Kretschmer in favor of "clear separation" for cannabis

Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer has spoken out in favor of a clear separation between medical cannabis and cannabis for private use. "Here in Leipzig, we can learn that these are two different things and that they must be kept separate," said the CDU politician during a visit to the Leipzig cannabis group "Grünhorn".

While he remains critical of private use, he emphasized: "I would be very much in favour of this and would also campaign for this area of medical cannabis to be supported in a very special way." It is important to create regulations that enable the use of medical cannabis in the long term and promote its development.

"Reducing bureaucratic hurdles is essential"

Since the partial legalization of cannabis last year, the bureaucratic burden has been significantly reduced, explained Matthias Fischer, Managing Director of the pharmaceutical wholesaler Canymed GmbH, a company of the Grünhorn Group. Fewer armored cabinets, less paperwork for narcotics documentation and fewer police checks: Many things have become much easier for the company, he says.

"The reduction of bureaucratic hurdles is essential in order to strengthen the innovative power of the industry and to operate sustainably," emphasized Fischer. A return to narcotics documentation would be a fundamental step backwards for pharmacists, doctors and companies in Saxony and Germany.

Kretschmer against complete reversal of the Cannabis Act

In its platform for the upcoming federal election, the CDU/CSU had announced that it wanted to abolish the Cannabis Act, which has been in force since April last year. This regulates both the private and medical use of cannabis.

Kretschmer emphasized that he would maintain his critical stance with regard to private use. As far as medical use was concerned, however, "we don't have to go back one-to-one to the time we had twelve months ago". "If we change something, then we need a regulation that ensures that this medical area is exempt, that it receives special treatment and that this also creates opportunities for growth in the coming years."

Volume of orders has risen sharply since partial legalization

"Cannabis is one of the oldest medicinal plants in the world," explained Stefan Fritsch, Managing Director and founder of the Grünhorn Group. It has been used for thousands of years to treat nausea and insomnia, among other things, and can also help with many other illnesses.

The Grünhorn Group, which was founded in Leipzig in 2020, now employs around 200 people. It orders, processes and ships cannabis. It also owns what it claims is the largest cannabis pharmacy in Germany, which processed around a quarter of all cannabis prescriptions nationwide even before partial legalization. Since the new law came into force, the volume of orders has reportedly tripled.