Last verified: April 2026
From Narcotics Act to Normal Medicine
Germany legalized medical cannabis on March 10, 2017, under the CDU health minister Hermann Gröhe — an ironic origin given that the CDU now leads efforts to restrict the program. The 2017 law allowed doctors to prescribe cannabis for any condition where conventional treatments had failed or were unsuitable, and required health insurers to cover costs in most cases.
The Cannabis Act (CanG) of April 2024 was the watershed. It moved cannabis from the Narcotics Act (Betäubungsmittelgesetz) to its own dedicated medical framework, the MedCanG (Medizinal-Cannabisgesetz). This change had three major practical effects:
- E-prescriptions: Cannabis prescriptions can now be issued electronically like any normal medication, eliminating the special narcotic prescription forms (BtM-Rezepte) that previously required physical pickup
- Telemedicine: Doctors can prescribe cannabis via video consultation, removing the requirement for in-person visits
- Simplified prescribing: Any licensed physician can prescribe cannabis without the previous restrictions that effectively limited prescribing to specialists
The Telemedicine Boom
The combination of e-prescriptions and telemedicine legality created a 1,100% surge in cannabis prescription platform usage. Two companies dominate:
- Bloomwell — Germany’s largest cannabis telemedicine platform, offering video consultations, prescription management, and pharmacy fulfillment. The streamlined process has made medical access dramatically more convenient. Bloomwell has further consolidated its market position by fully absorbing Algea Care, a former competitor that offered a similar telemedicine model (bloomwell.de).
Bloomwell's telemedicine platform has driven the patient growth from an estimated 200,000–300,000 pre-CanG to 800,000–1 million current patients. The ease of access is both the program’s greatest success and its greatest political vulnerability.
Supply, Price & Access
Germany imports the vast majority of its medical cannabis. In the most recent reporting period, 142 tonnes were imported, with the top sources being:
| Country | Volume (kg) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 66,237 | ~47% |
| Portugal | 42,076 | ~30% |
| Other countries | ~33,687 | ~23% |
The market now offers 720+ strains across a wide range of THC and CBD profiles. Average pharmacy prices have fallen from €8.33 to €5.23 per gram as volume has increased and competition has intensified.
Approximately 2,500 of Germany’s 17,000 pharmacies stock cannabis products. This is improving but remains a practical barrier, particularly in rural areas and in states where pharmacists are less willing to engage with cannabis.
Total market value is estimated at €670 million to over €1 billion, making Germany the largest medical cannabis market in Europe by a significant margin.
The CDU Crackdown Threat
The CDU, now the leading party in the federal coalition, has identified medical cannabis telemedicine as a target for restriction. CDU health policy spokesperson Mario Warken has pushed for:
- In-person mandate: Requiring at least the initial consultation to be face-to-face, which would eliminate the convenience advantage of Bloomwell
- Mail-order ban: Prohibiting pharmacies from shipping cannabis prescriptions, forcing patients to pick up in person
These proposals have generated significant patient opposition. A petition opposing the restrictions has gathered over 50,600 signatures as of early 2026. The argument from patients and advocates is straightforward: telemedicine access has brought hundreds of thousands of patients into the legal medical system who previously used the black market, and restricting access would push them back.
If you have a medical cannabis prescription from your home country, you may be able to bring your medication into Germany with proper documentation. See our travelers guide for the Schengen Certificate and multilingual certificate processes.
The Bottom Line
Germany’s medical cannabis program is the most successful in Europe, serving up to a million patients with an expanding supply chain and falling prices. The CanG reforms that enabled telemedicine and e-prescriptions were the catalyst for this growth. Whether the CDU succeeds in rolling back these reforms will determine whether the program continues to expand or contracts back toward its pre-2024 scale.
For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org
Related on this site: Traveling to Germany with Medical Can..., Send a Message, Contact Us.