Business of Cannabis
But while almost 300 CSCs have been established across Germany, Bavaria has effectively blocked their operation despite granting eight cultivation licences.
According to Bayerische Staatszeitung, no CSC in Bavaria has yet been allocated a site for communal cultivation. Local authorities have introduced additional planning requirements that make it nearly impossible for associations to use their licences.
Licensing Stalled by Planning Requirements
The State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) issues cultivation licences, but Bavaria’s Ministry of Construction has intervened to prevent CSCs from using them. In one case, CannabisKultur MainSpessart e.V. waited a year before finally securing approval, only to be told its cultivation site required a land-use planning procedure and amendments to the local development plan before planting could begin.
Emilio Fischer, chairman of the association, told Business of Cannabis that these additional requirements are a deliberate attempt to obstruct operations. He pointed to an internal letter circulated on 12 December 2024 by Bavaria’s Supreme Building Authority, instructing local authorities that CSCs could only be located in specially designated areas, excluding commercial or industrial sites. Fischer estimates that changing local plans would take two to three years and cost tens of thousands of euros.
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