Berlin, 2021-04-29: The police in Essen recently announced that the sale of “CBD hemp” is generally illegal and punishable, with prison sentences of no less than one year expected. They claimed that “consumability and thus abuse for intoxicating purposes” was “obvious,” and the narcotics division is investigating.

“The Federal Court of Justice ruled on 03/24/2021 (Case No. 6 StR 240/20) that the sale of ‘CBD flowers’ from industrial hemp to end consumers is permitted as long as abuse for intoxicating purposes can be excluded. The police should inform themselves about this highest court ruling before making public statements or taking corresponding actions. Such announcements cause unnecessary uncertainty. It is obvious that we urgently need sensible legal regulations,” said Jürgen Neumeyer, Managing Director of BvCW.

Dr. Stefan Meyer, President of BvCW and Coordinator of the CBD department, clarified: “THC levels in CBD hemp flowers are regularly so low that intoxication is excluded even when consuming an entire sales unit. Given the increasing overtime burden on the police, it is incomprehensible why tax funds are being wasted specifically on the growing industrial hemp market.”

For industrial hemp with THC content below 0.2%, exemptions apply under the German Narcotics Act (BtMG). Currently, these exemptions are increasingly interpreted restrictively, even though the law has not changed. The assessment of alleged abuse potential still needs legal clarification following the BGH ruling. According to BvCW, legal certainty can only be achieved by removing industrial hemp from the Narcotics Act.

More on the topic:

1. The full BGH ruling of 03/24/2021 can be found here.
2. The World Health Organization (WHO) already stated on 01/31/2020 regarding CBD classification under international drug control treaties: “Cannabidiol […] cannot be regarded as a narcotic.” (E/CN.7/2020/CRP.4, p. 70)
3. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on 11/19/2020 (Case No. C-663/18) that “a Member State […] may not prohibit the marketing of cannabidiol (CBD) lawfully produced in another Member State if it is extracted from the entire Cannabis sativa plant and not only from its fibers and seeds.” The Court further noted that EU law on the definitions of “drug” or “narcotic” refers to two United Nations conventions: the Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
4. Several parliamentary groups in the Bundestag are already advocating amendments to the Narcotics Act. Recently, the Left Party and the Greens submitted a parliamentary motion, which is unlikely to be decided upon before the federal election.