Germany has approved Cannabis For Medical Use, and Legalization for Recreation Is Next
Management Summary
Germany has a coalition government in power. The coalition contract of the three governing parties “Koalitionsvertrag” wants to enable the recreational use of cannabis in Germany, during this term. Jakob and Benedikt give us an update on the timeline, expected market size, and how Canasativa wants to get a big share of this market. The brothers also expect the legalization in Germany to have a domino effect in the EU kicking off a round of legalization in other countries.
We expect legalization in Germany to be just the start for legalizing cannabis for recreational use in the European Union.
Benedikt Sons Co-Founder and CEO of Cansativa
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We are building the leading retail platform for in Germany, as well as the leading B2B marketplace in cannabis.
Benedikt Sons Co-Founder and CEO of Cansativa
The Founder(s)
In this interview, we get an update from Jakob and Benedikt Sons, the founders of one of Germany’s first medical cannabis startups. In the past, we interviewed both about the newly introduced medical cannabis and how the whole market was started in Germany. Since our last interview, they showed some impressive growth and even won Snoop Dog as an investor in their 15 m US$ Series B funding round (https://sifted.eu/articles/snoop-dogg-cansativa-germany-cannabis/) Now we also talk to them about the legalization of recreational use of cannabis in Germany.
Benedikt is the Co-Founder and CEO, he has a background in consulting: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedikt-sons-762a28103/
Jakob is the Co-Founder, Lawyer, and Managing Director: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakob-sons-795087133/
We are the exclusive partner for medical cannabis of Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. So we are the exclusive distributor for domestic produced medical cannabis.
Benedikt Sons Co-Founder and CEO of Cansativa
Legalization of Recreational Use of Cannabis in Germany
The recreational use of Cannabis in Germany is not legal yet. The three parties forming the Scholz Government (SPD, FDP, and Green Party) agreed at the start of their coalition to a contract stating their goals and intentions. We have already talked about what this could mean for startups and VCs
The coalition contract also includes the intent to legalize the recreational use of cannabis in Germany with a new law. We are now in the first stages of this draft of the law, which should be available to lawmakers for a first discussion end of 2022. So we get an update from Jakob and Benedikt about their expectations (practical legalization towards fall or winter 2023) and potential market size (~ 4 bn € annual market up to 8 bn € annual market). The market size estimates are always a bit fuzzy since the current market is illegal (with exception of medical use) and therefore they are — well-researched — estimates by different researchers. The medical market in Germany is somewhere around 10 to 15 metric tons.
The brothers expect Germany to have a domino effect in the EU and kickstart legalization for recreational use in the whole EU with a population of around 450 million people. Canada has four years after legalization a market size of ~ 4 bn US$, with a population of not even 40 m.
Germany wants to create a system in which people — even first-time cannabis consumers — can have safe and responsible consumption.
Benedikt Sons Co-Founder and CEO of Cansativa
The Startup
Cansativa (https://www.cansativa-group.de/en/) is headquartered in Frankfurt. They have an exclusive partnership with the German state (BfArM) and so they are also the exclusive distributor for the domestic production of medical cannabis in Germany.
Canada has not even half of Germany’s population and there — four years after legalizing recreational use — the market is already 4 bn US$.
Benedikt Sons Co-Founder and CEO of Cansativa
Venture Capital Funding
Cansativa has raised already more than 20 m US$ in venture capital funding. The lead investor in their recent Series B round of 15 m US$ has been Casa Verde, amongst the investments was even Snoop Dog.
They are open to talking to new investors in order to prepare for the legalization of cannabis for recreational use.
Cansativa is hiring
Learn more on their website here:
The Video Interview is set to go live on Thursday, June 22nd 2022
The Audio Interview
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Further Readings / Additional Resources
- One metric ton is 2.205 US pounds
- BfArM: German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Institute_for_Drugs_and_Medical_Devices
The 2020 Interview
Here is the “old” interview from 2020 with Benedikt and Jakob, where we talked about legalized medical cannabis in Germany.
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The Interviewer
This interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:
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