Germany to restrict online cannabis sales to curb ballooning imports
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Germany became the ninth country to legalise recreational use of cannabis from April 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BERLIN – Germany’s Cabinet passed plans on Oct 8 to restrict the online sale of cannabis to tackle a surge in imports of the drug since the legalisation of its recreational use in 2024, the government said.
The amendment to the existing law will require direct, in-person contact with a doctor for a cannabis prescription and ban mail-order delivery of the drug, with distribution restricted to physical pharmacies to ensure proper counselling.
Germany became the ninth country to legalise recreational use of the drug
In the first half of 2025, imports increased by more than 400 per cent from the same period in 2024, the government said.
“The massive increase in cannabis imports and the practice of prescribing cannabis online without any personal medical contact require political action,” said German Health Minister Nina Warken in a statement.
This rise is not due to increased demand from seriously ill patients, the government said, as prescriptions through the social health insurance system rose only by a single-digit percentage. REUTERS
