5 years of legalized medical cannabis in Germany: what has been achieved?

Five years ago, the Bundestag paved the way for prescription cannabis in Germany. Since then, doctors have been able to prescribe medical cannabis to patients suffering from serious illnesses and in the absence of any alternative therapy.

According to the latest estimates, some 100,000 patients are currently being treated with cannabis, 100 times more than before legalization, when 1,000 patients had an exemption from the Narcotic Control Act that allowed them to benefit from access to cannabis. Dutch medical cannabis.

The German system

With the changes made in march 2017 in accordance with the law on narcotics (BtMG) and the ordinance on the prescription of narcotics (BtMVV), cannabis flowers and extracts, as well as pharmaceutical preparations such as dronabinol, can be prescribed on a prescription dedicated to narcotics. at health insurance expense.

Patients with serious illnesses are entitled to medical cannabis. Doctors must obtain approval from the health insurance fund before starting treatment, which can only be refused in justified exceptional cases. Patients are entitled to a maximum of 100g of flowers for 30 days, or 1g of pure THC extract.

The country obtains its supplies almost exclusively from abroad. national production licenses who took their time to be awarded. Cannabis imports have thus risen from 75% between 2020 and 2021 to around 30 tonnes a year, mixing flowers and extracts.

Constraints to overcome

The German market is now Europe's largest medical cannabis market, while France awaits. In the space of 5 years, the range of medical cannabis on offer has expanded: there are now some 150 varieties and 60 different extracts available on the German market. In addition to the supply difficulties that on the import of non-negligible quantities of narcotics, patients still have difficulty accessing cannabis.

It's not always easy for doctors to manage medical cannabis. There is no single form of therapy for all patients, who require more individual follow-up. The training of healthcare professionals plays a key role in fine in the accessibility of medical cannabis. If German doctors have additional training in «special pain therapy» or are trained in «palliative medicine», they can now prescribe products more easily medical cannabis to their patients after a 20-hour training session and continuous learning.

Medical cannabis also weighs heavily on health insurance funds. Imported and often sold to pharmacies by wholesalers who drive up the final price of the drug, it is billed at nearly 3 times the price of medical cannabis in the Netherlands, This is a major financial burden for the health insurance companies that reimburse patients for the drug.

The future legalization of cannabis for adults in Germany open up access to medical cannabis or, on the contrary, create a shortage of available cannabis? See you in 5 years' time for the answer.