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[![Medical cannabis cargo pallets at a European Union air-freight terminal bound for Germany](/images/uploads/7c231918-3a5a-4c66-ae9b-27c4764f8016/news-hero-european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-1920x1080.jpg)](/images/uploads/7c231918-3a5a-4c66-ae9b-27c4764f8016/news-hero-european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-1920x1080.avif "View image full size")

[Business](/news/business "Business")

12 min read

# European Union medical cannabis trade: Germany’s 50-tonne quarter shows a market still built on imports

![Portrait of Rob Harley, Cannabivo news desk](/images/uploads/5f094d99-3443-4907-8555-2910851fd38a/rob-harley-1920x1920.jpg)By [Rob Harley](/user-profile?u=a65dddce-73db-40b5-8660-fe93612a7384 "View the author's member profile")Published June 20, 2026in [Business](/news/business "Business")

 In the European Union, Germany imported 50.539 tonnes of medical cannabis in Q1 2026, showing the scale and shifting structure of the bloc’s biggest market.

![Portrait of Rob Harley, Cannabivo news desk](/images/uploads/5f094d99-3443-4907-8555-2910851fd38a/rob-harley-1920x1920.jpg)By [Rob Harley](/user-profile?u=a65dddce-73db-40b5-8660-fe93612a7384 "View the author's member profile")

Rob Harley has reported on cannabis law and the non-profit association movement across Europe for the past decade. He focuses on how regulation actually reaches the members who use cannabis social clubs — the paperwork, the limits, and the slow build of public trust. His work for Cannabivo aims to be accurate, sourced, and free of hype.

[More articles by this author](/news/author/rob-harley "See all articles by this author")Published June 20, 2026in [Business](/news/business "Business")

 In this article1. [Germany’s first quarter has become an EU-scale signal](/news/business/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-built-on-imports#germany-s-first-quarter-has-become-an-eu-scale-signal "Germany’s first quarter has become an EU-scale signal")
2. [An import market built through pharmacies and foreign supply](/news/business/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-built-on-imports#an-import-market-built-through-pharmacies-and-foreign-supply "An import market built through pharmacies and foreign supply")
3. [Why the quarter eased from late 2025 without shrinking the market story](/news/business/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-built-on-imports#why-the-quarter-eased-from-late-2025-without-shrinking-the-market-story "Why the quarter eased from late 2025 without shrinking the market story")
4. [A huge market, but patient access is still a live policy question](/news/business/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-built-on-imports#a-huge-market-but-patient-access-is-still-a-live-policy-question "A huge market, but patient access is still a live policy question")
5. [What Germany’s import data say about the wider European Union market](/news/business/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-built-on-imports#what-germany-s-import-data-say-about-the-wider-european-union-market "What Germany’s import data say about the wider European Union market")
6. [Reader questions about the 50-tonne quarter](/news/business/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-built-on-imports#reader-questions-about-the-50-tonne-quarter "Reader questions about the 50-tonne quarter")

In the European Union, [Germany](/germany "711 Cannabis Social Clubs in Germany (2026)") has again underlined how concentrated the bloc’s medical cannabis trade has become. Figures from Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, the BfArM, show that at least 50.539 tonnes of medical cannabis products were imported into Germany in the first quarter of 2026 alone. Taken together with the previous three quarters, the country’s 12-month import total moved above 218 tonnes, reinforcing Germany’s place as Europe’s largest legal medical cannabis market and the world’s biggest destination for imported medical cannabis products. The more revealing story, though, is not just the size of the quarter. It is how that demand is being served as domestic cultivation expands and other legal access routes widen inside the European Union’s most important medical cannabis market.

## Germany’s first quarter has become an EU-scale signal

For the **European Union**, Germany’s first-quarter import total matters because it turns what might look like a national statistic into a regional market signal. A single member state importing **50.539 tonnes** in three months tells wholesalers, producers and regulators across Europe that the continent’s biggest medical channel is still absorbing very large volumes through the pharmacy system.

The scale is easier to grasp in the logistics chain itself:

[![Medical cannabis cargo pallets at a European Union air-freight terminal awaiting transfer to Germany](/images/uploads/c7a2f8a7-0c61-4c1d-9ad8-0725bc66c186/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-buil-1920x1080.jpg)](/images/uploads/c7a2f8a7-0c61-4c1d-9ad8-0725bc66c186/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-buil-1920x1080.avif "View image full size")

A quarter above 50 tonnes is best understood as a logistics story as much as a policy one, with cross-border pharmaceutical shipments feeding Germany’s medical market from across the European Union and beyond.Set beside the other numbers cited in the current reporting cycle, the quarter looks like this:

Key numbers from the current market snapshot

50.539 tonnesImported in Germany in Q1 2026

218+ tonnesImported over the latest 12 months cited

2017Year medical cannabis became available in German pharmacies

430+Cultivation associations approved in Germany

Those figures show why Germany has become the reference point for medical cannabis trade inside Europe. What would count as a full-year benchmark elsewhere has become a single-quarter number here, while the 12-month total above **218 tonnes** suggests that import demand remains structurally large even as the legal landscape around it becomes more diverse.

## An import market built through pharmacies and foreign supply

The present scale did not appear overnight. The primary source says medical cannabis has been available in **German pharmacies** since 2017, and that what began as a relatively limited patient-access programme has developed into a mature, highly internationalised industry supplied by producers from around the world.

> What was once a relatively limited patient-access programme has turned into a mature and highly internationalised industry.
>
> Primary source description of Germany’s medical cannabis market

### Canada remains the anchor supplier

Among those exporting countries, **Canada** still holds the leading position. The source attributes that staying power to years of investment in export capacity and in the regulatory certifications needed to reach European pharmaceutical markets. Supporting reporting adds a clearer market share estimate: Canadian producers supplied about **53%** of the Q1 2026 volume.

Three markers from the current snapshot help explain how concentrated this market has become:

Current markers of the European Union’s largest medical cannabis import market
| Indicator | Value | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imports into Germany in Q1 2026 | 50.539 tonnes | Shows that one quarter alone cleared the 50-tonne mark in the EU’s biggest medical market | [Newsweed report on BfArM import figures](https://www.newsweed.fr/en/allmeagne-import-50-tons-cannabis-medical-q1-2026/ "Newsweed report on BfArM import figures") |
| Canadian share of the Q1 2026 volume | About 53% | Highlights the continued weight of overseas supply in the German market | [Hanfjournal supplier share report](https://hanfjournal.de/2026/05/24/deutschland-importiert-ueber-50-tonnen-medizinalcannabis-boom-oder-warnsignal/ "Hanfjournal supplier share report") |
| United Kingdom imports in 2025 | About 30 tonnes | Provides a Europe-wide contrast with the region’s other large medical market outside the EU | [Newsweed comparison with the United Kingdom](https://www.newsweed.fr/en/allmeagne-import-50-tons-cannabis-medical-q1-2026/ "Newsweed comparison with the United Kingdom") |

That contrast with the **United Kingdom**, which is outside the European Union, is one of the starkest figures in the source material. The UK is commonly described as Europe’s second-largest medical cannabis market, yet its cited 2025 imports of about 30 tonnes are far below Germany’s most recent 12-month total of more than 218 tonnes.

Plotted side by side, the gap is hard to miss:

## Why the quarter eased from late 2025 without shrinking the market story

The primary source also notes an important nuance: Q1 2026 imports were lower than the revised figures recorded at the end of **2025**. On its face, that might look like a cooling market. But the source points to a more complicated explanation, one rooted in where supply is now coming from rather than in any clear evidence of collapsing patient demand.

### The demand question is more complicated

Germany’s 2024 cannabis reform widened the legal ecosystem around medical access. If domestic production is rising and some adults are obtaining cannabis through other lawful routes, import volumes can soften while the overall market remains broad and active.

The source points to three developments that may help explain the shift:

- Germany’s **Cannabis Act**, the CanG, removed production quotas in 2024 that had previously limited commercial cultivation.
- Adults have been allowed to grow up to **three plants** at home since April 2024.
- Non-profit cultivation associations, often called cannabis clubs, have been allowed to cultivate and distribute to registered members since July 2024.

Domestic cultivation is the most direct part of that story. The source says local capacity has kept increasing since the quota system was removed, allowing German producers to cover a growing share of patient demand that had previously depended on imports. At the same time, home grow and clubs add legal alternatives that may supplement or, for some people, partly replace pharmacy purchases.

The sequence of reforms and market expansion looks like this:

How access widened while imports stayed very high

1. 2017Pharmacy access begins

    Medical cannabis becomes available through German pharmacies.
2. 2024CanG adopted

    Germany’s Cannabis Act removes production quotas that had constrained commercial cultivation.
3. April 2024Home grow allowed

    Adults can cultivate up to three plants at home.
4. July 2024Cultivation associations start

    Non-profit cannabis clubs can cultivate and distribute to registered members under strict rules.
5. Q1 2026Imports still exceed 50 tonnes

    Germany imports 50.539 tonnes of medical cannabis products in a single quarter.

The cultivation side of that transition can also be pictured more concretely:

[![Indoor medical cannabis cultivation room in an EU-licensed facility with labelled batches and stainless tables](/images/uploads/940ff9d4-639e-4e0a-8c2a-43387dd1ab4e/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-buil-1920x1080.jpg)](/images/uploads/940ff9d4-639e-4e0a-8c2a-43387dd1ab4e/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-buil-1920x1080.avif "View image full size")

Rising domestic cultivation capacity helps explain why imports can fall from one quarter to the next without signalling a weak market.Why a lower quarter is not a simple warning sign

The source does not present the Q1 2026 import figure as evidence of a shrinking market. It suggests that more domestic cultivation, home grow and cultivation associations may be shifting where some supply comes from, even while Germany remains Europe’s largest legal medical market.

## A huge market, but patient access is still a live policy question

The import figures show scale, but they do not settle the future of access. In Germany, pressure is already building around reimbursement rules. In [DHV’s submission on the draft GKV savings law](https://hanfverband.de/dhv-stellungnahme-zum-regierungsentwurf-gkv-beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz "DHV’s submission on the draft GKV savings law"), the advocacy group argues that removing cannabis flowers from statutory health insurance reimbursement would undermine care and could even increase overall costs. That debate has already moved into mainstream politics, as Cannabivo reported earlier on the first Bundestag debate on a reimbursement cutoff for cannabis flowers.

That matters because a market this large is still sensitive to the terms on which patients can actually obtain products. The primary source suggests that some people may now complement or replace pharmacy purchases with home cultivation, but it also makes clear that there are no official data showing how many medical users have taken that path.

The patient-access side of the story looks less like a freight terminal and more like everyday healthcare administration:

[![Clinic pharmacy counter in the European Union with cannabis prescription forms and reimbursement paperwork](/images/uploads/9c43dc86-9e62-4d46-ada9-7aebfb4b4088/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-buil-1920x1080.jpg)](/images/uploads/9c43dc86-9e62-4d46-ada9-7aebfb4b4088/european-union-medical-cannabis-trade-germany-s-50-tonne-quarter-shows-a-market-still-buil-1920x1080.avif "View image full size")

The next phase of the market may depend as much on reimbursement and prescribing rules as on import volumes themselves.What remains uncertain

The cited sources do not show how many patients have shifted from pharmacy purchases to home grow or cultivation associations. That makes the Q1 2026 import total a strong measure of scale, but only an imperfect guide to future patient behaviour.

For the moment, the safer reading is that **Germany’s** medical system remains extremely large while the channels around it are multiplying. That combination can keep the overall ecosystem broad even if import patterns become less one-directional than they were when pharmacies and foreign suppliers carried almost the whole load.

## What Germany’s import data say about the wider European Union market

For the **European Union**, Germany’s import total is important not because it resolves the cannabis question, but because it shows how large a regulated medical channel can become inside a region where the wider cannabis economy is still dominated by illicit supply and uneven national rules.

As Cannabivo noted in our earlier coverage of the EU drug report, Europe’s cannabis picture is becoming more fragmented rather than less. [DW’s summary of the EUDA 2026 report](https://amp.dw.com/en/eu-youth-involvement-in-synthetic-opioids-smuggling-rises/a-77478901 "DW’s summary of the EUDA 2026 report") says the illicit cannabis market in the EU is still worth about **€12 billion**, and that cannabis accounted for **68%** of roughly one million illegal-drug seizures in the bloc in 2024.

That broader context makes Germany’s medical figures more significant, not less. One member state has created a pharmacy-based system large enough to absorb more than 50 tonnes in a quarter, while the Union around it continues to wrestle with illicit trade, regulatory fragmentation and diverging national reform paths.

Taken together, the numbers point to three EU-level conclusions:

- Legal medical demand inside the **European Union** can reach industrial scale when a large member state builds a stable pharmacy channel.
- Cross-border supply remains central, even where domestic cultivation is starting to grow faster.
- Reform does not move in a single direction: medical imports can surge while other parts of the cannabis market remain tightly contested or largely illicit.

## Reader questions about the 50-tonne quarter

The current figures answer some obvious questions, but they also leave a few limits worth stating plainly:

FAQ

How much medical cannabis did Germany import in the first quarter of 2026?The cited BfArM figures put Germany’s imports at \*\*50.539 tonnes\*\* of medical cannabis products in Q1 2026.

Does that keep Germany ahead of other European markets?Yes. The source says Germany imported more than \*\*218 tonnes\*\* over the latest 12 months cited, confirming its position as Europe’s largest legal medical cannabis market.

Why were Q1 2026 imports lower than the revised figures at the end of 2025?The primary source suggests that growing domestic cultivation after the 2024 reform may explain part of the decline. Home grow and cultivation associations may also be shifting some supply away from imports, though their precise effect is uncertain.

Who was the main foreign supplier in the quarter?Canada retained the leading position among supplier countries, and supporting reporting says Canadian producers accounted for about \*\*53%\*\* of the Q1 2026 volume.

Do home grow and cannabis clubs now replace the medical system?The sources do not show that. They say some adults may supplement or replace pharmacy purchases through those routes, but there are no official data on how many medical users have done so, and the exact impact on medical sales remains unclear.

Key takeaways

- Germany imported \*\*50.539 tonnes\*\* of medical cannabis products in Q1 2026, a volume large enough to shape the wider European Union market conversation.
- Over the latest 12 months cited, Germany moved above \*\*218 tonnes\*\*, reinforcing its place as Europe’s largest legal medical cannabis market.
- Imports remain central, but domestic cultivation is rising after the 2024 Cannabis Act removed production quotas, and other legal access routes now exist alongside pharmacies.
- Canada remains the leading foreign supplier, with supporting reporting putting its share at about \*\*53%\*\* of the Q1 2026 volume.
- The future path of the market will depend not only on imports, but also on reimbursement policy, patient access and how Europe manages a legal medical channel beside a much larger illicit cannabis economy.

For the European Union, Germany’s 50.539-tonne first quarter is less a one-off headline than a sign of a medical market with continental pull. The import channel remains enormous, domestic cultivation is gaining ground, and alternative legal access routes are now part of the same ecosystem. At the same time, reimbursement disputes and wider regulatory pressures could still reshape how patients use that system. What the latest figures make clear is that Europe’s biggest medical cannabis market is no longer just growing. It is changing in structure, and the rest of the Union is likely to keep reading its numbers as an early indicator of where regulated cannabis trade can scale next.

## Sources

1. [Germany imported more than 50 tons of medical cannabis in the first quarter of 2026 (newsweed.fr)](https://www.newsweed.fr/en/allmeagne-import-50-tons-cannabis-medical-q1-2026/ "Open source in a new tab: https://www.newsweed.fr/en/allmeagne-import-50-tons-cannabis-medical-q1-2026/")
2. [Deutschland importiert über 50 Tonnen Medizinalcannabis – Boom oder Warnsignal? (hanfjournal.de)](https://hanfjournal.de/2026/05/24/deutschland-importiert-ueber-50-tonnen-medizinalcannabis-boom-oder-warnsignal/ "Open source in a new tab: https://hanfjournal.de/2026/05/24/deutschland-importiert-ueber-50-tonnen-medizinalcannabis-boom-oder-warnsignal/")
3. [DHV-Stellungnahme zum Regierungsentwurf „GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz“ (hanfverband.de)](https://hanfverband.de/dhv-stellungnahme-zum-regierungsentwurf-gkv-beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz "Open source in a new tab: https://hanfverband.de/dhv-stellungnahme-zum-regierungsentwurf-gkv-beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz")
4. [EU: Youth involvement in synthetic opioids smuggling rises (amp.dw.com)](https://amp.dw.com/en/eu-youth-involvement-in-synthetic-opioids-smuggling-rises/a-77478901 "Open source in a new tab: https://amp.dw.com/en/eu-youth-involvement-in-synthetic-opioids-smuggling-rises/a-77478901")