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Will Germany become the world's largest market for medicinal cannabis?
The use of medicinal cannabis has been allowed in Germany for two years now. But because domestic cultivation hasn't gotten off the ground yet, the plant has been imported, mainly from Canada. That might change soon.
As Europe's biggest cannabis investor conference kicked off in Berlin on Sunday, the most important topic was the future cultivation of the plant in Germany, according to German Hemp Association (DHV) Chief Executive Georg Wurth. He finds it rather pathetic that there still is no cannabis cultivation in Europe's biggest economy.
For two years, Germany has allowed cannabis cultivation for medical purposes. But picking suitable growers hasn't been all plain sailing. A competitive tendering process had to be started from scratch following initial procedural errors. According to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfarM), there will be clarity in a couple of months as to which enterprises will get a license to produce cannabis at the behest of the state.
Frankfurt-based entrepreneur Niklas Kouperanis believes that is an unrealistic deadline. "I don't see any real progress in this matter over the next two years," he said. With a couple of investors on board, Kouperanis founded a startup called Farmako, which he said would focus on cannabis research, with financing for the project to come from the import and sale of cannabis flowers. "We want to make Europe less dependent when it comes to cultivating cannabis."
More here:
https://www.dw.com/en/will-germany-become-the-worlds-largest-market-for-medicinal-cannabis/a-48112905