The country has obtained the largest shipment of medical marijuana in European Union history.
Germany received its first imports of medicinal cannabis from Portugal and Australia this week. Two German companies took delivery of the shipments that will be used for testing purposes and to supply the country’s growing demand for medical marijuana, which was legalized in 2017.
In Cologne, Cannamedical Pharma received a commercial shipment of cannabis from a company in Portugal. Although the company did not identify the shipper, last month Tilray Portugal announced that it had come to an agreement with Cannamedical to export medicinal cannabis to Germany.
“We are proud of the contribution we are making to provide a stable supply of medicinal cannabis to patients in Germany and thankful for our world-class supply partners,” he added.
The medical marijuana received by Cannamedical will be packaged in Germany and should be ready for patients beginning in mid-October.
Samples From Australia Also Received
In Frankfurt, Cansativa received a sample shipment of medical cannabis oils for testing purposes. The cannabis oil was produced in Australia, which legalized medical marijuana in 2016, by the company Little Green Pharma. Benedikt Sons, the co-managing director of Cansativa, said in a press release that the company was adding additional suppliers to meet the growing demand for medical marijuana in Germany.
“Our new partner in Australia helps us to tackle the growing supply problems in the German market and secure the amount of deliveries necessary to meet the increasing demands by the patients,” said Sons. “This is an important step in ensuring security of supply for patients in Germany.”
In April, Cansativa announced that it was the first German company authorized to import cannabis from Uruguay and Colombia. The first samples from Uruguay have already been received by the company and the initial delivery from Colombia is expected soon.
Germany has relied on imports of medical marijuana from countries including Canada and the Netherlands since legalizing the medicinal use of cannabis two years ago. Domestic cultivators have been licensed by the government, but the initial harvests from them are not expected until late 2020.