Cannabis to give German future coalition a headache

Germany’s coalition talks may get tense as the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats discuss the controversial country’s cannabis law, which the SPD passed last year. 

After their first post-election meeting, Merz expressed confidence in forming a stable government with the SPD as the talks took place in a “very good and constructive atmosphere.”

But that mood may not last. The SPD considers the law one of its major achievements, fulfilling an election promise, while the CDU has opposed legalisation from the start.

The SPD-led traffic light coalition with the Greens and FDP pushed the Cannabis Act through in April 2024. The law, which decriminalised cannabis, followed similar moves in Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, and Malta.

Merz, when asked by Tagesschau after a pre-election debate whether Bubatz, the German term for marijuana, would remain legal, said his party wanted to “fix” the legalisation.

His party’s manifesto went further, branding legalisation a “failure” and vowing to repeal it.

The SPD, however, has remained committed to reform, even calling for further legalisation in line with European law in its manifesto.

When contacted by Euractiv, the Social Democrats referred to their manifesto, noting they were in confidential, exploratory talks with the Christian Democrats.

Before the exploratory talks, Tino Sorge, health policy spokesperson for the CDU parliamentary group, called the Act a “dangerous mistake” in Deutsches Ärzteblatt and said it “must be reversed.”

He added, however, the coalition negotiations would determine what that actually looks like.

Given these positions, and the economic stakes involved, a compromise in the coalition agreement appears the most likely outcome.

Industry stays high on optimism 

The cannabis industry sees little likelihood of a full reversal and hopes to bank on Merz’s economic “We don’t expect any major changes to our country’s medical cannabis market,” Niklas Kouparanis, CEO of the Bloomwell Group, Europe’s leading medical cannabis company and Germany’s largest telemedicine platform, told Euractiv.

Reclassifying and relabelling cannabis as a narcotic, he argued, would be a major undertaking that would take too long to implement.

Instead, he expects smaller rollbacks – such as tightening rules on licensed, non-profit cannabis clubs and home growing especially regarding maximum possession.

Thorsten Frei, deputy chairman of the centre-right bloc’s group and participant in the coalition talks, admitted last week that other national and geopolitical issues currently take precedence.

Plant power with economic impact 

From the Bloomwell CEO’s point of view, the SPD has put a lot of effort into the law, turning Germany into the most exciting and promising medical cannabis market in the world.

If the new government agrees to “revoke the Cannabis Act and limit the medical market, the SPD would break its election promise and lose credibility.”

It could also expose the government to legal challenge. By mid-November 2024, 392 clubs in Germany had applied for a licence to operate as ‘cannabis social clubs’, but only one in eight has been approved so far, according to the German broadcaster ZDF.

Kouparanis said he is sure that the already licensed cannabis clubs will claim damages from the German government if the Cannabis Act is repealed.

And then there’s the money. “Government leaders must also consider the promising economic impact that Germany’s cannabis industry is having,” he said.

Sales of cannabinoid-based medicines (CBD) covered by statutory health insurance have more than doubled in the last three years to over €185 million – with further promising growth potential, according to Kouparanis.

According to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), imports quadrupled by 2024 – from 8.1 tonnes in the first quarter to 31.7 tonnes in the fourth quarter.

The CDU’s “economy first” approach could influence healthcare policy under a Merz-led government, with a state-led but economically pragmatic strategy, Lutz Dommel, CEO of RPP Group, told Euractiv last week.

The SPD will have limited influence as a weaker coalition partner than Merz’s Christian Democrats, he added.

“The entire industry must now pull together and, above all, appeal to our ‘economic chancellor’ Merz, to promote […] in the healthcare system, not to prevent it,” the Kouparanis also pointed out.

At the time of publication, the Christian Democrats and the European Commission did not respond to Euractiv’s request.