Cannabis in Germany

Cannabis in Germany is legal for certain limited medical contexts, but illegal for recreational usage, though possession of minor amounts is not always prosecuted. As of 2022, approximately 4 million adults in Germany use cannabis.

After the 2021 German federal election, the resulting coalition announced in their coalition agreement they plan to legalise cannabis for purposes of recreation, although concrete legislation to this effect has not yet been introduced. A study conducted by the University of Düsseldorf in 2021 reported that legalising cannabis could raise more than €4.7 billion in additional revenue in Germany.

In September 2023 German Federal Council (Bundesrat) officially commented on the plans of the German federal government (Bundesregierung) to legalise cannabis for the first time and outlined the draft Cannabis Act (known in German as Cannabisgesetz or “CanG”) providing for removal of cannabis from the Narcotics Act (known in German as Betäubungsmittelgesetz). For adults, possession of 25 grams of dried product and private cultivation of a maximum of three (3) plants would be permitted. Collective, non-commercial self-cultivation would be allowed in cultivation associations. Such associations would also be permitted to carry out controlled distribution of the cultivated cannabis.

Legalisation of cannabis possession and cultivation in Germany is to take effect when Cannabis Act comes into force on 1 April 2024.