Draft bill
The online prescription and shipping of medical cannabis are to be banned. This is the proposal of a draft bill from the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG). Minister Nina Warken is responding to controversial platforms for purchasing cannabis.
Alexander MüllerJuly 14, 2025, 2:04 PM
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Warken plant Versandverbot für Cannabis
BMG sieht Cannabisplattformen kritisch
Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) wants to stop the uncontrolled sale of medicinal cannabis online. / © IMAGO/Bernd Elmenthaler
Federal Health Minister Nina Warken ( CDU ) has made it clear on several occasions that the current flourishing trade in medical cannabis is a thorn in her side. Now her department wants to completely shut down online trading.
The prescription of cannabis should only be made "after personal contact between a doctor and the patient in the doctor's office or during a home visit," according to the "Draft Act Amending the Medical Cannabis Act," which has been submitted to the PZ. For follow-up prescriptions, personal contact must have taken place in the same doctor's office or during a home visit within the last four quarters.
The paragraph on distribution through pharmacies also clarifies that “placing on the market by mail order […] is not permitted.”
According to the draft, the penal provisions will also be tightened accordingly: Anyone who does not comply with the new regulations, dispenses medical cannabis without a doctor's prescription, or places the flowers on the market by mail order will be punished with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine.
Mit dem Cannabisgesetz (CanG) wurde im April 2024 der medizinische Gebrauch von Cannabis im Medizinal-Cannabisgesetz (MedCanG) neu geregelt. Unter anderem ist die Einstufung als Betäubungsmittel entfallen – weshalb Cannabis auf »normalen« Arzneimittelrezepten verordnet werden kann – und damit auch im Onlinehandel.
Ex-Bundesgesundheitsminister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) war selbst nie ein Fan von dem Liberalisierungsprojekt der Ampel, hatte das Gesetz aus Gründen des Koalitionsfriedens dennoch eingebracht. Seine Nachfolgerin Warken ist bei dem Thema noch kritischer und fühlt sich offenbar durch aktuelle Zahlen in ihrer Skepsis bestätigt.