Berlin, 6 October 2025 – The first interim report on the evaluation of Germany’s Cannabis Consumption Act (EKOCAN) reveals: when it comes to achieving the key goals of legalization — protecting youth, safeguarding health, and displacing the black market — so far it is only cannabis companies and medical cannabis dispensed through pharmacies that are making a measurable contribution. Contrary to critics’ expectations, neither the number of cannabis users nor the incidence of cannabis-related health problems has increased significantly. Philip Schetter, CEO of Cantourage, comments on the findings and explains why further restrictions on the medical cannabis market ignore reality.

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Medical cannabis covers a significant share – BMG ignores the facts

“According to the interim report, of the approximately 742.6 tonnes of total annual cannabis demand, 12 to 14 percent — around 90 to 100 tonnes — are accounted for by medical cannabis. By contrast, cultivation associations, which continue to struggle with complex approval processes and inconsistent regulations across Germany, produced less than 0.1 percent of the required amount. This means that the medical market remains the only reliable legal source capable of displacing the black market.”

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Pharmacies ensure supply instead of the black market

“Since 2017, a stable infrastructure has existed: pharmacies and companies like Cantourage supply tested, pharmaceutical-grade products, prescribed exclusively by physicians.
Unlike the black market — or home cultivation — the dispensing of cannabis through pharmacies guarantees the highest pharmaceutical quality standards, age verification, and professional counseling and education. In addition, the state itself benefits — through tax revenues, levies, and savings — from a functioning legal market. In a white paper published even before the government’s legalization plans were announced, we calculated tax revenues of more than €2.5 billion.
Added to this are savings in policing, justice, and incarceration, which the interim report confirms as realistic given the roughly 100,000 fewer criminal offenses recorded.”

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Youth protection only works through legal structures

“The study shows that partial legalization has not increased cannabis use among minors — but risky patterns, such as daily use among about ten percent of young users, persist.
One thing is clear: youth protection does not take place on the black market or through home cultivation. Only the medical market ensures that cannabis is dispensed exclusively to adults, under medical supervision, with education and prevention measures included.

And we must not forget: every clean, tested gram of cannabis from a pharmacy replaces one potentially unsafe gram from the black market. With every new patient, the illegal market shrinks — while at the same time, the state benefits from the growth of the legal medical cannabis market through taxes and levies.”

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Appeal to policymakers

“The EKOCAN findings are clear: cultivation associations are not working in their current form, the black market persists, and medical cannabis works.
Cannabis companies and pharmacies are the ones actually achieving the legalization goals — youth protection, health protection, and black market displacement.
Restricting the MedCanG ignores the evidence and weakens the legal market, with serious consequences for patients and society.

We therefore recommend making cannabis available as a pharmacy-only OTC product, or through specialist shops operated by pharmacies — building on the proven supply structures that have existed and functioned reliably for years.”

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A detailed statement on the draft amendment to the Medical Cannabis Act, which Cantourage Group SE has submitted to the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG), can be found here (German only).