Germany’s Cabinet has passed a landmark bill legalizing cannabis. Richard Zwicky speaks with Niklas Kouparanis, Co-Founder and CEO of Bloomwell Group, a leading European cannabis company based in Frankfurt and a holding company for medical cannabis businesses and brands in Germany about the pivotal legislation.
The reclassification of cannabis, which in the future will no longer be considered a narcotic even when it’s prescribed for medicinal purposes, also has a great deal of significance. This will be a milestone for doctors, patients and all other industry participants. The course has been set for better medical care and growth within the medical cannabis sector. By removing the bureaucratic hurdles associated with previously classifying cannabis as a narcotic, the legislation forecasts that pharmaceutical wholesalers trading medicinal cannabis can save an average of 2.3 million Euros annually. In the case of medical practices, the legislation estimates that the compliance costs will be reduced by around 719,000 Euros per year. This increase in efficiency will also benefit the patients, who will have access to medicinal cannabis at more affordable price points.