Medical Marijuana Regulated As Ibuprofen Is One Of The Biggest Breakthroughs Of Germany's Cannabis Law

It's been more than three months since German cannabis legalization took effect and one of the biggest breakthroughs under this law is simplified medical marijuana use. David Henn, founder of pharmaceutical supplier Cannamedical told ASB Zeitung in a recent interview exactly what this means.

Cannamedical is importing raw cannabis material from abroad and distributing it across Europe. This means that each flower is still trimmed in Germany and Cannamedical is in charge of packing and labeling.

Henn explained that before cannabis reform, medical marijuana was considered the last resort, and only a small number of doctors were able to prescribe it. "Since April 1st, Cannabis is regulated as the equivalent of Ibuprofen 600," he said. "Therefore, all 418,000 practicing doctors in Germany can prescribe it."

Doubling The Number Of Medical Marijuana Patients

He further highlighted that the demand has grown accordingly. "The medical market consisted of approximately 100,000 patients beforehand. In the last two to three months, this number has doubled. We assume that this growth will continue."

Niklas Kouparanis, co-founder and CEO of a Frankfurt-based medical cannabis holding company the Bloomwell Group, predicted this kind of growth in a December interview with Benzinga. "The number of medical marijuana patients will rapidly increase as it can be prescribed as regular Rx medication," Kouparanis said. He added that not only costs will decrease, but that the patients will be able to use only prescriptions.

"Our country of 83 million, which currently has between 200,000-300,000 medical patients, will see its number of medical cannabis patients multiply between seven and ten times, into the millions," Kouparanis pointed out at the time.

On Feb.23rd, Germany became the third country in the European Union to legalize adult-use cannabis after Malta and Luxembourg. Under this first pillar of cannabis legalization, adults over 18 can legally possess up to 25 grams of dried cannabis flower and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at home. The German government is working on the second pillar of its cannabis legalization law–setting up municipal five-year pilot programs for state-controlled marijuana to be sold in licensed shops.

On July 8, Germany opened its first cannabis social club, just one week after the law allowing these places took effect.

Read Also: Is Germany Poised To Become The Next Weed Epicenter In Europe?

Stigma Exists, But Fading; Big Pharma Not A Threat

While medical marijuana across various U.S. states is indicated for a myriad of health conditions, currently in Germany most common uses include epilepsy or pain treatments. Furthermore, elderly people are starting to turn away from classical medication and towards natural options like cannabis, adds Henn.

"We receive many signals from doctors who are looking for alternative administration forms for their patients," Henn said. "We conduct training sessions, we have our own Medical Hotline, which is available to doctors." He confirms that there is still a lot of stigma and skepticism among health practitioners, but that will change with time.  

When it comes to the often-mentioned concern that pharma giants might be interested in entering the industry, Henn doesn’t seem concerned.

"I’m sure the pharmaceutical industry has thrown an eye at the therapy with medical Cannabis in Germany. Just as the tobacco industry has. But ultimately, the Cannabis market is still too small for the large pharmaceutical industry."

Continue reading on ASB Zeitung.

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Photo: Benzinga edit with image by RDNE Stock project via Pexels and Wikimedia Commons.