Overview
- Warken’s draft would limit cannabis-flower prescriptions to in-person doctor visits and end mail-order dispensing, restricting supply to on-site pharmacies.
- After the health committee hearing, the SPD parliamentary group said it will block the draft, citing infringements on physicians’ professional freedom, patients’ rights, and potential breaches of EU single-market rules.
- Government data point to a sharp mismatch in the market, with a 170% jump in imports from the first to the second half of 2024 while statutory-insurance prescriptions for flowers rose about 9%.
- At the hearing, the German Medical Association said there is no scientific evidence to justify prescribing cannabis flowers and backed tighter in-person controls, while the industry warned the plan is disproportionate and would hinder access and fuel the black market.
- A police union representative told lawmakers drug-related crime is booming since liberalization, and the coalition dispute leaves the proposal stalled pending further talks.