2 German cities to launch adult-use cannabis sales pilot project in 2025

Legal adult-use cannabis sales will launch in two German cities in early 2025, but there’s a catch: Only a few thousand buyers will be allowed to participate, and they’ll be part of a pilot project.

This development is arising after Germany earlier this year became the largest European country to legalize recreational cannabis.

Germany’s adult-use law approved in February – it went into effect April 1 – ended prohibition and was billed as legalization, but it did not create a legal groundwork for the commercial sales of recreational cannabis to consumers.

One caveat is that cannabis is currently available in Germany via “social clubs” that limit both the number of people allowed to join as well as how much product they can purchase.

Project to last 5 years

But starting next year, a pilot project will allow limited legal adult-use sales at a few outlets in the German cities of Frankfurt am Main and Hanover, according to The Local Europe.

Both cities will be part of a five-year project.

Hanover’s Green Party mayor, Belit Onay, said his city wants to recognize “social realities,” including existing illicit-market cannabis sales and use, the Stockholm-based Local reported.

Concerns have been raised in Germany over impure and highly potent product available via illegal channels.

In Hanover, an estimated 4,000 people will be allowed to purchase cannabis from up to three points of sale, likely pharmacies, sometime in early 2025, The Local reported.

Participation is limited to Hanover residents 18 and older. They’ll receive an ID card bearing an alias and will be prohibited from passing on the legal cannabis products to others.

Interviews, medical exams required

According to The Local, Hanover participants “must be willing to participate regularly in buying cannabis and take part in scientific surveys,” which will include regular interviews about their buying habits.

Sales staff at the outlets are also part of the study: They’ll be trained to offer advice and intervene if participants show signs of addiction.

Frankfurt’s pilot will have a similar structure, according to Cologne, Germany-based Cannabis-Startups.com, “but will operate within dedicated cannabis shops rather than pharmacies.”

Participants in the Frankfurt project will be subject to “regular medical evaluations to monitor the study’s health impact over its five-year duration,” Cannabis-Startups noted.