Anyone suffering from a serious illness has been able to smoke hashish or take cannabis drops legally for years. Now more and more online pharmacies are entering the market – using questionable methods.
A man from Berlin says that getting a prescription for cannabis on the computer only took a few minutes. He attended a short doctor’s consultation online at a mail-order pharmacy. “The ‘consultation’ lasted less than five minutes,” he says. “I was given four ailments to choose from and I chose back pain, and I had the prescription straight away.”
The man is not alone in his experience. The number of prescriptions for medical cannabis is clearly increasing, as the Federal Ministry of Health confirmed upon request. This is evident in the import volumes: According to figures from the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), the import of dried cannabis flowers for medical purposes recently rose by 40 percent: from 8.1 tons in the first quarter of the year to 11.7 tons in the second quarter.
Partial legalization has an impact
The possibility of obtaining cannabis as medicine – for example as flowers, capsules or cannabis extracts – has been available in Germany since 2017. The law speaks of use in the case of a “serious illness”. According to the ministry, it can be prescribed for pain therapy, for certain chronic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis or for severe loss of appetite and nausea.
In recent years, imports of medical cannabis have risen almost continuously – but this year the jump was particularly huge. Experts assume that this is also related to the partial legalization, which helped to destigmatize it. Cannabis has been legal for all adults in Germany since April, not just for the seriously ill.
But where is the cannabis supposed to come from? Trade in the drug is still prohibited. Growing up to three plants at home requires space, equipment, knowledge and the ability to keep children and teenagers away. The cultivation clubs were only allowed to start in July and things are not going smoothly everywhere. In Berlin, for example, no application from a cannabis club has yet been approved. In addition, such a plant needs about three months before it can be harvested.
Medical cannabis for enjoyment
The man from Berlin explains why he ordered from an online pharmacy for the first time a few weeks ago: “Since I haven’t drunk alcohol since I was 30, I regularly use cannabis to relax and unwind.” He is also a judge. “In my position, it is obviously not ideal to obtain drugs for consumption illegally.” Ordering medical cannabis for himself now “felt like a step backwards in terms of legalization.” But he hopes that this is only a stopgap solution until he can obtain his cannabis as a member of the Blatt & Blüte cultivation association.
The head of the Federal Opium Agency, Peter Cremer-Schaeffer, writes in the “Ärzteblatt”: An analysis of more than 7,000 cannabis prescriptions shows that the cannabis was mainly given to young men. In addition, more than two thirds were issued as private prescriptions – in order to get the costs reimbursed by the health insurance company using a prescription, one actually has to prove that one has a serious illness. These reasons make “it seem possible that a supply of cannabis flowers is taking place that was not the legislator’s intention,” writes Cremer-Schaeffer.
Websites specializing in cannabis are booming
The online platforms that sell cannabis are often specifically geared towards this and advertise themselves very actively on the Internet. They issue a private prescription for a fee. The websites and the prescribing doctors are often based abroad. The price of cannabis is also attractive: the costs for self-payers are similar to the prices on the black market – with guaranteed quality.
The expert group “Medical Cannabis” of the German Pharmaceutical Society (DPhG) explained that these websites are “springing up everywhere”. Doctors are hardly able to fulfill their duty of care on the platforms because cannabis can have undesirable effects. “Flowers with high THC content in particular pose a risk and are likely to increase the number of cases of psychotic events – even among users who are accustomed to cannabis.”
In fact, the average tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content is much higher today than it used to be. According to the European Drug Report, the THC content doubled between 2012 and 2022 alone. The comparison with 1968 is even more stark.
The DPhG expert group says that it cannot be in the spirit of the legislator “if the prescription on private prescriptions is used by consumers to supply themselves with cannabis for recreational purposes”. The platforms, on the other hand – this is the impression that arises – are not focused on the well-being of patients, but on their profit. The experts demand, among other things, a personal consultation with a doctor for such a prescription.
Ministry wants to continue monitoring
A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Health stressed that cannabis for medical purposes may only be prescribed as a medicine with a medical reason. The ministry will “continue to monitor the development of the regulation closely”.
Andreas Peifer from the Cannabis Social Clubs Germany hopes that the cannabis associations will soon sort things out themselves, because people will then be able to obtain the cannabis properly. He has been using medical cannabis for two and a half years because of his chronic pain and underlying mental illnesses. “Because the number of prescriptions has increased so much, many things are not available to me as a patient,” he explains. He has to keep ordering different preparations, with new effects and side effects.
“I can understand anyone who would rather have a prescription than go to the black market,” he says. But anyone who is really sick should definitely find a local doctor with whom they can discuss medication and preparations. On the other hand, anyone who wants to smoke for pleasure should become a member of a cultivation association. “So that we patients are guaranteed supplies.”
Cannabis law Cremer-Schaeffer in the “Ärzteblatt” European Drug Report, Engl. BfArM: Medical cannabis traffic Federal Ministry of Health: Cannabis as medicine DpGH statement KBV: Cannabis regulation
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
