A top German official has signed off on a plan to allow for research-focused commercial marijuana pilot programs to test legal and regulated access to cannabis for consumers—the latest iteration of the country’s legalization law.
Months after Germany’s law took effect providing for legal possession and home cultivation of cannabis by adults, as well as social clubs where people could access marijuana products, Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir approved rules on Tuesday to expand the program.
This is not quite the second “pillar” of the legalization law that the government had pledged was coming, but it will make it so universities and private companies can apply for permits to participate in commercial marijuana sales, with mandates to study the impact of the policy change.
“Applicants must meet the criteria specified in the Consumer Cannabis Act, demonstrate the required expertise and demonstrate an interest in research. Not only universities, but also companies can submit research applications,” the ministry said in a press release, according to a translation. “Research can help to effectively curb the black market, expand health prevention and make the debate more objective.”
Industry stakeholders have expressed some concern about the fate of German’s cannabis laws ahead of an election that’s set to take place in late February. Members of conservative parties have indicated that they may seek to scale back or even repeal legalization if they reclaim a majority, which analysts predict may likely be the case.
But with the minister’s signing of the new research-focused rules, the stage is set to build upon the country’s reform.
Green MP Kirsten Kappert-Gonther called the development an “important step towards more knowledge about health and youth protection and to curb the black market.” However, she advised that the research-centered pilot program “cannot and will not replace” the coalition government’s second pillar of legalization that envisages broader commercial access to cannabis.
Carmen Wegge of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) said she’s “very pleased that we are now taking a step forward here.”
“The model projects are an important part of fighting organized crime and promoting the health of consumers,” the lawmaker said.
It became legal in Germany in April for adults to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use, but until last month, there was no other legal means of obtaining the substance. That changed when German officials began approving marijuana social clubs, which cultivate cannabis on behalf of enrolled members.
Meanwhile, the city of Frankfurt recently announced plans to move forward with a five-year pilot program that would make cannabis products available to adults more broadly, with the city of Hanford also pursuing a similar plan. A number of other localities have also expressed interest in conducting cannabis sales pilot projects.
Omar Khan, chief communications and public affairs officer at the Canadian cannabis company High Tide, told Marijuana Moment that the business has “closely monitored German legislative and regulatory developments since 2022.”
“As such, we have been preparing to participate in these consumer research projects and have recruited prominent academics to develop a proposal focusing on consumer behavior,” he said. “These research projects form just one pillar of a broader plan we have been working on to bring High Tide and our Canna Cabana brand to Germany, and we look forward to sharing further details soon.”
Meanwhile, German officials recently convened a multi-national conference where leaders were invited to share their experiences with legalizing and regulating marijuana, with a focus on public health and mitigating the illicit market.
Representatives from Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Switzerland were invited by German Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues Burkhard Blienert to the meeting in Berlin last month.
The countries that participated in the ministerial have varying cannabis policies. Malta, for example, became the first European country to enact cannabis legalization in 2021. Luxembourg followed suit, with the reform officially taking effect last year.
Government officials from several countries, including the U.S., also met in Germany last year to discuss international marijuana policy issues as the host nation works to enact legalization.
A group of German lawmakers, as well as Blienert, separately visited the U.S. and toured California cannabis businesses in 2022 to inform their country’s approach to legalization.
The visit came after top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held their first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization in 2022.
A novel international survey released in 2022 found majority support for legalization in several key European countries, including Germany.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) drug control body recently reiterated that it considers legalizing marijuana for non-medical or scientific purposes a violation of international treaties, though it also said it appreciates that Germany’s government scaled back its cannabis plan ahead of the vote.
A top German official has signed off on a plan to allow for research-focused commercial marijuana pilot programs to test legal and regulated access to cannabis for consumers—the latest iteration of the country’s legalization law. Months after Germany’s law took effect providing for legal possession and home cultivation of cannabis by adults, as well as Read More
