German medicinal cannabis companies have expressed support for proposed regulatory reforms they say would give local producers fair footing against international competitors.
Under the planned changes, the tender process that restricts domestic cultivation to only three companies would be scrapped, and the cap on how much cannabis can be grown domestically would be lifted entirely.
Dr Constantin von der Groeben is the co-founder and managing director of Demecan, one of the three companies currently holding a cultivation licence in Germany.
He told the Business of Cannabis that the reforms would hand domestic producers a meaningful advantage.
"We are now free to cultivate as much cannabis as we want and can choose the strains we want to grow," he said.
"Finally there will be a level playing field and German cultivators can compete properly with importers. Given our lower production costs and easy logistics, we will hopefully see a boom in medical cultivation in Germany."
He noted that the three existing licence holders — Demecan, Aurora and Tilray — would "probably" gain the most from the shift, given the advantage that comes with being established early in the market.
Cannabis lawyer Kai-Friedrich Niermann said in an interview that the reform could carry broad and difficult-to-predict consequences for the industry.
"Now, any [German] company should be able to apply for the cultivation of medicinal cannabis, without restrictions on the quantity and type of products.
"The only requirement is that the production is carried out according to the known pharmaceutical principles (GACP, GMP, German monograph for cannabis flowers).
"The consequences of this development for domestic importers and their import quotas, for the number of new cultivation licences in Germany itself, and ultimately for the global market, cannot be foreseen today."
Germany has long been a priority export destination for Australian and New Zealand cannabis companies looking to grow their international presence.
The proposed changes emerged after local media reported that Germany's coalition government had reached agreement on several amendments to upcoming cannabis legislation.
According to unofficial reports, the proposals will now be enacted in two parts, with decriminalisation of adult use and home grow allowed from March/April 2024, and the rollout of cultivation associations following in July.
Adjustments to exclusion zones and possession limits have also been reported as part of the package.
