ORIENTATION TOWARDS YOUTH PROTECTION AND HEALTH IS WELCOMED, BUT COMPETITIVENESS AGAINST BLACK MARKET MUST BE IMPROVED

Berlin, 10/19/2022 – The RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland has published initial details on the preparations for a key points paper by the Ministry of Health on cannabis regulation. The cannabis industry welcomes this as a sign of progress in the regulatory process.

“We support the orientation towards youth and health protection. At the same time, it is important for us as a legal cannabis economy to remain competitive with the black market. Three criteria in particular are relevant for this: Quality, product variety and price. The proposed THC cap for legal products, on the other hand, would leave a large part of the market in illegality and thus clearly over-advantage the black market,” says Dirk Heitepriem, departmental coordinator for recreational cannabis regulation at the Cannabis Business Association (BvCW).

Furthermore, the BvCW is critical of the marketing restrictions intended in the preliminary draft: “A successful containment of the black market needs a legal cannabis economy that can operate profitably. An important prerequisite for this is the creation of brand identities. Therefore, especially at the point of sale – behind an age barrier – informative and educational advertising and branding should be made possible,” Dirk Heitepriem continued.

“But first it is necessary to wait for the final key points paper of the Federal Government. We are pleased that the voice of the cannabis industry has already been taken into account, such as with THC-oriented taxation and the licensing of online trade, and look forward to further constructive discussion,” said Jürgen Neumeyer, managing director of the BvCW. The BvCW is grateful that the federal government is moving forward with legalization. In order to find common solutions on how to reconcile health and youth protection, the containment of the black market and a healthy cannabis economy, the industry association continues to be available with its expertise.

More documents on the regulatory discussion:
ELEMENTE Vol. 26: Position paper on Track & Trace
ELEMENTE Vol. 25: Synopsis of association positions
ELEMENTE Vol. 24: Position paper on supply chains and production conditions
ELEMENTE Vol. 23: Position Paper on Prevention & Risk Minimization
ELEMENTE Vol. 22: Cannabis Regulation – Collection of mistakes and lessons learned from other countries
ELEMENTE Vol. 20: Key issues paper on stimulant regulation – Towards a German cannabis agenda