When it comes to Europe’s emerging legal cannabis industry, Germany continues to stand alone as the undisputed continental leader. Germany launched legal medical cannabis sales through the nation’s pharmacies in 2017, and since that time, the nation’s legal market has increased exponentially in size and market value.
One of the best ways to help quantify how large Germany’s legal medical cannabis industry has become is to look at medical cannabis import totals. In addition to domestic medical cannabis production, Germany’s legal cannabis industry imports a considerable number of products from other countries—far more than any other European nation.
Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) regularly publishes medical cannabis product import data. According to BfArM, Germany imported 50.539 tonnes of medical cannabis products in Q1 2026 alone. When combined with totals from Q2-Q4 2025, Germany imported over 218 tons of medical cannabis in one year. To put that sum into further context, consider that the second-largest legal European medical cannabis market is the United Kingdom, which imported roughly 30 tons of medical cannabis products in 2025. Germany’s legal industry is massive, and by comparison, second place is far behind.
It is worth noting that Germany’s import total in Q1 2026 is lower than in the previous quarter. In Q4 2025, Germany imported 60.772 tons of medical cannabis. However, the initially reported total for Q4 2025 was 56.625 tons, which BfArM later revised to 60.772 tonnes. Furthermore, BfArM previously updated its Q3 2025 totals from an initially reported 56.915 tons up to 59.076 tons. Data for Q1 2025 and Q2 2025 also underwent slight adjustments over time, so the current total for Q1 2026 may also be revised upward.
Domestic Cannabis Production Is Increasing in Germany
Regardless of whether that future revision occurs or not, the fact remains that Germany’s medical cannabis industry is booming. Medical cannabis product imports are not the only source for the nation’s patients. As previously mentioned, medical cannabis is produced domestically in Germany, and the amount of domestic production is increasing year after year. Domestic commercial production was previously capped before the passage of the historic CanG measure in 2024, but after the CanG’s approval, the previous quota limit was lifted.
The increase in domestic commercial production is no doubt having an impact on the need for Germany’s industry to import products from abroad. Demand remains strong, but local supply is helping meet that demand at an increasing rate.
Home Cultivation and Cannabis Clubs Are Changing Consumer Behavior
Another factor to consider is the rise of adult-use cannabis freedoms in Germany. Starting on April 1, 2024, adults in Germany could cultivate up to three cannabis plants in their private residences. Presumably, some amount of adult medical cannabis patients who previously relied solely on imported products are now cultivating their own medicine at home because it is more convenient and cheaper for their situations. To what degree that dynamic is impacting Germany’s medical cannabis import sector is impossible to determine, but it is a safe bet that there is some level of impact, nonetheless.
Adults in Germany also have another way to legally acquire cannabis beyond home cultivation or the nation’s medical cannabis system. Starting on July 1, 2024, adults in Germany could apply to launch noncommercial cultivation associations, which are sometimes referred to as “social clubs.” The associations are member-based, with members being able to source cannabis legally produced by the associations.
There are now at least 430 approved cannabis cultivation associations in Germany. Much like with home cultivation, some amount of medical cannabis patients in Germany are likely finding it more advantageous to acquire their medicine through associations for one reason or another, instead of relying on retail channels that sell imported medical cannabis.
Germany’s Adult-Use Cannabis Industry Continues to Evolve
This is all to say that Germany’s legal cannabis industry is stronger than ever, albeit evolving, and that evolution will continue for the foreseeable future. At some point, Germany will finally approve long-awaited regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials, which are a key component of Germany’s historic CanG law. Numerous pilot trials are already operating in the Netherlands and Switzerland with no major issues, but for reasons that seem to defy logic, federal regulators in Germany have so far failed to approve a single pilot trial application. At some point, that will change, and Germany’s industry will change along with it, including the nation’s medical sector. Germany’s legal cannabis industry has a lot of moving parts, similar to every other legal cannabis market on the planet. Those moving parts were discussed at length at the recent International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) in Berlin in April. All of the conference’s keynote addresses and panel discussions are available to view on the ICBC YouTube channel.
