Suppliers of cannabis seeds, gardening materials, fertilizers and grow lamps will benefit from Germany’s decision to legalize marijuana, Dirk Heitepriem of the German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW) told DW in an interview. ).
The European country partially legalized cannabis in April, relaxing rules to allow adults to grow up to three plants for personal use. Those who cannot or do not want to grow plants but want to obtain the drug legally can join cannabis social clubs starting July 1. These non-profit cooperatives can grow and distribute cannabis to their members under strict conditions.
Compo, a German supplier of horticultural products, is one of the companies that is already seeing its business rebound. Launched a new line of products aimed specifically at cannabis cultivation. The company, based in Münster and employing around 1,000 people across Europe, saw sales of products, including fertilizers and special cannabis potting soil, far exceed expectations. “We anticipate that sales figures will increase even more next year,” a Compo manager told DW.
Increase in seed sales
However, due to legal uncertainties surrounding the sale of cannabis seeds in Germany, many people are turning to foreign seed banks such as Barcelona-based Royal Queen Seeds, one of the main players in the market. When partial legalization came into effect in Germany, “we received 10,231 orders in one day,” Royal Queen Seeds president Shai Ramsahai told DW.
He said high demand initially overwhelmed his company with thousands of orders, but it has now stabilized at around 3,000 to 4,000 orders daily. In April, Royal Queen Seeds’ online business grew “300% and total online revenue was €6 million,” Ramsahai said.
Zamnesia, another large cannabis seed bank operating in the Netherlands, also saw an increase in German orders, the company’s CEO Nick Ave told DW. “Every year, from mid-March to early June, “Seed sales increase because people want to start growing their plants. Normally we see an increase of around 30% at planting time, but this year it was 150%,” he says.
medicinal cannabis
While businesses are growing thanks to people growing cannabis for personal recreational use, the German medical cannabis industry may see even greater growth. It offers great potential, according to market analysts Prohibition Partners, with “an ‘estimated patient base’ of more than 200,000” and “sales, patient numbers and imports increasing year on year.”
This year’s partial legalization means that cannabis is no longer classified as a narcotic, making it easier for patients to obtain a prescription. Domestic production of commercial medicinal cannabis was also strictly regulated, with a limited production quota. This has now changed. New licenses will be granted for domestic production and distribution, which will liberalize the market, increase competition and possibly strengthen the industry,” wrote Jakob Manthey, Jurgen Rehm and Uwe Verthein in The Lanceta leading medical journal.
BvCW’s Heitepriem expects that “medical providers will benefit due to increased demand for medical cannabis as it becomes easier for patients to access the product.”
Demecan, a pharmaceutical company based near Dresden in the German state of Saxony, is currently the only German company licensed to grow medicinal cannabis in the country. Once the production quota is eliminated, it plans to increase this from 600 kilograms of cannabis per year to two tons, company spokesperson Franz Großmann told DW, adding that Demecan welcomes the liberalization and says it will allow the company to maximize its economic potential, which would benefit Saxony and Germany as a whole.
Bud bonanza?
While legalization in Germany has created considerable enthusiasm, especially when it comes to the medical market, Heitepriem warns against excess optimism. “In recent years we have had rapid development of startups in the medical sector and we are seeing growing interest from American, Canadian and European companies in investing in Germany,” he told DW. However, many companies had learned their lesson from watching Canada’s cannabis bubble burst after the country legalized the drug in 2018, he added.
While he said revenue projections were “over-exaggerated in every discussion we’ve had on this topic,” Heitepriem believes there is “a huge potential for a couple billion in revenue, but I wouldn’t really give an estimate because there are a lot of uncertainties.” .
(lgc/rr)
