Business of Cannabis write
When Germany introduced the Recreational Cannabis Act (KCanG), it not only legalised home cultivation and consumption for adults but also laid the groundwork for scientifically monitored pilot projects allowing the legal sale of cannabis at authorised distribution points. This approach was designed to comply with EU and international law, making it possible to provide professionally cultivated cannabis flowers to adults.
However, nearly 18 months after the KCanG came into effect, no sites have yet been approved or established for these pilot projects, which were intended to represent the second pillar of partial cannabis legalisation. As this framework is essential to evaluate how legal cannabis sales affect consumers and society, a group of scientists is now urging the swift processing of submitted applications so that evidence-based drug policy can finally be implemented in Germany.
Relevant Database Currently Impossible to Create
Researchers across multiple disciplines are warning that the absence of the second pillar of the KCanG severely limits the potential to gather meaningful data. Current supply routes, which rely on home cultivation and a limited number of cannabis social clubs, are considered inadequate. Without pilot projects, it is ‘not possible to create a relevant database on the social and scientific challenges associated with recreational cannabis use’.
Although ongoing efforts such as the EKOCAN research project at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf are examining the effects of decriminalisation, significant scientific questions remain unanswered. EKOCAN’s evaluation focuses on three key areas: the protection of children and adolescents, general health protection, and cannabis-related crime since the KCanG came into force.
Researchers argue that pilot studies conducted under Section 2(4) of the KCanG, with scientific oversight, could generate the comprehensive evidence base needed to inform future policy.
