Germany’s regulatory approach to medical cannabis is good practice and should be replicated across Europe, according to newly-born European Medicinal Cannabis Association (EUMCA).

The recently established lobby group is taking its first steps in the Brussels bubble, advocating for an EU-wide regulatory framework on medical marijuana.

While the market for medical cannabis is already well developed in some EU member states, only EU-wide standards can ensure patients have the same across Europe.

Different legislation across EU countries on prescribing cannabis-based medicines can hinder patients’ access to their treatment when they travel abroad, EUMCA said.

Commercial cannabis cultivation is a complex and delicate process often made even more difficult with so many suppliers to choose from. Choosing grow lights can be particularly challenging with so many options on the market claiming to be the best in the cannabis industry. How do you choose and who do you trust?

CBD just ran into a brick wall in Germany.

A recent court ruling in the EU country reinforced the government’s position that products infused with the non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis should be classified as a “novel food.”

Given to products that were not consumed widely before 1997, the classification means CBD-infused products will not be authorized for sale until further research is conducted, reports foodnavigator.com.

Germany is home to the largest economy on the European continent, and the fourth largest economy on the planet.

The medical cannabis industry in Germany has grown at a steady rate in recent years. With a population over twice the size of California’s population, there is no end to growth in sight for Germany’s emerging cannabis industry.

How big will Germany’s medical cannabis industry get? A new projection by Prohibition Partners provides an answer to that question, and the figure involved is staggering. Per Benzinga:

Pain and spasticity are the two most common patient ailments for medical cannabis prescriptions, say the German Government 

Almost three quarters of all German cannabis prescriptions from a Government sample of over 6,500 are for pain – at 71%. This was followed by spasticity – a muscle condition at 11% – and anorexia at 7%, with epilepsy ADHD and Tourettes Syndrome all featuring, too. The data is based on an ongoing government survey involving 6,538 patients, as of September this year, reports the Marijuana Business Daily website.

Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is openly considering a momentous u-turn in the party's attitude to the legalization of cannabis.

"Cannabis could be freed for personal use, of course with controlled production and distribution," CDU interior policy spokesman Marian Wendt told the RND network on Friday. "The resources freed in the police and judiciary should be used to fight the illegal trade."

Wendt's statement came after the German government's drug commissioner, Daniela Ludwig, also signaled a more liberal new drug policy in the conservative party.

A European consortium backed by American cash is set to invest millions of dollars in a new operation in Portugal designed to supply the booming German medical cannabis market.

And cannabis financial market analysts are calling out Portugal as a prime  location for those companies looking to take advantage of the rapidly growing European market. Health Europe reports that Cannexpor Pharma has secured permission from the Portuguese authorities for new indoor and outdoor cannabis growing facilities in the region of Coimbra, about 100 miles north of the capital Lisbon.

A new report into the German cannabis market estimates the total number of patients has risen 60,000 in less than two years since first approved for medical use.

The ‘Germany Cannabis Report’ from Prohibition Partners also states that within a few years that number will have risen to one million patients. And, it estimates the total German cannabis market will be worth €16.2 billion by 2028, with the medicinal cannabis market estimated to be worth €7.7 billion by the same time.

This comes as Canadian firm Aphria, one of the few from that country to be currently showing a profit, says that by next year Germany will be contributing almost half its revenues. 

Medical marijuana firm AMP German Cannabis Group announced that it will begin auditing its supply chain in accordance with the European Union (EU) Good Manufacturing Procedure (EU-GMP) to "ensure the quality and integrity of pharmaceutical goods" as they move through the supply chain from the supplier to the German patient.

Companies vying to be the biggest cannabis producer in America or Canada are wasting their time and suffering from a crippling lack of vision. The real play is to make a bid to become the worldwide leader in global cannabis exports — like firms in Jamaica and Lesotho as well as Canada are attempting to do — and the window of time to get in is closing fast, according to one entrepreneur with clear-cut plans to curb that market.