Medical
Cannabis

In the area of cannabis cultivation, the constantly changing legal framework must be taken into account. This concerns both the area of medicinal cannabis and the cultivation of cannabis for recreational use. We are in close contact with political decision-makers as well as with the relevant authorities, who are responsible for deciding on cultivation and its requirements.

The environment for importers and wholesalers has changed continuously since the introduction of the Medical Cannabis Act in March 2017 and has undergone a significant reform since March 2024 with the Supply of Cannabis for Medical and Medical-Scientific Purposes Act. We offer comprehensive and strategically oriented advice in order to do adopt to these changes and to identify opportunities and possibilities for importers and wholesalers.

Since March 2017, testing laboratories have played an extremely important role in the quality assurance of medicinal cannabis. They are the link between importers and wholesalers on the one hand and patients on the other, and their results ensure consistently high medical quality through appropriate quality controls. Due to the Consumer Cannabis Act of March 2024, which allows the cultivation of cannabis for recreational use by cannabis cultivation associations/cooperatives, testing laboratories will continue to play an important role for recreational use of cannabis in the future. Our experts advise in particular on the changing framework conditions and the associated complex regulatory requirements.

Pharmacies are the interface between the prescribing doctor and the patients who need medicinal cannabis for their therapy. Here, too, the framework conditions have largely changed as a result of the amendments to the original Medical Cannabis Act of 2017. In addition, mail-order pharmacies are increasingly establishing themselves in order to supply patients accordingly. The narrow legal framework for pharmacies is therefore the focus of our advice.

In recent months, more and more online platforms have been established that bring together patients, doctors and pharmacies in the field of medicinal cannabis. A plethora of different legal standards collide here. This applies to the onboarding process for patients as well as online consultations and the implementation of financial flows for the payment of doctors' fees. The delivery of medical cannabis to the patient's doorstep must also comply with a number of framework conditions. In this area, our experts have extensive experience in the establishment of corresponding platforms and also advise in particular in the areas of drug advertising law and remuneration regulations for doctors.

The introduction of the Consumer Cannabis Act in March 2024 has created a new framework for home cultivation as well as cultivation by cannabis cultivation associations/cooperatives. This enables the many providers of equipment for cultivation, but also for securing, harvesting and quality testing of cannabis products, to offer a wide range of services and products to a broad circle of new market participants. Here, too, a number of framework conditions must be observed, which are also part of our consulting portfolio.

The Consumer Cannabis Act now allows so-called cannabis cultivation associations to grow cannabis for the personal consumption of their members (up to 500 members per association). This new form of community cultivation still needs to be precisely defined by the competent authorities. However, the inclusion of third-party providers for certain services is severely restricted by the law. Growers' associations must therefore find creative solutions as “non-profit organizations”, which our experts are happy to help identify. In particular, communication with the relevant authorities is an important part of our advice.