What will election outcome mean for Germany's cannabis industry?

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz’s election victory in Germany could result in a potential slowdown or reversal of the European Union nation’s recent cannabis reform as his party has previously opposed legalization efforts.Merz has said the new policies, which allow adults to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis and grow three plants per household, have led to an increase in drug-related crime.

ADVERTISEMENT But Niklas Kouparanis, co-founder and CEO of Frankfurt-based Bloomwell Group, said that while a different outcome would have provided more stability for the cannabis industry, Merz, who aims to lead as chancellor, and current Chancellor Olaf Scholz have said forming a government is urgent.Merz’s win likely will result in a coalition between his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the defeated, left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD).

The new government is expected to be in place by Easter, the Associated Press reported.“Under these circumstances, reverting cannabis’s reclassification as a non-narcotic would be a massive undertaking that even conservative politicians would not have time to implement,” Kouparanis said in a statement.

“In order for millions of patients in Germany to benefit from low-threshold digital access to cannabis therapy in the future, the entire industry must now pull together and, above all, appeal to our ‘economic chancellor’ Friedrich Merz to promote digital innovation in the healthcare system, not to prevent it.” ADVERTISEMENT Medical cannabis has been allowed in Germany since 2017 under a restrictive model that resulted in a modest number of patients.But a new German law that took effect last April 1 removed cannabis from the nation’s narcotics list, making it easier for patients to get a prescription for medical marijuana, which must be sold through licensed pharmacies.

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