Work on the German ‘pillar 2’ is already underway and could be completed much sooner than expected

The German government is now working on Germany’s long-awaited ‘pillar 2’, which would attempt to implement a Swiss-style adult-use cannabis pilot project.

In news that will come as a relief to companies largely excluded from participating in the emerging adult-use market following the implementation of Pillar 1 last month, the rollout of the next phase could be much easier than previously expected.

This is for two main reasons. Firstly, Pillar 2 is now expected to be regulated under the current CanG Act, meaning no separate law needs to be passed to get it through.

Secondly, since Pillar 2 was first proposed, the Swiss pilot project has expanded and matured significantly, giving Germany a reliable and effective model to work from.

Finn Age Hänsel, Managing Director of European cannabis operator Sanity Group, which has a strong foothold in both the German cannabis market and Swiss pilot projects through the recently launched Grashaus project, said Cannabis trade: “We are very happy that Germany is now moving forward and already has a good relationship with several interested German municipalities.

“The way the government is proceeding now is the best from our side, because it will ensure that pilot projects will not lose too much time due to an additional political process.”

What happened?

After presenting its plans for a full commercial adult-use cannabis market to the European Commission in October 2022, the German government was forced to re-evaluate its plans over concerns it would breach international laws.

In May the following year, a draft law was leaked, setting out plans for implementing reforms in two parts.

The first pillar decriminalized possession, consumption, home cultivation and cannabis associations, while removing cannabis from the list of narcotic substances. This was implemented on April 1 and cultivation associations should start from July this year.

Until now, little information was known about Pillar 2, under which individual states will launch five-year pilot projects for adults for scientific research.

Draft regulation, first seen by Tagsspiegel backgroundhas now drawn up plans for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (BMEL) to oversee Pillar 2 regulation.

According to the so-called ‘Consumer Cannabis Science Responsibility Ordinance’ (KCanWV), part of the already adopted CanG bill regulated ‘the possibility of using cannabis for scientific purposes without a medical connection’.

This means that the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), which has so far rejected all applications for pilot projects, would no longer be responsible for approving applications.

The BMEL also reports to the Greens’ pro-legalization minister, Cem Özdemir.

Crucially, however, the provisions for Pillar 2 in the existing CanG Act ensure that no further legislative proposal will be required, significantly reducing implementation time and removing the numerous barriers this presents.

In a letter sent to the associations on Friday, seen by Tagesspiegel Background, the BMEL called for written comments on the proposals to be submitted.

The Swiss model

If Cannabis trade As previously reported, Switzerland has now approved seven pilot trials, bringing the total potential sample size from all seven trials to over 17,000, of which approximately 15,000 are expected to have legal access to adult-use cannabis once all trials are fully operational.

With Germany’s second pillar expected to be largely modeled around the Swiss framework, more and more German companies are looking to Switzerland for insight on how to get started once it’s launched.

Swiss cannabis software provider Cannavigia, whose proprietary ‘Cannabis Dispensary System’ is used in the country’s various projects, is ready to work with German companies to enable them to hit the ground running.

Cannavigia’s co-founder and CEO Luc Richner said: “It is great to see that the legislator had the foresight to lay the foundation for the next phase already within this version of the CanG. We look forward to sharing with our German friends some of the lessons learned so far in the Swiss pilot projects.”

This was echoed by Mr. Hänsel, who said: “Through our relationship with Cannavigia and our own scientific pilot project in Switzerland, we see ourselves perfectly prepared to support German municipalities with their regional pilot projects.”

Cannabis trade also understands that a dialogue is already underway between the German and Swiss governments on the project.