German Marijuana Regulation Eases on Cultivation
Although medical marijuana has been legal in Germany since 2008, German Marijuana patients have not been allowed to grow it themselves. Instead, medical marijuana patients in Germany had to rely on a heavily restricted program distributed by prescription in pharmacies.
Unhappy with the costs of the medical marijuana, which is not covered by health insurance, five patients with chronic pain filed suits to gain permission from Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices to grow their own medical marijuana. Each plaintiff already had a permit to use medical marijuana.
The administrative court in the western city of Cologne said that some patients with medical marijuana permits would be allowed to grow their own, but each case would be individually reviewed adding that a key condition was that “access by third parties to the plants and products must be sufficiently restricted”.
