THE biggest Australian commercial shipment of locally-grown and good manufacturing practice-manufactured medicinal cannabis oils has been exported into the lucrative German market by WA-based Little Green Pharma (LGP).

The shipment was made to CC Pharma, a leading German importer and distributor of pharmaceuticals and included an initial 2400 units of LGP-branded medicinal cannabis oils valued at more than $600,000.

The shipment was anticipated to clear customs in Germany during the course of this week, following which LGP expects the shipment to be batch-tested and released for sale to the German market.

The people of New Zealand just voted down a measure to legalize cannabis through a referendum. New Jersey just legalized it recreationally also through its own referendum. Germany didn’t put the question to its people, but last month the government of Germany rejected its recreational cannabis bill.

Germany has the largest legal medicinal cannabis flower market in the EU, and it’s about to expand out even further. With imports coming from Canada and even Uruguay, the German cannabis flower market is, indeed, ready to fully explode.​

Germany has been growing its medical cannabis market in the last few years. According to worldstopexports for 2019, Germany imported $240 million worth of cannabis oil – or 7.8% of all cannabis imports for the year, making it the second largest importer behind the US. In that same time period, it also exported $230 million worth of cannabis oil – or 8% of the market for the year.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. is closing some of its European operations as the cannabis producer opts to consolidate its presence in the continent amid soft demand for medical pot, according to an internal memo obtained by BNN Bloomberg. 

Aurora told its employees last week that it will shut its offices in Portugal, Spain, and Italy while reducing its European workforces by one-quarter in select countries and its regional office, the memo said. The Edmonton-based company will shift its European headquarters from Germany to its Denmark office while acquiring the remaining 49 per cent of its Danish business that it doesn't already own, the company said. 

Israel has officially overtaken Germany as the largest importer of medicinal cannabis in the world so far in 2020, according to data compiled by Tel Aviv-based Cannabis Magazine and Marijuana Business Daily.

According to data reported by MJBizDaily, about three metric tons were imported into Germany as of end of May for pharmacy dispensing, based on replies to a parliamentary inquiry.

Dr Franjo Grotenhermen tells MCN about medical cannabis policy and practice in Germany.

The coronavirus pandemic led to a decrease in the use of party drugs like MDMA and cocaine, but also to an increase in pot use, according to Global Drug Survey.

Forty thousand people from 12 countries participated in the online survey that looked at changes in alcohol and drug-related habits during the global health crisis. The 12 countries included in the study were Germany, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Brazil, and Switzerland. 

Based on the data, nearly a fifth of people reported that they used less cocaine during lockdown, while 29% said they used less MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy or molly. 

Luc Springinsfeld of leading investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co explores the European medical cannabis market and the rise of medical cannabis investment in Europe.

In 2019, Germany led the EU in both cannabis oil imports and exports, and not by small numbers. The Germans are proving themselves to be big cannabis users, and big cannabis producers as well.

When it comes to the cannabis market, the EU is a large and growing market of consumers which doesn’t produce as much as it uses. It also still has several parts which haven’t legalized cannabis under any circumstances, medical or otherwise, leaving the door open for future expansion as laws loosen up across Europe in the next few years.

Australian medical cannabis company Althea Group (ASX:AGH) has announced details of a deal with a major German pharmaceutical wholesaler.

Following on from a previously announced Memorandum of Understanding with Nimbus Health GmbH, the pair have inked an agreement that will see Althea supply its full range of medical cannabis products to Nimbus over a three year period. It’s expected supply to Nimbus will commence in the second half of this year, assuming timely approval by German regulatory authorities.

According to Althea Group, Nimbus Health accounts for approximately 25% of medicinal cannabis sales in Germany; so a significant amount of product may be moved over the three years.