Country hub · Updated 11 September 2026
Legal for adults since 1 April 2024. Europe’s largest medical cannabis market.
The law, the legislation still moving through the Bundestag, the market in public numbers, and every story from our Germany desk.
Yes — for adults, within limits, and without shops. Germany’s 2024 reform split cannabis law into two acts: the KCanG for adult possession and cultivation, and the MedCanG for patients. Here is what each allows.
Adults · KCanG
Since 1 April 2024 the Cannabis Act (KCanG) allows adults aged 18 and over to possess cannabis for personal use, subject to public and at-home limits, and to grow a small number of plants at home. Consumption is restricted near schools, playgrounds and sports facilities and in pedestrian zones during the day.
There is no legal commercial retail: supply is limited to home cultivation and cultivation associations.
Adults · Cultivation associations
From 1 July 2024, licensed non-profit cultivation associations (Anbauvereinigungen) may grow and distribute cannabis to their members under monthly quantity caps, with stricter limits for 18- to 20-year-olds. Membership requires residence in Germany, so visitors cannot join.
Patients · MedCanG
The Medical Cannabis Act (MedCanG, 1 April 2024) removed medical cannabis from the narcotics list. Any licensed physician can prescribe it on a standard prescription, and BfArM authorises production under pharmaceutical standards rather than tenders. E-prescriptions opened the door to telemedicine platforms, which drove the surge in prescriptions through 2025.
A federal amendment tightening telemedicine and mail-order supply has been moving through the Bundestag since late 2025 — see the timeline.
From the first prescriptions in 2017 to the medical cannabis amendment. Select a step for the detail.
March 2017
Completed
Record as of 11 September 2026
Germany allows doctors to prescribe cannabis flower and extracts, with statutory health insurance reimbursement in defined cases.
1 April 2024
Completed
Record as of 11 September 2026
Adult possession and home cultivation legalised; medical cannabis reclassified from narcotic to standard prescription medicine.
1 July 2024
Completed
Record as of 11 September 2026
Non-profit cannabis clubs may apply for licences and begin supplying members under quantity caps.
July 2025
Completed
Record as of 11 September 2026
The federal health ministry proposes tightening medical access: in-person first consultations, limits on telemedicine follow-ups, restrictions on mail-order flower and no EU/EEA prescriptions.
8 October 2025
Completed
Record as of 11 September 2026
The federal cabinet approves the draft bill and sends it to parliament. The Bundesrat separately recommends changes to pharmacy pricing rules (AMPreisV).
18 December 2025
Completed
Record as of 11 September 2026
The bill has its first reading in the Bundestag and is referred to the health committee in January 2026.
2026
Now · next step
Record as of 11 September 2026
Committee scrutiny and final votes are expected during 2026. Business of Cannabis tracks each step in the feed below.
Public BfArM import data, plus the one forecast from our 2026 market report · updated 11 September 2026
205 t
imported in 2025, 2.8 times the 72.8 t of 2024.
2024: 72,850 kg · 2025: 205,241 kg. Source: BfArM.Canada
supplied 46% of Germany’s medical cannabis imports; Portugal was second with 27%.
≈ €1.15bn
Germany's medical cannabis market is projected to approach €1.15 billion in 2026 (central case).
Source: German Cannabis Market Report 2026, Prohibition Partners & Business of Cannabis.Prices, product counts, distributor benchmarks and 2026–2030 scenarios for Europe's largest medical cannabis market. 17-page PDF plus an 11-sheet Excel dataset.
Status as of 25 September 2026
Yes, for adults. Since 1 April 2024 the Cannabis Act (KCanG) allows people aged 18 and over to possess cannabis for personal use within set limits and to grow a small number of plants at home. Cannabis for adults is supplied through home cultivation and licensed non-profit cultivation associations; there are no legal commercial shops. Consumption is banned near schools, playgrounds and sports facilities and in pedestrian zones during the day.
Possession within the legal limits applies to any adult in Germany, including visitors. Buying is the constraint: cultivation associations may only supply members who have lived in Germany for at least six months, and there is no retail market, so tourists have no legal way to purchase cannabis. Bringing cannabis across the border remains illegal.
No. The government's original plan included a second pillar of licensed commercial sales in regional pilot projects, but it has not been implemented. Legal supply for adults is limited to home cultivation and cultivation associations. Medical cannabis is dispensed by pharmacies on prescription.
The Medical Cannabis Act (Medizinal-Cannabisgesetz), in force since 1 April 2024. It removed medical cannabis from Germany's narcotics list so that any licensed physician can prescribe it on a standard prescription, replaced the production tender system with BfArM authorisation under pharmaceutical standards, and enabled e-prescriptions. It is the reform that turned Germany into Europe's largest medical cannabis market.
The draft amendment adopted by the federal cabinet on 8 October 2025 would require an in-person consultation before a first prescription, limit telemedicine follow-ups, restrict mail-order supply of cannabis flower and stop prescriptions issued elsewhere in the EU/EEA being filled in Germany. It had its first Bundestag reading on 18 December 2025 and was referred to committee in January 2026; further readings are expected in 2026.
Public BfArM data shows imports of medical cannabis reached 205,241 kg in 2025, up from 72,850 kg in 2024, with Canada and Portugal the largest sources. Germany's medical cannabis market is projected to approach €1.15 billion in 2026 (central case), according to the German Cannabis Market Report 2026 by Prohibition Partners and Business of Cannabis.
