Germany to allow ‘seriously ill’ patients to grow their own cannabis

A German court today ruled some people suffering from chronic pain should be able to cultivate their own cannabis “for therapeutic purposes.” Five people suffering from the condition brought the complaint to a court in Cologne after Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) refused them permission to grow the plant at home. The court said the BfArM had to reconsider three of the requests that it had rejected. The plaintiffs all had permits to buy and consume cannabis for therapeutic purposes.

This is not a carte blanche for everyone to start growing cannabis at home—they have to be seriously ill people for whom nothing else works other than cannabis.

Stefanie Seifert, court spokeswoman

But they wanted to cultivate their own because they could not afford to purchase the drug and their health insurance did not cover it. The court said three of the plaintiffs met the requirements to produce the drug because it was “sufficiently certain” third parties wouldn’t be able to access the plants and products. “Until now, it has not been legal for anyone to grow cannabis at home but these seriously ill people will now be allowed to,” court spokeswoman Stefanie Seifert said, adding that it, nonetheless, remained illegal for others to grow it.

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