Germany restricts access to medical cannabis to curb boom in online prescriptions

The German Federal Government approved a draft amendment to the law on medical cannabis. This measure, announced on October 8, 2025, is designed to curb what officials describe as the ’professionalized abuse« of telemedicine prescriptions and the dramatic increase in cannabis imports.

Since’Germany legalized recreational use in April 2024, cannabis imports have exploded. In the first half of 2025 alone, imports rose from around 19 tonnes to 80 tonnes, an increase of more than 400% compared to the same period last year. However, prescriptions via the compulsory health insurance system have increased by only a few percent, suggesting that most of this growth is coming from private buyers purchasing cannabis online.

« L’massive increase in cannabis imports and the practice of prescribing cannabis online without any personal medical contact require political action,» said the Minister of Health Nina Warken, who spearheaded the initiative. «People who really need medical cannabis will still be able to get it.»

End of online prescriptions and mail-order deliveries

Under the further modification, the cannabis prescriptions will now require a direct, face-to-face contact between doctor and patient, either in a clinic or during a home visit. The popular telemedicine model, in which patients fill in questionnaires online and receive prescriptions without ever seeing a doctor, will no longer be allowed for initial prescriptions.

The following requirements can still be delivered by telemedicine, but only if an in-person consultation has taken place in the previous four quarters. Patients will also be required to attend a new in-person appointment at least once a year.

Legislation also prohibits mail-order sales of cannabis. Distribution will now be limited to physical pharmacies, Pharmacists are required to provide appropriate advice on dosage, risks and potential interactions with other medications. Delivery services organized directly by pharmacies will remain authorized, but cannabis will no longer be able to be shipped by traditional postal services.

«Mail order sales of medical cannabis are excluded, as full information and consultation obligations must be met in the context of a personal consultation in a pharmacy,» explains the draft text.

The rise of telemedicine

The government's decision follows growing criticism of online platforms that allow users to fill in online forms listing vague symptoms - from «stress» to «migraine» - and obtain a prescription within minutes. The cannabis is then shipped directly to their homes by partner pharmacies.

Some companies frequently promoted cannabis products via promotional emails and social networks, offering «summer sales», «anniversary discounts» and «three free prescriptions to share with your friends». Critics have compared its marketing to that of an ordinary online store.

«There is in fact already a law against such marketing measures,» noted German media Die Zeit. «According to German drug advertising law, advertising prescription drugs is not allowed. That's why you won't see ads for «Ibuprofen at 50 % off today» or back-to-school sales on Ritalin.»

Others have also been accused of targeting a younger audience through humorous campaigns on TikTok and Instagram.

Negative industry reaction and patient concerns

The Bloomwell Group, one of the targeted players, strongly opposed the reform. The company claims that the new rules will harm patients who rely on digital access for legitimate treatment, and risk driving consumers into the illicit market.

In a recent survey of over 2,500 patients, Bloomwell found that 42% of them would be likely to return to the black market if digital access to medical cannabis were restricted.

«Respondents to the latest survey once again expressed strong concerns about illegal products,» said Dr Julian Wichmann, co-founder and CEO of Bloomwell. «However, the majority said that if digital access were restricted, as some politicians are currently proposing, they would have no choice but to get their cannabis from illicit sources. Ironically, the abuse allegations relate to prescription drugs, for which limiting digital access would only have negative consequences for patients, the economy, the justice system, the state and public health.»

For rural areas, With specialized pharmacies in short supply, the situation could indeed become difficult. Of the 17,000 pharmacies in Germany, only 2 500 à 3 000 currently offer medical cannabis, most of them in cities.

«The main impact will be on patients in rural areas who may not have access to adequate care locally,» said a spokesperson for Jiroo, a Berlin pharmacy specializing in cannabis.

Balancing access and regulation

The government insists that its aim is not to restrict legitimate medical use, but to close a loophole that allowed non-medical consumers to bypass the still limited legal market.

Under the cannabis law, possession and personal cultivation have been legal since April 2024, and cannabis clubs have been authorized since July. The second phase of legalization, which authorizes retail sales in certain pilot regions, has not yet been implemented, creating a gap between supply and demand.

According to the government, this vacuum has encouraged online entrepreneurs to exploit ambiguities in the law. «Although cannabis consumption has been legal in Germany since April 1, 2024, there is virtually no legal source of supply,» writes Die Zeit. «This creates a vacuum that ingenious entrepreneurs exploit.»

The Federal Institute German pharmaceuticals and medical devices (BfArM) has confirmed that the current national medical cannabis quota of 122 tonnes has already been reached for 2025, and that no new import permits will be issued. In the first quarter alone, Canada supplied around half of the 37,000 kilograms of medical cannabis flowers sold in Canada. cannabis imported from Germany, followed by Portugal and Denmark.

A turning point in Germany's experience with cannabis

This amendment marks a new phase in the evolution of Germany's cannabis regulatory framework, an attempt to stabilize a system that has developed more rapidly than policymakers had anticipated. Although the reform has yet to be approved by the Bundestag, It signals a clear intention to tighten controls on the prescription and distribution of medical cannabis.

«Medical cannabis is a prescription medicine, not a purely recreational product,» stressed the Minister of Health, Nina Warken. «The use of cannabis for medical purposes must be regularly clarified in a personal consultation between doctor and patient. We will prohibit the professional abuse of prescriptions via the Internet.»

For now, the reform appears to be an effort to redress the balance in a rapidly evolving market, where the boundaries between legal, medical and recreational remain blurred, and regulation struggles to keep pace with innovation in a partial legalization that is already reaching its limits.