Germany: medical cannabis sales hit new highs in Q2 2019

According to the latest data from the German health insurance (GKV-Spitzenverband), medical cannabis sales continued to grow in the second quarter of 2019.

Medical cannabis reimbursements thus reached 29.6 million euros for the period April to June, up 201TP3Q on the previous quarter, according to calculations by MJBizDaily. Compared with the second quarter of 2018, this is growth of 74%.

The GKV-Spitzenverband data include all cannabis products, at the price at which they are sold in pharmacies, but only distinguish the amount of compulsory health insurance reimbursements. Nor do they take into account private prescriptions, which play an important role in Germany, particularly in the sale of flowers. According to of the latest report from Prohibition Partners on Germany, 95,000 prescriptions were written for medical cannabis in 2018.

Reimbursements break down as follows:

• 43% for dried flowers
• 23% for dronabinol (synthetic THC)
• 17% for flowers used in pharmaceutical preparations (oils)
• 3% for full-spectrum extracts
• 14% for pharmaceutical products (Sativex)

The 2500 kilos of imported dried flowers in the first 6 months of 2019 came from Canada and the Netherlands. The oils came from Australia and Portugal, with other products under analysis from Colombia and Uruguay.

The country has granted cannabis production licenses in Germany in May to three companies (Aurora, Aphria and Demecan), and the first harvests should reach the market in early 2021. However, they won't be enough to meet national demand: their contract calls for the production of 10 tonnes over 4 years, i.e. half of current cannabis imports.

Demecan recently secured a 7 million euro round of financing for its activities, from a VC and a family office.