse to accept prescriptions from EU countries. This was rejected by federal authorities on EU law grounds.

After the first reading of the bill in the Bundestag, in December 2018, a public hearing with experts was held in the Health Committee. Although no decision was made at the hearing, there was consensus among the experts that the main issue is the loosely-regulated telemedicine platforms which are prone to aggressive advertisement. 

Advertising is being tested by the courts. The Frankfurt Regional Court issued an injunction to Bloomwell’s telemedicine platform, which prohibited it from promoting medical cannabis with celebrity endorsements including German rapper Sido. It also banned the company from providing free prescriptions for purchase incentives. 

Unresolved is a larger case that was filed before the Federal Court of Justice to determine whether Bloomwell’s whole model violates advertising laws for prescription drugs.

Jakob Sons said: “Telemedicine platform enabled competitive bidding between manufacturers who sought listing visibility. This led to a short-term compression of prices. This dynamic caused a short-term price compression, but did not cause structural weakness in demand. We expect that equilibrium will be restored as regulatory tightening proceeds.”

Fault-lines seem to be hardening as the debate over proposals continues in parliament. CDU/CSU need SPD support in order to pass the legislation, but this support is not forthcoming. 

SPD health policy expert Serdar Yüksel has warned that restricting telemedicine access ‘will particularly affect people who cannot find an experienced doctor locally,’ pointing out that many general practitioners have limited experience with cannabis, leaving specialist practices, often operating nationally via telemedicine, as the primary point of care for many patients. 

Matthias Mieves said: “I’m not sure that an outright ban on medical cannabis mail order sales is the correct approach.” 

Meanwhile, the Greens have called for a ‘standardised online prescribing system’ rather than prohibition, and have separately cited an expert opinion concluding that an outright ban on online prescribing violates EU law.

There are internal differences within CDU/CSU. Simone Borchardt, the spokesperson for health, confirmed this. She said that CDU/CSU is exploring ways to compromise with their coalition partner.

The proposals are unlikely to become law, even if they were made with significant concessions. Video consultations are still allowed if medically justified, but the emerging consensus is that they should be mandatory for first prescriptions. Tighter standards of documentation and advertising will also apply. Both the full ban on telemedicine and the ban on mail order are unlikely to come forward with any similarity to the original proposals.  

Jakob: “We are expecting stronger enforcement of the rules governing prescription medicine advertising, prescription integrity and telemedicine. Germany has strict laws on pharmaceutical advertising and the treatment of medical cannabis within this framework will become more consistent. It is obvious which direction to go in. The direction of travel is clear.

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What is the impact on the sector?

Cansativa co-founders remain confident about the direction the market will go and the time it will take.

Jakob added, “For investors the clarity of regulation reduces volatility.” “A system centered around the pharmacy with standards that are enforceable creates long-term stability.” 

Cansativa believes that stability is the prerequisite for Germany to reach its potential. As Benedikt Sons set out in the first part of our interview, the company estimates Germany’s long-term annual market potential at approximately €8bn, with the broader European opportunity exceeding €20 billion. 

To reach that level, he says, it is necessary to make parallel structural adjustments. “Physician Education must Continue, Reimbursement Pathways should Expand, and Regulatory Clarity Must Stay Consistent,” He Said. 

Cross-border European Harmonisation will accelerate the growth. The realistic timeframe for reaching this scale would be four to seven-years, as long as regulatory stability and continued consolidation are maintained.

This projection is important because it reflects both the domestic demand and Germany’s position as Europe’s main distribution hub. Europe is early in the adoption curve, and medical cannabis  represents one of the most significant emerging healthcare segments on the continent.”

The recent wave of M&A activity suggests the market is already organising itself around that thesis without waiting for legislative certainty. It is important to note that Cansativa’s thesis would be more accurate if a less restrictive legislative result was achieved than what Warken initially proposed.

Jakob Sons thinks that no matter what happens in the legislature, the way forward is obvious. 

Germany has integrated medical cannabis into its pharmaceutical system since the beginning. Infrastructure must grow along with access. The markets that are primarily driven by arbitrage in digital channels tend to be volatile. The markets anchored by healthcare compliance are stable.”

In the next few weeks, we can expect to see second and third Bundestag votes. The industry has already begun to look ahead at the next stage of the market, regardless of what happens.

It’s now five months since the German Federal Cabinet adopted draft amendments to its pivotal Medizinal-Cannabisgesetzes (MedCanG) bill, and its finalisation is expected in the coming weeks. 

Germany’s medical marijuana market has experienced a growth rate that surprised its most ardent supporters. Investment has flowed into the market, imports have nearly tripled, and North American operators are scrambling to gain a foothold on what is Europe’s biggest regulated cannabis market. 

These proposed amendments that target mail-order deliveries, foreign prescriptions and advertising, as well as online prescriptions threaten to change the environment that has driven this growth. Who you ask will determine whether the outcome is better for the patients or the industry.

Coalition government is divided on what measures and how much to implement. The SPD and Greens are pushing hard to stop the most restrictive parts of the Bill. It is expected that the final law will look much different from what Nina Warken initially proposed.

Cansativa is one of Europe’s biggest pharmaceutical cannabis distributors. A regulatory crackdown will benefit the industry long-term. 

Jakob Sons told how he co-founded Cansativa along with his brother Benedikt. MEDCAN24: Infrastructure providers who are focused on compliance will benefit from regulatory tightening. “Higher enforcement standards strengthen competition and increase barriers of entry.”

The Bill and its fault Lines

The draft amendment, adopted by the Federal Cabinet in October 2025, was framed as a corrective to what Health Minister Warken has described as ‘clear abuse’ of the framework. 

In order to make this assessment, it is assumed that the number of prescriptions issued by statutory health insurers has only moderately increased in comparison with medical cannabis imported into Germany. This leads the government to conclude that patients who pay for themselves are using online services like prescriptions in order obtain cannabis medically. 

In order to correct this, proposed amendments included a requirement for a mandatory consultation in person between the doctor and patient prior to any prescription being issued. They also prohibited pharmacies from delivering cannabis flowers by mail and introduced stricter restrictions on advertising. Bundesrat had proposed that pharmacies refuse to accept prescriptions from EU countries. This was rejected by federal authorities on EU law grounds.

In December the bill was read for the first time in the Bundestag. A public hearing of experts in the Health Committee followed in January. Although no decision was made at the hearing, there was consensus among the experts that the main issue is the loosely-regulated telemedicine platforms which are prone to aggressive advertisement. 

Advertising is being tested by the courts. Frankfurt Regional Court in January granted an order against the telemedicine platform Bloomwell to prevent it from using celebrity endorsers such as German rapper Sido to promote medical marijuana and offering free prescriptions for purchase incentives. 

Unresolved is a larger case that was filed before the Federal Court of Justice to determine whether Bloomwell’s whole model violates advertising laws for prescription drugs.

Jakob Sons said: “Telemedicine platform enabled competitive bidding between manufacturers who sought listing visibility. This led to a short-term compression of prices. This dynamic caused a short-term price compression, but did not cause structural weakness in demand. We expect that equilibrium will be restored as regulatory tightening proceeds.”

Fault-lines seem to be hardening as the debate over proposals continues in parliament. CDU/CSU need SPD support in order to pass the legislation, but this support is not forthcoming. 

SPD health policy expert Serdar Yüksel has warned that restricting telemedicine access ‘will particularly affect people who cannot find an experienced doctor locally,’ pointing out that many general practitioners have limited experience with cannabis, leaving specialist practices, often operating nationally via telemedicine, as the primary point of care for many patients. 

Matthias Mieves said: “I’m not sure that an outright ban on medical cannabis mail order sales is the correct approach.” 

Meanwhile, the Greens have called for a ‘standardised online prescribing system’ rather than prohibition, and have separately cited an expert opinion concluding that an outright ban on online prescribing violates EU law.

There are internal differences within CDU/CSU. Simone Borchardt, the spokesperson for health, confirmed this. She said that CDU/CSU is exploring ways to compromise with their coalition partner.

The proposals are unlikely to become law, even if they were made with significant concessions. Video consultations are still allowed if medically justified, but the emerging consensus is that they should be mandatory for first prescriptions. Tighter standards of documentation and advertising will also apply. It is unlikely that the initial proposals for a ban on full-scale telemedicine or mail-order will be implemented in any way similar to what they were.  

Jakob stated, “We expect stronger enforcement of the rules governing prescription integrity and advertising for prescription drugs. Germany has strict laws on pharmaceutical advertising and the treatment of medical cannabis within this framework will become more consistent. It is obvious which direction to go in. “Physician oversight will be strengthened, pharmacy dispensing remains central and digital steering devices that are loosely regulated will face greater scrutiny.”

READ MORE…

What is the impact on the sector?

Cansativa co-founders remain confident about the direction the market will go and the time it will take.

Jakob added, “For investors the clarity of regulation reduces volatility.” A pharmacy-centered system that has enforceable standards will create long-term stability. 

Cansativa believes stability is key to Germany reaching its full potential. As Benedikt Sons set out in the first part of our interview, the company estimates Germany’s long-term annual market potential at approximately €8bn, with the broader European opportunity exceeding €20 billion. 

To reach that level, he says, it is necessary to make parallel structural adjustments. He said that “physician training must be continued, reimbursement paths should expand and regulatory clarity needs to remain consistent.” 

Cross-border European harmonization will accelerate the growth. The realistic timeframe for achieving this scale would be four to seven-years, as long as regulatory stability and continued consolidation are maintained.

This projection is important because it reflects both the domestic demand and Germany’s position as Europe’s main distribution hub. Europe is early in the adoption curve, and medical cannabis  represents one of the most significant emerging healthcare segments on the continent.”

The recent wave of M&A activity suggests the market is already organising itself around that thesis without waiting for legislative certainty. It is important to note that Cansativa’s thesis would be more accurate if a less restrictive legislative result was achieved than what Warken initially proposed.

Jakob Sons thinks that no matter what happens in the legislature, the way forward is obvious. 

Germany has integrated medical cannabis into its pharmaceutical system since the beginning. Infrastructure must grow along with access. The markets that are primarily driven by arbitrage in digital channels tend to be volatile. The markets anchored by healthcare compliance are stable.”

In the next few weeks, we can expect to see second and third Bundestag votes. Whatever the outcome, industry leaders are already anticipating the next market phase.

Cannabis Law Resources for Poland

Discover essential legal information about the cultivation of cannabis, its sale, and regulations governing medical products in Poland. You can use these resources to learn about the requirements for certifications, permissions and compliance.

• 
  Polish News Registration and Interests of Cannabis Businesses
  
• 
  Permissions for Cannabis Sales in Poland
  
• 
  Authorization for Importing or Manufacturing Medical Products
  
• 
  Permission for Manufacturing or Importing Medical Products
  
• 
  Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
  
• 
  Registration of Medical Products in Poland