On September 26, 2021, the election to the 20th German Bundestag took place. Following several exploratory talks, the SPD, Greens, and FDP agreed to jointly form the government, creating the first "traffic light coalition" (Ampelkoalition), so named for the parties' colors, at the federal level.
On November 24, 2021, the SPD, Alliance 90/The Greens, and FDP agree on their coalition agreement for the 2021 to 2025 legislative period, titled "Dare More Progress". In it, the newly formed federal government announces the controlled distribution of cannabis for recreational use to adults.
Start of the consultation process with more than 200 experts in June 2022, led by the Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues.
The first Cornerstone Paper with key issues² is published by the German government in October 2022, there-by providing the basis for draft legislation.
Start of drafting the bill³ by federal ministries and commissioning of a medical-scientific expert report.
In April 2023, the German Federal Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach, and the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, presented revised key points, which provide for legalization in a so-called Two-pillar model: Pillar I: Private & communal, non-profit self-cultivation; an internal government draft on this was subsequently submitted to the other ministries at the end of April. Pillar II: Regional model projects with commercial supply chains; a draft bill on this is to be introduced after the parliamentary summer break 2023.
Publication of the medical-scientific expert report commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Health from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research in Hamburg: “The goal of legalization should be to create a legal supply for people who are currently using, without increasing the attractiveness of starting to use.”
In July 2023, the German Federal Constitutional Court decided that a punishable ban on cannabis is constitutional. The three local courts, which had previously deemed the almost 30-year-old ban no longer constitutional and had appealed to Germany’s highest court, had “not provided sufficient justification as to why it was necessary to deviate from the earlier constitutional court decision today”, the constitutional judges said. Therefore, the court had declared the submissions of the district courts inadmissible. As early as 1994, the Federal Constitutional Court had conceded that the damage to health from moderate cannabis consumption was to be regarded as rather slight; in this respect, the district courts had not presented anything new.
With regard to the first pillar, which provides for private and communal, non-profit self-cultivation, the draft bill³ (so-called “Referentenentwurf”) was presented in July 2023. The following cabinet draft was subsequently decided in mid-August 2023, which was then the start of the parliamentary procedure that includes hearings in the German Bundestag with internal & external experts. An approval of the bill by the Bundesrat (upper house of the German parliament) is not needed. Nevertheless, the Bundesrat will be consulted in the regular procedure, as no federal law comes into force without being referred to the Bundesrat. The parliamentary process in a nutshell: • First passage Bundesrat • Counterstatement Federal Cabinet • First reading in the Bundestag • Second/third reading in the Bundestag • Second passage Bundesrat
Pillar 1 came into force on April 1st: Decriminalization of cannabis use, home cultivation and operation of Cannabis Clubs is now allowed (publication in the Federal Law Gazette⁵). Start of the licensing process for Cannabis Clubs as of July 1st 2024.
On November 6, 2024, Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dismiss Finance Minister Christian Lindner. This marked the collapse of the coalition government. The FDP left the government along with its remaining ministers, and the Scholz cabinet continued as a minority government. Scholz then called a vote of confidence in the Bundestag and lost it, as intended. Federal President Steinmeier subsequently dissolved the 20th German Bundestag, paving the way for an early federal election on February 23, 2025, originally planned for the autumn of 2025.
On February 23, 2025, the early election to the 21st German Bundestag took place, reshaping the composition of Germany's parliament. The previous coalition government lost its majority. The CDU/CSU emerged as the strongest force and subsequently agreed with the SPD to form a coalition government.
The coalition agreement of CDU/CSU and SPD for the 21st legislative period is titled "Responsibility for Germany". It states that an open-ended evaluation of the cannabis legalization law is to take place in autumn 2025.
In July 2025, the Federal Ministry of Health published a draft bill stipulating that the prescription of cannabis flower for medical purposes may in future only take place following a personal consultation between patient and doctor.
The first results of the evaluation mandated by the Cannabis Act are now available. The analysis shows that cannabis clubs are far from meeting demand. According to the interim report, around 12 to 14 percent of total cannabis demand was covered by prescription medication during the first year after the law took effect.
On December 18, 2025, the German Bundestag debated the bill to amend the Medical Cannabis Act in its first reading.
On March 30, 2026, the Health Finance Commission presented its report on stabilizing the finances of Germany's statutory health insurance system. According to the report, statutory health insurers could save up to 42 billion euros next year. Medical practices, the federal government, and insured individuals are all expected to contribute more. This would also affect the coverage of medical cannabis by statutory health insurance.
On April 1, 2026, the second anniversary of the Cannabis Act taking effect, the second interim report on the evaluation of the Consumer Cannabis Act was published. It marks another important milestone on the path toward evidence-based cannabis policy.
On July 10, 2026, the Bundestag passes the GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz (GKV-BStabG), the law to stabilize statutory health insurance contribution rates. The Bundesrat approves it the same day. As a result, the entitlement to reimbursement for medical cannabis flower is fully removed from the statutory health insurance benefits catalog. In addition, the law stipulates that prescribing cannabis-based compounded medications is generally only permitted after a minimum six-month course of treatment with an approved cannabis-based licensed medicine. This tightening was not part of the original proposal by the Health Finance Commission but was added to the legislative text only during negotiations between the CDU/CSU and SPD.
Following the two interim reports, the final report on the evaluation of the Consumer Cannabis Act is due by April 1, 2028. The legally mandated accompanying evaluation is set out in Section 43 of the KCanG and examines the societal effects of the law across four work packages, ranging from combining existing data to original research and a final synthesis of all findings.
Glossary
1) Coalition Agreement
“We are introducing the controlled dispensing of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes in licensed stores. This will control quality, prevent the transfer of contaminated substances and ensure the protection of minors. We will evaluate the law after four years for social impact. Drug checking models and harm reduction measures will be enabled and extended.” (Find the Coalition Agreement online here.)
2) Cornerstone Paper (Key Issues)
The Cornerstone Paper (or: Key Issues Paper) is the basis for a draft bill. It is prepared in consultation with all relevant federal ministries. As the name suggests, the paper sets out the most important key points of the planned bill. It often does not go into detail and is usually much less extensive than a draft bill. After a general approval of the Cornerstone Paper by the Federal Cabinet, the key points will be transferred into a more detailed draft bill by the responsible ministries.
3) Draft bill
A draft bill is the fully formulated text of a law submitted to the legislative bodies for deliberation and voting. Until the final vote, the title of the legislative text is “draft bill”. A draft bill is going through several stages during the political process:
The draft bill that is written by one or several ministries is called „Referentenentwurf“. The “Referentenentwurf” is submitted to the Federal Government for discussion and decision in the Cabinet.
The “Regierungsentwurf” is the bill passed by the Federal Government (in the Cabinet) and then submitted to the German Parliament (Bundestag). This draft bill is subject to change within the parliamentary process as expert opinions, parliamentary hearings and legislative amendments will be incorporated. The Federal Council (Bundesrat) also has the right to comment on the draft. The involvement of the Bundesrat (approval of the bill may be required) depends on the content of the bill.
4) EU Notification Procedure (according to (EU) Guideline 2015/1535)
The term “notification” describes a procedure in which EU member states inform the European Commission, and in some cases also other member states about a legal act before it can take effect as national legislation. This is the case when it comes to legal acts relevant to the EU Single Market (Binnenmarkt). While the EU Commission is reviewing the legal act, the member state is prohibited from implementing the act in question. This “standstill period” can last from three to six months.
5) Bundesgesetzblatt / Final bill
Once the bill is adopted, it will be published in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt). Now, for the first time, citizens can read the binding legal text in its final form. Corrections are no longer possible – except via a completely new legislative procedure. The Bundestag decides whether a law enters into force immediately on the day after promulgation, at a later date or even retroactively. This depends entirely on the content of the regulation.
Sources
For general enquiries, please email to info@sanitygroup.com. For specific topics you can reach the right team via the respective pages. You’ll also find links for cultivation collaborations and pilot studies at the end of this page.
