How does the German cannabis industry view 2025? The players are torn. In the medical market, those involved report a secure patient supply despite rapid growth, while simultaneously fearing the consequences of changes to the Medical Cannabis Act (MedCanG). Representatives of cannabis clubs are pleased that some licenses were granted in 2025 – yet they criticize the still somewhat slow pace at which the clubs are launching. And while those involved in pilot projects are enjoying strong support from municipalities, cities, and the scientific community, this is offset by the rejected applications from the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE). For many, 2025 therefore appears to be a year of ambivalence.
stability
Luc Richner, co-founder and CEO of Cannavigia, summarizes that legalization “was not a short-term PR stunt, but is being implemented step by step.” This provides “orientation, stability, and growth prospects.” Cannavigia further developed its platform in 2025 with regard to GACP, GMP, and GDP compliance. Finn Hänsel, CEO of the Sanity Group, is also positively surprised by how “stable the medical supply of cannabis remained in 2025, despite political uncertainty and increasing regulatory debates.” Digital supply models, in particular, are a fundamental prerequisite for therapy in rural areas. Hänsel: “The fact that this system has functioned despite adverse conditions shows how real the medical need is and how professionally large parts of the industry operate.”
Falk Altenhöfer of Cannabis Startups reports that by 2025, various players had professionalized their business models. Despite political uncertainty, “structures have matured.” Altenhöfer also points to the improved data situation resulting from the upswing. This transparency regarding prices, volumes, and patient flows has benefited the industry and helped it make data-driven decisions.
uncertainty
Despite increased stability and professionalization, Altenhöfer criticizes the “enormous regulatory volatility” of 2025. This has plunged some companies into “a veritable emotional turmoil.” Finn Hänsel speaks of massive “planning uncertainty” and warns of “impending treatment discontinuations” for patients. Thomas Hauk, Managing Director of Linnaeus Partners, expresses surprise at the extent of the investment-hostile uncertainty. In his opinion, this has also been “fueled by the constant ‘reversal’ rhetoric of politicians.” The debate surrounding the cannabis law, which Hauk calls an “ideological football,” has massively deterred international and national investors. Linnaeus Partners launched in 2025 and aims to provide consulting services at the intersection of science and genetics.
Henry Wieker, department coordinator of the Federal Association of Cannabis Cultivation Associations (BCAv), laments that “our advocates have completely disappeared from the scene within the SPD.” Kevin Lange of Highperformer420 also considers the SPD to be “quiet” on the issue of cannabis. On the other hand, Dr. Nikolaos Katsaras, managing director of GCS – German Cannabis Standard, emphasizes that the new government “did not hastily destroy everything that the previous government had initiated.” GCS cultivates cannabis underground for scientific purposes and raised investor funds in 2025 to build a production facility for medical cultivation. The company also operates several tech products, including Cannaflow, a B2B software for pharmacies. Nevertheless, Boris Moshkovits of Alephsana criticizes the “ongoing regulatory uncertainty and the hesitant political adjustments, especially outside the medical market.”
Against this backdrop, Ferdinand Weiß, a lawyer specializing in cannabis law and a partner at Dr. Engelhard, Weimar & Kollegen, is impressed by the “perseverance of many players who, despite the greatest adversities, setbacks, and obstacles placed in their path, continue to fight and refuse to be defeated.” At the same time, he criticizes “sometimes blatant violations of the law” that “provide politicians with arguments to call for stricter legislation once again.”
Evaluation
Wieker, under whose chairmanship a club in Hanover successfully launched in 2025, speaks of “a smear campaign – one that has run out of arguments.” In his opinion, the evaluation results are being distorted. Cansativa, for example, emphasizes on LinkedIn that no increase in consumption among children and adolescents could be observed. Other frequently expressed concerns, such as “an escalation of public consumption or significant burdens on municipalities,” also find no support in the data available so far, according to the wholesaler’s analysis. Antje Feißt, Public Affairs Lead of the Sanity Group, also points to surprisingly clear “societal effects of decriminalization.” In a survey conducted by Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, three-quarters of respondents no longer fear prosecution since the law was introduced.
Growers’ associations
Luc Richner welcomes the fact that over 350 applications from growers’ associations had been approved by mid-2025. In his view, structures for legal cannabis are therefore becoming “visibly” established – “with real associations, not just theoretical ones.” As a company, one can “co-plan and help shape a growing, legitimate ecosystem.” Consultant Dr. Shabnam Sarshar emphasizes “that new clubs are increasingly emerging in previously underserved regions, thereby creating genuine access and community structures.”
On the other hand, Richner, managing director of the Track’n’Trace solution with a special module for cannabis clubs, points out that in reality, only a few cultivation associations are actively operating. This ensures that the black market remains quite attractive. Henry Wieker also believes that cannabis clubs are developing slowly. Florian Pichlmaier, managing director of Signature Products, however, notes that targeted regulatory and implementation measures have already significantly strengthened the legal market. Regarding the clubs, he assesses the overall picture as “fragmented.” “In several federal states, no licenses have yet been granted, or cultivation and distribution have been effectively prevented due to building/official obstacles.” Signature Products has developed, among other things, the “Hemp App,” software specifically for cannabis clubs.
Medical market
Antonia Menzel, CEO of the German Association of Pharmaceutical Pharmacists (BPC), welcomes the high acceptance of medicinal cannabis among patients, doctors, and pharmacies projected for 2025. She anticipates 15,000 jobs and annual revenues of 1.5 to 2 billion euros in the pharmaceutical cannabis industry. However, the currently planned reforms to the medicinal cannabis law could complicate access to therapy and create uncertainty and pressure on business models. Menzel criticizes the current draft for its “blanket interventions in telemedicine and mail-order pharmacies,” which also affect “reputable healthcare structures” and “jeopardize the security of supply for patients.” Finn Hänsel agrees: Instead of addressing structural problems, “digital access and quality-assured mail-order pharmacies are being called into question.” Menzel accordingly warns of significant uncertainty for a previously stable healthcare sector. Steffen Geyer also believes that despite “immense growth in demand,” no supply shortages in pharmacies occurred in 2025. Boris Moshkovits, co-founder of Alephsana, speaks of a growing “pharmacy landscape”—the wholesaler he co-founded alone now supplies 1,000 pharmacies. Given this development, he argues it is no longer a “transitional phenomenon” but a “resilient market.” However, he criticizes the increasing price pressure without clear quality and evidence standards.
Niklas Kouparanis, co-founder and CEO of the Bloomwell Group, refers to the Epidemiological Survey of Substance Use, which suggests there may now be 1.4 million cannabis patients in Germany. According to Kouparanis, this is still far too few considering the “potential indications for which medical cannabis can be used.” Furthermore, towards the end of the year, he wrote on LinkedIn about the reclassification of cannabis in the US from Class I to Class III, highlighting potential new investments and increased research. Overall, he described 2025 as a “stress test” for the entire industry.
For Thomas Hauk, the positive surprise in the medicinal cannabis market in 2025 was the “breakthrough of inhalable extracts and certified application methods.” For a long time, Germany had been a purely flower-based market, but this year “we experienced a maturation process towards genuine pharmaceutical innovation,” said Hauk. Crucial to this was the move to closed systems with vaporizers certified as medical devices. In a LinkedIn post, Demecan refers, among other things, to a fresh extract produced using the live rosin method and collaborations for the production of THC gummies.
Rejected pilot projects
Richner criticizes the fact that commercialization is largely blocked. The second component of the reform, regulated sales through specialty shops or pharmacies, is not currently being implemented. Katsaras therefore regrets that consumers “still cannot easily obtain cannabis for recreational use through qualified retail outlets.” As a result, Katsaras argues, far too many people still obtain it on the black market on the street.
Antje Feist is nevertheless impressed by the “strong support for scientific cannabis pilot projects among municipalities, scientists, and associations.” She criticizes the rejections all the more, however, after “intensive expert inquiries and considerable investment of time and resources”—even though scientists and cities were “always open to dialogue.”
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