Although the tendering process has been delayed, the Cannabis Agency in Germany has made some significant changes to the new tender, including changing cannabis quantities, and requirements of the applicants. One of the major changes is the type of experience required to apply for domestic cultivation. But now, German applicants without experience are now allowed to partner with foreign companies that cultivate cannabis. Again, this can, and I predict will, benefit Canadian LP’s.
Germany’s “Cannabis as Medicine” law came into effect in March of 2017. Patients have been granted the right to be treated with marijuana “in very limited and exceptional cases”. People with Multiple Sclerosis and other severe illnesses are able to obtain the drug legally with a prescription. Doctors are able to prescribe it to patients that can have symptoms such as chronic pain, nausea, spasticity and more, treated by using cannabis.
The law however, does not give an exact definition of what a “severe illness” is, leaving it open to the treating physician to decide on whether cannabis can be used to treat a patient.
This fact could lead to a significant increase in medical marijuana patients if doctors become more accepting of its use to treat symptoms in a variety of illnesses. In Germany this could be significant, as Germans have already seemingly turned away from traditional pharmaceuticals, with over half the population using some form of homeopathic treatment instead. In addition, it has one of the world’s most liberal medical marijuana plans, distributed through pharmacies, and requiring public insurers to cover the costs of cannabis and related products, which is far more expensive to purchase than in Canada (more on that later). Have you ever walked into a podiatrist office? Ever been prescribed custom orthotics? First question that is asked is how much coverage do you have with insurance. $550, the standard I think. Well how much did my custom orthotics total, the few times that I’ve purchased them? Surprise … $550! Think of that in terms of cannabis coverage in Germany. Insurance coverage, perhaps, may be part of the reason for the higher average price per gram of cannabis in Germany, compared with what we see here in Canada.
This fact could lead to a significant increase in medical marijuana patients if doctors become more accepting of its use to treat symptoms in a variety of illnesses. In Germany this could be significant, as Germans have already seemingly turned away from traditional pharmaceuticals, with over half the population using some form of homeopathic treatment instead. In addition, it has one of the world’s most liberal medical marijuana plans, distributed through pharmacies, and requiring public insurers to cover the costs of cannabis and related products, which is far more expensive to purchase than in Canada (more on that later).
Have you ever walked into a podiatrist office? Ever been prescribed custom orthotics? First question that is asked is how much coverage do you have with insurance. $550, the standard I think. Well how much did my custom orthotics total, the few times that I’ve purchased them? Surprise … $550! Think of that in terms of cannabis coverage in Germany. Insurance coverage, perhaps, may be part of the reason for the higher average price per gram of cannabis in Germany, compared with what we see here in Canada.
Back when I originally wrote about this subject, Germany’s medical cannabis users
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