Tag: Germany

  • Going to the Extreme

    Going to the Extreme

    The 2024 InterTabac and InterSupply trade shows continue to go to the next level.

    VV staff and Wingle Group

    It’s big. With nine halls, the 2024 trade fair duo InterTabac and InterSupply, held at Messe Dortmund Sept. 19–21, was the largest show since InterTabac began more than 45 years ago. Event organizers at the time wanted to create a platform that provided the nicotine industry with comprehensive information on new products and improved purchasing opportunities in one centralized location.

    Today, the dual trade show encompasses the nine trade show halls as well as the CB Expo Hall (cannabis products) and PouchXchange Hall PA4. PouchXchange is a new, exclusive event that focuses on high-quality communication, networking, meetings with experts and entertainment. It was billed as a networking event for the nicotine pouch and snus industry experts. This event brought together manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and scientists from the industry and offered a platform for intensive dialogue.

    There were more than 800 exhibitors and 14,000 visitors, according to the organizers. Products presented at InterTabac range from cigarillos, cigars, cigarettes, pipes, smoking accessories, fine-cut tobacco and pipe tobacco to equipment, press products, e-liquids, e-cigarettes, modern oral products, heated-tobacco systems and sticks and more, according to Wingle Group, a consulting company focused on the personal electronics, innovative wellness and electronic consumer businesses.

    Some of the major insights in the vaping industry at the show included:

    • Smiss Technology is entering the connected devices segment with its own design of a connected pod system and e-cigarette that changes display indication according to the level of sound/voice (Smoore introduced a similar e-cigarette prototype earlier). The company’s portfolio now also includes disposables with removable screen modules.
    • Barong Elixir has started trial sales of its open-pod system with a heart rate sensor in the U.K. Shenzhen Future Tech Co. manufactures the device. It connects to a phone and has two versions of pods: one for e-liquid and one for CBD oil. The company plans to make it a universal pod system with a future software update.
    • China-based Flonq introduced the Flonq Meta (see “Vaping Under Control,” page 16), a smart pod vaping system with Bluetooth connectivity to an app. The app will provide vape usage statistics while the device’s display shows the consumed dosage. The application is expected to launch in November.
    • CIRAK Electronics GmbH announced the HQD Glaze Plus 12000 disposable e-cigarette, aimed at the U.S. and Russian markets. The device allows users to adjust the cooling agent in the vapor across 10 levels. It features two internal tanks: one for nicotine-flavored e-liquid and the other for a nicotine-free cooling agent. The output of the second tank is adjustable, enabling consumers to customize the level of coolness in the vapor.
    • Tesclacigs added a new disposable device to its portfolio, the Tesla Bar XT-26000. The booth also displayed the Vabeen Polar Beast 35000 disposable. Both devices are equipped with a large 3D curved screen and cooling level adjustment. The device consists of a 4 mL chamber with menthol and a 20 mL chamber with flavored e-liquid. The company plans to launch nicotine level adjustment disposables with the same design and construction.
    • Shenzhen ALD Technology Co. promoted its Fresor models. Recent products are the Fresor Nova Bar CR4 and the Fresor Click Turbo open pod systems with the Fresor Nova Dual flat mesh coil and the Fresor King disposable (also with the Fresor Nova).
    • Vaporesso presented the Dojo Sphere X 40000 disposable featuring a Quad Mesh heater inside.
    • Kiwi presented the Kiwi Go Plus pod system featuring a FEELM Max heater inside from Smoore. The device has the same design as the Kiwi Go 750 disposable pod.
    • Shenzhen Innokin Technology Co. presented pod systems with a removable battery design: the Innokin Trine and the Innokin Trine Q and a charging hub.
    • RELX launched the RELX Essential CR pod system with a removable battery design in New Zealand.
    • Golisi presented its Golisi Medo Q pod system, which has a modular design (removable battery) and is manufactured by Shenzhen Deyuan Electronic Industry Co. The device has a magnet child lock, where the user must rotate the cartridge three times to lock/unlock it.
    • NoNic by Aroma King showcased disposables with 6-methyl nicotine as an active ingredient. It is a nicotine derivative with a similar effect currently considered premarket tobacco product application-exempt in the U.S. Negotiations are ongoing in the Polish and U.S. markets.
    • Fumatul Distribution (Elf Bar’s distributor) launched the new TPD-compliant disposable Elf Bar EB6000 (same as the Lost Mary BM6000) and the Elf Bar 4-in-1 3200 revolver-like pod system, which was launched in the U.K., Canada and Ukraine in September.
    • Dongguan Hongyi Manufacture Co. promoted the “Nose Knows” brand of nasally inhaled vapes. The Nose Knows AT5000 disposable was launched in the U.S. in July.
    • PeakBar introduced its PeakBar Prestige pod system with a programmable remaining e-liquid mode: Smart mode. Smart mode is like the e-liquid indicator. When the users put the pod in, they can turn on Smart mode by pressing the button on two sides. When the e-liquid is used up, the screen will show a zero e-liquid level.
    • Alchem Europe promoted its Ivlac VI closed pod system prefilled with T-Max e-liquid (1,3-propanediol gives nicotine a more basic environment, ensuring a high level of freebase nicotine form, and potentially increases throat hit), with the total formula optimized for a stronger nicotine hit than the actual nicotine content.
    • Lovesticks brand introduced its new Lovesticks Luvx open pod system (identical to Elf Bar Elfx).
    • VGOD launched the new open pod system VGOD Pod Pro S.
    • The ENVA brand showcased its ENVA Prime pod system (RELX-compatible). The cartridges go with tobacco flavors made from natural tobacco.
    • Kanger promoted its brand Olit. It also presented the NOR TPD circumvent pod system.

    In addition, RELX released a TPD-compliant (2 mL tank + 10 mL bottle) disposable in the U.K. The user needs to press the bottom of the bottle to transfer e-liquid into the 2 mL tank. The RELX Essential Pro and the RELX Essential Plus are marketed in the U.K., and the RELX Diamond is marketed in Croatia.

    Reaching out globally, the RELX Essential 2 closed pod system debuted in Italy while an updated version of the RELX Essential CR launched in New Zealand, and the RELX Alpha-1 open pod system was introduced in Canada. Additionally, the RELX Creator 15000 disposable kit debuted in Malaysia, the RELX Novo 14000 disposable was launched in Thailand, and the RELX Prime open pod system was unveiled in Indonesia. Mongolia saw the launch of the RELX 12000 disposable.

    Two products showcased during InterTabac received additional coverage in this issue of Vapor Voice. Dekang Biotech Co. introduced its new DKiss 21 vaporless convection nicotine inhaler (see “Back to Basics,” page 38). A Nico capsule containing solid nicotine beads is clicked onto the device’s body to use the inhaler.

    The unique hot airflow system in the device separates the heating coil and ingredients, so no vaporization or chemical reaction occurs during use. The Nico capsule may deploy synthetic or tobacco-derived nicotine, meaning more market potential and better regulation compliance for this product format. A more compact version apart from the Dkiss Pen—the Dkiss 21 disposable—has a slightly different construction of its nicotine-containing chamber.

    Greentank (see “Heated Breakthrough,” Issue 3, 2024) is offering oil disposables and 510 cartridges with Quantum Vape heating technology—a unique flat atomizer design with the Quantum Vape Heating Chip. This technology can also be applied to e-liquid for vaping products. The claimed benefits include up to 52 percent cooler vapor compared to market-leading vapes, improved flavor consistency and prolonged lifespan. The materials are 100 percent biocompatible and free from heavy metals.

    Finally, this year’s shows featured a massive increase in the number of modern oral product (MOP) manufacturers exhibiting. Highlights include:

    • Nicotobacco, a Poland-based company, presented Cuba and Baron nicotine pouches. The can is child-resistant and is intended for the Swedish market only. For other countries, child-resistant packaging will be launched shortly.
    • House of Pouches manufactures a wide variety of products, in particular, nicotine pouches under the POKE and BLOW brands, energy pouches AMNESIA and CBD pouches SPIRIT OF NATURE.
    • The well-known vape brand Elux, known for its disposable pods, presented Elux slim nicotine pouches. The products have already been launched in the U.K. in 10, 17 mg/g strength varieties.
    • ALD Group promoted FLYTO nicotine pouches.
    • Philip Morris International showcased its Zyn nicotine pouches. PMI owns one of the most popular and recognizable players in the MOP market. In the first quarter, they were officially launched in Ukraine.
    • Shenzhen Zinwi Bio-Tech Co., a major e-liquid producer, introduced its ZNT nicotine pouches and lozenges.
    • The Tangshan Hancheng Technology Co. exhibited the equipment for filling nicotine pouches and the pouches used for filling: dry, wet, semi-dry and granular.

    One company that stood out was Chubby Gorilla. The California-based company is an established player in the consumer goods packaging solutions arena, serving clients in numerous industries, including the vaping and cannabis products industry. It is now also offering child-resistant packaging for MOPs—the Chubby Gorilla Pouch Container.

    Chubby Gorilla creates original (black, white, transparent and combinations of the aforementioned) and custom pouch cans. The can’s design can be transparent, translucent or opaque. To open the can, consumers turn the lid to align the arrows on the side point, then pull and turn slightly to the side.

    The 2025 edition of InterTabac and InterSupply will be held Sept. 18–20 at Messe Dortmund in Germany.

  • Japan Tobacco to Process Leaf for HTP in Trier

    Japan Tobacco to Process Leaf for HTP in Trier

    The products prepared in Trier will be finalized at a JTI factory in Poland (pictured) Photo: JTI

    Japan Tobacco International is investing €30 million in its Trier, Germany, factory, reports Tagesschau.

    The company plans to build a new facility to process leaf tobacco for heated-tobacco sticks. According to the company, these products will be prepared in Trier and then completed at a JTI plant in Poland.

    JTI-Trier Plant Manager Peter Kilburg views the investment as a sign of trust in the factory and its workforce.

    According to the company, Trier is the only JTI plant worldwide to establish such a facility. It is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2026.

    The Trier factory employs about 1,800 people.

  • Germany Readies to Ban Flavored Vape Products

    Germany Readies to Ban Flavored Vape Products

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The German Bundesrat approved a third amendment to the Tobacco Products Act, which would ban flavored heated-tobacco products, according to Dokumentations und Informationssytem fur Parlamentsmaterialien.

    The amendment includes “alignment of EU rules banning flavorings and distinctive flavors in heated-tobacco products; definition of the heated-tobacco product and its classification as a smoking tobacco product or smokeless tobacco product, extended labeling requirements in the form of combined text and image warnings and an information message, extension of the ban on placing cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco with a characteristic flavor on heated-tobacco products; [and] amendment of various sections of the Tobacco Products Act,” according to the German Bundestag website.

  • Germany: Minister Plans Ban on Vaping in Cars With Kids

    Germany: Minister Plans Ban on Vaping in Cars With Kids

    Proposals by the Health Ministry would prohibit e-cigarettes in vehicles carrying children and pregnant women. The ban could also include traditional cigarettes, heated tobacco products and cannabis.

    Credit: Tadeas

    German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is pushing for a ban to prevent smoking in cars where minors and pregnant women are passengers, German media group RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported on Friday.

    RND, as well as other outlets, cited a draft by Lauterbach that will be coordinated with other ministries before he presents it to the Cabinet.

    Smoking in cars is not currently illegal in Germany. The plan, which is part of Lauterbach’s draft proposal to legalize cannabis, aims to expand the existing Non-Smokers Protection Act.

    The expansion of the smoking ban, which already applies in public transport, is intended to “ensure the necessary protection from passive smoking for this particularly vulnerable group of people,” according to the draft cited by RND.

    Smoking in cars has been proven to pose higher risks due to the small space volume.

    “According to confirmed studies, secondhand smoking also causes many serious illnesses and deaths, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sudden infant death syndrome,” the draft said.

    Many studies have also established a link between secondhand smoking and lung cancer, Lauterbach said.

    The draft also includes applying the ban to tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and cannabis — although such details could be changed during discussions with ministers.

    A government statement said a ban on smoking in cars with children would be “unconditionally welcomed.” But with cars representing private, personal space, it warned of constitutional concerns over any such ban.

  • German Industry Group Blasts Call for Vaping Ban

    German Industry Group Blasts Call for Vaping Ban

    Jan Muecke
    (Photo: German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products)

    Recent calls to ban e-cigarettes lack a scientific basis, according to the German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products (BVTE).

    In a recent interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Manne Lucha, minister of social affairs, health and integration for Baden-Württemberg, said that e-cigarettes should be treated the same as combustible cigarettes and that flavored vapor products should be banned.

    “It is a scientific consensus that the intake of harmful substances when vaping e-cigarettes is much lower than when smoking tobacco. With his ‘post-factual’ statements, the minister is causing consumer uncertainty with counterproductive consequences for health policy,” said BVTE CEO Jan Muecke in a statement.

    Muecke cited a 2020 statement by the German Cancer Research Center, which acknowledged that a complete switch from smoking to vaping reduces the consumer’s exposure to harmful substances. He also quoted Public Health England’s finding that e-cigarettes are at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking.

    According to the BVTE, e-cigarettes are the most frequently used smoking-cessation tool in Germany, ahead of less effective methods such as medical nicotine replacement products. The wide choice of flavored liquids, meanwhile, is a significant factor for adult smokers to switch to vaping, the organization wrote.

    “Instead of fueling fears with false claims and misguided demands for bans, e-cigarettes should finally be promoted in Germany as an opportunity to minimize risks for smokers,” Muecke said.

  • Germany Readies to Legalize Recreational Cannabis

    Germany Readies to Legalize Recreational Cannabis

    Credit: Promesaartstudio

    Germany set out plans this week to legalize cannabis, a move Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government said would make Germany one of the first countries in Europe to make the move. Last year, German leaders announced an agreement for recreational cannabis.

    Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented a cornerstone paper on planned legislation to regulate the controlled distribution and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes among adults.

    Acquiring and possessing 20 to 30 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption would also be made legal.

    The coalition government struck an agreement last year to introduce legislation during its four-year term to allow the controlled distribution of cannabis in licensed shops.

    Lauterbach did not give a timeline for the plan, according to Reuters.

    Many countries of the region have already legalized cannabis for limited medicinal purposes, including Germany since 2017. Others have decriminalized its general use, while stopping short of making it legal.

    According to the paper, private self-cultivation would be permitted to a limited extent. Ongoing investigations and criminal proceedings connected to cases no longer illegal would be terminated.

    The government will also introduce a special consumption tax, and develop cannabis-related education and abuse prevention programs.

    Legalizing cannabis could bring Germany annual tax revenues and cost savings of about 4.7 billion euros ($4.7 billion) and create 27,000 new jobs, a survey found last year.

    Some 4 million people consumed cannabis in Germany last year, 25 percent of whom were between ages 18 and 24, Lauterbach said, adding the legalization would squeeze out the cannabis black market.

    Germany will present the paper to the European Commission for pre-assessment and will only draft a law once the Commission approves the plan, the minister added.

    “If the EU Commission says no to Germany’s current approach, our government should seek alternative solutions. Not just say: Well, we tried our best,” said Niklas Kouparanis, chief executive Bloomwell Group, one of Germany’s largest cannabis firms.

    Berlin should have a plan B if the EU rejects the legalization, Kouparanis said, adding that cannabis imports should be permitted as domestic cultivation will not be able to meet demand in the short term.

    The decision has already stirred a mix of reactions across Europe’s biggest economy.

    Germany’s pharmacists association warned of the health risks of legalizing cannabis and said it would put pharmacies in medical conflict.

    Pharmacists are health care professionals, so “a possible competitive situation with purely commercial providers is viewed particularly critically,” Thomas Preis, head of the North Rhine Pharmacists’ Association, told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

    The legalization plan has not been welcomed by all federal states. Bavaria’s health minister, for instance, warned that Germany should not become a drug tourism destination in Europe.

    But Germany’s Greens said decades of prohibiting cannabis have only exacerbated the risks.

    “Because too-restrictive conditions for the legal market only promote the black market for particularly strong cannabis,” lawmaker Kirsten Kappert-Gonther said on Wednesday.

    Lars Mueller, chief executive of German cannabis firm SynBiotic, said Wednesday’s step was “almost like winning the lottery” for his company.

    “When the time comes, we will be able to offer franchise-like models for cannabis stores in addition to our own stores,” Mueller said.

  • BAT Joins Snoop Dogg in Cannabis Firm Investment

    BAT Joins Snoop Dogg in Cannabis Firm Investment

    marijuana farm indoor
    Credit: Greenserenityca

    BAT, via one of its wholly owned group companies, has acquired a noncontrolling minority stake in Sanity Group, one of Germany’s leading cannabis companies.

    This investment is complementary to other recent investments made by BAT companies, most notably the strategic R&D collaboration established with Canada’s Organigram Holdings announced in March last year.

    Sanity Group, which is based in Berlin, produces CBD consumer brands and medical cannabis brands. It also has a proven track record in the research, development and marketing of cannabis products. 

    “Investing in Sanity Group is another example of BAT’s ongoing work to explore numerous areas beyond nicotine, positioning BAT for future portfolio growth across a range of categories and geographies,” said Kingsley Wheaton, chief growth officer at BAT, in a statement.

    “We continue to transform our business through better understanding of our current and future consumers as part of our ‘A Better Tomorrow’ purpose.”

    Sanity secured $37.6 million in the BAT-led Series B funding round, according to Sanity founder and CEO Finn Age Hansel. About half of the funding will go toward strengthening Sanity’s medical business. The rest of the funding will go toward preparing for the possible legalization of recreational marijuana in Germany.

    Germany has not legalized recreational cannabis yet, but action is expected sooner rather than later. Germany’s coalition government is “working actively on it and really want[s] to come to a good draft of the law by the end of this year,” Hansel said. “This is really a priority topic for the government.”

    “This funding is an important milestone for us and a strong signal toward the future of cannabis in Germany and Europe,” said Max Narr, chief investment officer at Sanity Group. “Against the backdrop of a challenging global economy, we are proud to have achieved a funding round of this magnitude.”

  • State of Euphoria

    State of Euphoria

    Photos courtesy of Demecan and the German Cannabis Association

    Germany’s new government plans to legalize cannabis.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    With Germany’s new government, a coalition of the center-left Social Democrats, the Green party and the liberal Free Democrats, taking office on Dec. 6, 2021, a long-awaited change moved closer to becoming reality. The country, the parties announced in their coalition agreement, will legalize the sale of cannabis to adults—that is, consumers from the age of 18—for recreational purposes. Although no details were mentioned and no timetable was set, the announcement sent cannabis stocks to new heights.

    The Financial Times described the announcement as “game-changing precedent for the global business of growing and selling marijuana” that would be closely watched by other countries. With its proposal, Germany would join a movement of cannabis reform around the world. Canada, Uruguay as well as 19 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have already legalized recreational cannabis. In the European Union, Malta in mid-December became the first country to permit the use and growth of weed for recreational purposes. Sales, however, will remain prohibited.

    After legalization, Germany will be the biggest EU cannabis market by far. For the time being, the recreational consumption of marijuana in the country is not explicitly illegal, but sales, imports and cultivation are prohibited. Germany legalized medicinal cannabis in 2017.

    With further legalization, the government aims to dry out the illegal market, lower criminal justice expenditures and protect public health. According to the German Cannabis Association, illegal marijuana is often contaminated with sand, sugar, glass or spices. Increasingly, synthetic cannabinoids, up to 100 times stronger than natural psychoactive cannabinoids, are used to dilute the weed.

    The proposal also includes preventive measures, such as the creation of facilities where consumers can check cannabis from the black market for harmful additives. Marijuana advertising will be strictly regulated. The coalition has agreed to keep the ban on private cannabis cultivation. Whether foreign nationals will be allowed to buy cannabis in Germany, too, remains unclear. According to the coalition agreement, the measure will be evaluated after four years, especially in terms of youth protection.

    Georg Wurth

    Details Unknown

    What cannabis regulation in Germany will look like exactly remains unclear. The coalition is expected to introduce a cannabis tax; a recent study by Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf estimates that such a tax could contribute €1.8 billion ($1.14 billion) annually to the state treasury. Legalization would bring in an estimated €4.7 billion per year due to additional revenues from corporate tax, trade tax and value-added tax as well as from savings in prosecution and the judicial system. It could also create 27,000 new jobs, the study found.

    Apart from pharmacies, the licensed dispensaries mentioned in the coalition agreement reportedly might include tobacconist shops and perhaps even dedicated coffee shops as in the Netherlands, which tolerates recreational cannabis for personal consumption. The new government is expected to define thresholds for the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, in the products to be sold. The government might also review Germany’s traffic laws, which currently allow 1 nanogram of THC per milliliter of blood serum.

    The legalization proposal, long opposed by previous Christian Democrat party-led governments, has triggered a heated debate in Germany. Physicians specializing in addiction treatment warn that it would boost consumption and encourage related issues, such as dependence, depressive and anxiety disorders, psychoses and developmental delays in young people. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials are skeptical that legalization will erase the black market. A tax, they claim, would make legal cannabis significantly more expensive, thus leading to competition between legal and illegal sources.

    Georg Wurth, managing director of the German Cannabis Association, does not share law enforcement’s concerns. “The black market will at least be pushed back,” he says. “Every single euro of revenue that will be generated on the legal market will be retracted from the illicit market, and every percent that moves from the black to the legal market is a progress. I’d rather have a legal and a black market than a 100 percent illegal market. If you take cigarettes as an example, there is also a black market, but there are no plans to prohibit cigarettes in order to rein that in.”

    The right pricing will be decisive for deflating the illegal market, Wurth adds. “All three coalition partners are aware that they shouldn’t overplay their hand if they really want to force back the illegal market. I am confident that they will succeed if they find the right approach at pricing. In Canada, it took about two and a half years until half of the cannabis revenues came from the legal market.”

    Illicit cannabis currently retails at €10 per gram in Germany. Interestingly, this is also the sales price for medicinal cannabis in pharmacies. “Cannabis already is relatively inexpensive in Germany,” says Adrian Fischer, co-founder and managing director of Demecan, which supplies medicinal cannabis. “We presume that consumers will be willing to pay a higher price for legal cannabis for recreational purposes that has a better quality than illegal weed, but the price shouldn’t be much higher than €10. In addition, it has to be guaranteed that there are a sufficient number of points of sale for marijuana. If a consumer must drive 50 kilometers to the next legal dispensary, he is more likely to stick with his dealer round the corner.” If legal cannabis is priced competitively, Fischer forecasts that the German marijuana market will be worth €5 billion in five years.

    While the German Cannabis Organization opposes a limit on the THC content, Fischer suggests linking it to certain age limits, as with alcohol. In Germany, drinks with a low alcohol content, such as beer or wine, can be legally purchased from the age of 16 while liquor drinkers have to wait until they turn 18. “Similarly, cannabis with a lower THC content could be made available for 18-year-olds and with a higher THC content for 21-year-olds,” says Wurth.

    Adrian Fischer

    Important Considerations

    The German Cannabis Organization believes the coalition should consider four aspects in shaping regulation. For starters, it should permit private cultivation for personal consumption. “In other countries that have legalized marijuana, such as Uruguay and some U.S. states, this is part of the law,” says Wurth.

    Traffic laws are another issue. “Presently, limiting values and criminal proceedings are extremely strict. Cannabis users may lose their driver’s license even though they did not drive stoned, only because they have remainders of cannabis in their blood from consumption days ago that don’t have any effect on their driving behavior anymore,” says Wurth.

    He also insists on an amnesty for the cannabis users who are currently listed as criminal offenders. “Their entries have to be deleted,” says Wurth. “In the U.S. states where marijuana is legal, this is regularly being done.”

    Lastly, the sale of legal cannabis should remain restricted to specialist shops, according to the German Cannabis Organization. This would also guarantee better youth protection.

    However, neither the legalization of cannabis for adults nor prohibition can prevent marijuana consumption among youths, cautions Wurth. “Legalization would nevertheless have a positive impact on youths, even though it cannot principally prevent youth consumption,” he says. “Youths are more susceptible to prevention measures, hence the latter should be stepped up significantly and reformed.

    “Currently, police give preventive lessons in schools. They tend to get the message across that youths shouldn’t touch cannabis or else they would end up in the gutter, lose their driver’s licenses, etc. I hope that with the legalization there will also be more investment in better education and credible prevention measures so that youths seek drug counselling help earlier.”

    If youths do consume cannabis, Wurth adds, it is safer if their older friends or siblings bring them legal weed from a licensed dispensary rather than potentially contaminated marijuana from a street dealer as is the case now.

    Companies currently supplying medical cannabis say they will be able to scale up production rapidly when Germany legalizes recreational cannabis.

    Gold Rush

    The German illegal marijuana market is estimated at about 400 tons, most of which is imported from Morocco. Since Germany is a signatory to the 1961 United Nations Single Convention On Narcotic Drugs, the country will not be allowed to import or export cannabis for recreational purposes once the substance has been legalized. This means the coalition will either have to negotiate new conditions or stipulate that all cultivation has to take place in Germany.

    Presently, only medicinal cannabis is grown in Germany. That business is controlled by three companies: Tilray, Aurora and Demecan. Under supervision of the state-owned cannabis agency, they jointly cultivate 2.6 tons of medicinal cannabis annually to cater to a market that is estimated at 12 tons to 15 tons per year, with demand increasing, according to Fischer. Due to the strict rules and standards, the companies grow the plants in hermetically sealed buildings, with product stored in high-security vaults. The first domestic crop reached pharmacies only last summer; a large amount of medicinal cannabis is still imported.

    After legalization of recreational cannabis, manufacturers say they will be able to quickly expand production. Demecan has opened a center for medicinal cannabis in Ebersbach and recently finalized construction of Europe’s largest indoor marijuana production site. It presently has the capacity to produce 1 ton of medicinal cannabis but can supply 50 percent more at short notice, according to Fischer. “Within a year, we could step up capacity to 4 tons and in the mid-term to 10 tons per year. We are prepared to cater to growing demand. Our aim is to cultivate life quality and to ensure patient care, hence it is important to us that legalization of recreational cannabis doesn’t happen at the expense of patients. Therefore, we have built large production capacities to cater to both markets.”

    The three providers of medicinal cannabis alone will nevertheless not be able to meet the demand for recreational cannabis, he admits. “To reach this target, legislature must tender licenses for the cultivation of marijuana in Germany relatively quickly and right on time before the actual legalization.”

    With medicinal cannabis being a medicine, all aspects of production are subject to the narcotics act and must be compliant with good manufacturing practices and good agricultural and collection practices guidelines. A relaxation of production regulations for the cultivation of recreational weed, Fischer says, could contribute to less costly production.

    Medicinal cannabis has been legal in Germany since 2017

    Role Models

    Wurth expects it to take another one or two years until the law takes effect—and even longer until the first licenses will be allocated, cultivation gets started and the first shops open. “The quickest part of such a law would be the decriminalization of consumers. The U.S. have shown that this can happen immediately.”

    In shaping the law, he says, Germany has several role models it could draw upon. “The Netherlands are no example of a legalized market as the coffee shops are only tolerated, and supply is not regulated, so that criminal structures have emerged like everywhere else. But the coffee shops are a good example of allowing consumption on-site, which is not the case in most other countries that have legalized marijuana. As for points of sale, Germany should look to Canada and the U.S.—licensed specialist shops in a limited number; no access for youths; exact declaration of the products, their origins and their CBD and THC contents. Uruguay allows cultivation for personal use; people can even join grower communities to cultivate their weed or have it cultivated.”

    In the end, the legalization of cannabis in Germany might go more smoothly, critics fear. In February 2021, the Cato Institute published a study on the legalization of marijuana by some U.S. states. It found that both proponents and opponents overstated their cases. Except for tax revenues, which exceeded some expectations, the report says state legalizations have mainly had minor effects.

    Stefanie Rossel is Vapor Voice’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Vapor Voice, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco and vapor industry news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • German Scientists Propose Cocaine E-cigs to Curb Abuse

    German Scientists Propose Cocaine E-cigs to Curb Abuse

    In order to help cocaine addicts curb their addiction, a pair of German researchers have proposed a solution that surely has every nicotine vaping advocate rolling their eyes. The duo has designed a device that allows problematic crack users to administer the drug in a safer manner that, for instance, reduces lung damage and lowers the risk of overdose. It’s essentially a vape for crack.

    Credit: Nomad Soul

    According to ZME Science, Fabian Steinmetz and Heino Stöver, both members of Schildower Kreis — a network of German experts on drug policy reform — have not proposed drug decriminalization in their most recent study. Instead, writing in the journal Drug Science, Policy and Law, they presented a device that assists in inhaling crack cocaine in a manner that is safer to users.

    The design of the device is nothing revolutionary. Like conventional e-cigarettes, it consists of a liquid container, an atomizer with a heater, and a battery. Except that instead of nicotine, you put a solution made of crack cocaine and propylene glycol, which the user inhales as vapor free of the fine particles and toxic combustion products that result from smoking.

    “There are some risks that a vape pen for crack could pose, though. It is very likely that crack vape pens, if they are ever manufactured, will end up on the illicit market and could potentially encourage people to start using crack or use more of it if they are already a user,” the story states. “The only way to answer these concerns is to run well-designed randomized trials. For now, a cocaine e-cig seems like a very distant prospect but its harm reduction potential shouldn’t be overlooked.”

  • Germany Set to Legalize Recreational Marijuana

    Germany Set to Legalize Recreational Marijuana

    The leaders of Germany’s incoming governing parties say that they have a formal agreement to legalize marijuana and promote broader drug policy harm reduction measures when they take power. Many European countries, including Germany, have legalized cannabis for limited medicinal purposes. Others have decriminalized its general use, while stopping stopping short of making it legal.

    Credit: Promesaartstudio

    The move would make Germany the first European country to legalize cannabis and authorize its sale for recreational purposes, according to a coalition agreement for a new government struck by three parties on Wednesday. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Green and libertarian Free Democrats (FDP) agreed to introduce legislation during their four-year term to create the controlled distribution of weed in licensed shops.

    “We would evaluate the (weed) law after four years for social impact,” the pact read. Policy-makers and sector specialists have said legalization could reduce activity on the black market, where there are no quality controls, according to Reuters. It could also free police resources spent on prosecuting cannabis use and raise tax revenues for prevention and therapy for addiction.

    The German example could inspire other European countries, while the United States of America has already seen a big business opportunity in a trend for legalization of cannabis whose use increased during lockdowns. In Europe, the country traditionally associated with cannabis is the Netherlands, where its sale in coffee shops is tolerated, but not formally legalized, meaning the shops source weed from illegal growers.

    “Germany would have a pioneer role,” said Florian Holzapfel, founder of German cannabis company Cantourage, which imports weed and processes it for medicinal use. “It would be important for it to be a success story as that would pave the way for other countries to implement similar legislation.”

    Legalising cannabis could bring Germany annual tax revenues and cost savings of about 4.7 billion euros ($5.34 billion) and create 27,000 new jobs, a survey published last week found. The European market is projected to grow to 3.2 billion euros by 2025, up from 403 million euros at the end of 2021, the European Cannabis Report by research firm Prohibition Partners found.

    Such growth could boost big U.S. and Canadian cannabis firms, as well as the fledgling German industry. Holzapfel, however, said it would hard for Germany to become a big producer nation given high overheads and inclement weather.