Germany Opening Up to Hemp As Government Funds CBD Research

Germany, along with the rest of the Europe, seems to be opening up to the idea of researching, and accepting, the many benefits of the cannabis plant.

This is significant in view of the fact that only several months ago, hemp vendors were arrested and convicted in Braunschweig for selling hemp tea leaves. The case however was later overturned by Germany’s Federal Court of Justice.

And now the German government is funding a Berlin-based food startup, Becanex GmbH, to the tune of 505,000 euros ($601,720) to create cannabinoid-containing emulsions for industrial food production, reports High Times.

What makes the investment so important, reports High Times, is that the funding entity, the Central Innovation Programme for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, is under the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, which is “about as central to German economic investment in the future as you can get.”

The move will likely not go unnoticed throughout Europe. It was only in November that the European Court of Justice ruled that CBD is not a narcotic. The consequences of that ruling are being felt today as commercialization begins to take off.

In addition to Becanex's food research, HempToday reported that Düsseldorf-based Hempro International GmbH has submitted an application to Germany’s Consumer Protection and Food Safety office that would allow it to import hemp leaves from Austria to Germany to make, yes, hemp tea!

Currently, Germany allows cultivation of hemp with less than 0.2% THC, and also the purchase of CBD products with the same amount of THC, although CBD edibles are illegal, under the Novel Food Regulation in Europe.