Financial Times: Germany’s Cannabis Imports Surge Sixfold, Regulatory Pressure Mounts

Over the past two years, legal cannabis imports in Germany have skyrocketed to 50,539 kg in the first quarter of 2026. According to data from the Federal Health Institute, that’s six times the level from when the country’s Cannabis Act came into force, reshaping European drug policy.

That law, often described as the most liberal legal approach to cannabis on the continent, took effect on April 1, 2024, and made legal limited personal possession of cannabis, cultivation at home, as well as non-profit social clubs for adults aged 18 and older.

The policy change made under the left-wing government led by then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz sought to curb the illicit market while advancing public health objectives. At the time, key concerns included possible misuse of the medical cannabis system, the normalization of cannabis consumption and the growing influence of the cannabis industry.

Nowadays, a study carried out recently by the University of Hamburg revealed that over 200 tonnes of cannabis were available in Germany in 2025, out of which domestically produced cannabis accounted for 2.6 tonnes.

According to Jakob Manthey, the researcher who spearheaded the two-year evaluation that showed cannabis-related hospitalizations have increased partially due to increasingly potent products, clearer THC labeling is needed as well as better matching of potency to medical indications. He added cannabis producers are exploiting “regulatory gaps and market products that are not evidence-based at all.”

Concerns over high-THC products, paired with growth in medical imports, have resulted in political pressure for tighter medical-cannabis rules, writes Financial Times’ Aysun Bora.

A draft bill submitted by the country’s health ministry that seeks to strengthen regulations on medical cannabis to curb non-medical misuse is up for parliamentary debate this autumn. This could pose a regulatory risk for companies exposed to Germany, as critics pile in.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU is pushing back against aspects of liberalization. Alexander Dobrindt, CSU interior minister, emphasized that the Cannabis Act has weakened prevention and enforcement.

That said, the results from the evaluation by the Hamburg researchers showed the situation is not that dramatic. “The illegal market is shrinking although overall consumption has barely changed,” Manthey said.

Long-term expectations are that the market in Germany will exceed 600 tonnes imported annually as capacity and access expand. Arthur de Cordova, CEO of Ziel, which provides microbial decontamination technology to supply the German medical cannabis market, told Marijuana Business Daily in an interview, “Imports will keep rising, domestic production will remain minimal, and the market will keep rewarding predictable, scalable supply.”