Germany has become Europe’s largest regulated cannabis market since partially legalising the drug two years ago, with imports surging even as conservative politicians warn that the reform could increase health risks and undermine efforts to combat drug-related crime.
Legal marijuana imports have increased sixfold since 2024, according to data from the Federal Health Institute. That year, the leftwing government led by then-chancellor Olaf Scholz introduced legislation allowing adults to possess and privately cultivate cannabis, while expanding legal access through medical prescriptions.
The rapid expansion of the market has intensified political opposition. Critics within Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats and its Bavarian sister party, CSU, have called for tighter controls and stronger prevention measures. CSU interior minister Alexander Dobrindt described the Cannabis Act as “a real piece of shit law”, arguing that it had weakened prevention and enforcement.
Karin Prien, the CDU family minister, has called for stronger addiction-prevention measures aimed at children and teenagers, arguing that early intervention remains important because of concerns about cannabis acting as a gateway drug.
The health ministry has submitted a draft bill that would tighten restrictions on medical cannabis use in an effort to prevent recreational abuse. The Social Democrats oppose the proposed changes, with the bill scheduled for parliamentary discussion in the autumn.
The scale of Germany’s medical cannabis market has expanded dramatically. Imports increased from 8,143kg in the first quarter of 2024 to 50,539kg in the first quarter of this year. A University of Hamburg study found that more than 200 tonnes of cannabis were available in Germany in 2025, including 2.6 tonnes produced domestically. Prohibition Partners estimated the total market value that year at $997mn.
Researchers at the University of Hamburg found that hospitalisations connected with cannabis had increased, driven by increasingly potent strains. Jakob Manthey, the scientist behind the two-year evaluation, said the illegal market was shrinking even though overall consumption had barely changed.
Manthey has argued that THC concentrations should be clearly labelled and adjusted according to the medical or mental conditions they are intended to treat. He also accused producers of exploiting regulatory gaps and marketing products that were “not evidence-based at all”.
Despite partial legalisation, medical prescriptions are not the main source of cannabis for more than half of German consumers. A study conducted during the second half of 2025 found that social supply, meaning purchases through social contacts, accounted for 35.2 per cent of the market. Growing cannabis privately accounted for another 21 per cent, although selling cannabis without a medical prescription remains illegal.
In Berlin’s Neukölln district, cannabis use is increasingly visible. Dominik, a 22-year-old from Switzerland who said he suffers from attention disorder, told the FT that he preferred buying cannabis from German pharmacies because prescriptions allowed him to check THC levels.
Other users continue to rely on informal suppliers. Lisa, 23, said her dealer delivered cannabis directly to her home, while friends also grew the drug themselves. Hendrik Lieter, 45, an amateur producer and workers’ council organiser, said growing cannabis was cheaper and argued that reversing legalisation would be “stupid” because the law was beneficial to society through its decriminalising effect.
The evidence on crime and consumption presents a more complicated picture. Cannabis-related criminal activity has fallen by two-thirds, while overall consumption has remained stable. At the same time, traces of cocaine and crack in wastewater have almost doubled over the past two years.
The increase in harder drug use, however, began before Germany partially legalised cannabis. Anna Bindler, an economist at the German Institute for Economic Research, said this meant the trend was “not connected to the rise in cocaine, crack or methamphetamine”.
If the political objective is to reduce cannabis consumption and minimise health risks, Bindler argued, reversing the reform may not be the most effective approach. Instead, she urged lawmakers to focus on “education and prevention”.
Germany’s experiment has therefore produced conflicting signals: a rapidly expanding regulated market, declining cannabis-related criminal activity and stable consumption alongside rising concerns about potency, hospitalisations and access outside the medical system. The coming parliamentary debate will determine whether Berlin responds by tightening the reform or reinforcing prevention within the existing framework.
