According to the results of a recent YouGov poll, many German adults have already purchased cannabis seeds or clones after the first provisions of the nation’s recreational cannabis legalization law took effect on April 1st.
People 18 years or older in Germany can now cultivate up to three plants in their private residences. Since legalization occurred, 7% of YouGov survey participants indicated that they had already purchased seeds or clones, and another 11% plan on doing so in the future.
When the results are filtered by age, 14% of poll participants aged 18-34 indicated that they had already purchased cannabis clones and/or seeds. Only 2% of German adults over 55 who participated in the YouGov poll indicated that they had already purchased cannabis clones and/or seeds. The poll was conducted on May 13th, 2024 and involved 3,375 surveyed German adults.
“When Germany’s partial legalization came into effect we had 10,231 orders in one day,” said Shai Ramsahai, president of Royal Queen Seeds according to original reporting by DW. “In April, Royal Queen Seeds’ online business grew by 300% and total online revenue was €6 million.”
“Every year, from about the middle of March until the beginning of June, seed sales go up because people want to start growing their plants. Normally we see an increase of about 30% in seed season, but this year was a 150% increase.” stated seed company Zamnesia’s general manager Nick Ave according to DW.
A previous German market analysis by Cannabis Industry Data estimated that there are roughly 6 million adult cannabis consumers in Germany. Germany is the largest country to ever pass a national adult-use legalization measure. Noncommercial cannabis clubs are set to launch in July in Germany, and regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials are expected to launch by the end of the year.
Germany’s domestic medical cannabis production quota system, which has historically limited the amount of medical cannabis produced in Germany, is no longer in place. Germany imported 34.6 tons of medical cannabis products in 2023 alone. The recent changes will contribute to tremendous growth for Germany’s domestic medical cannabis industry in the coming years.
According to a recent market analysis by Research and Markets, the overall emerging legal European medical cannabis industry is set to undergo considerable growth between now and 2028.
“The burgeoning Europe medical marijuana market is poised for robust growth, as evidenced by the latest market insights which project an impressive leap from US$ 3,414.26 million in 2022 to US$ 9,703.38 million by 2028.” the researchers stated in a press release.
“This significant expansion is characterized by a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.0% over the forecast period.” they also stated.
The global legal medical cannabis market is projected to reach $82.5 billion by 2030 according to a separate report by Research and Markets. The legal medical cannabis market was worth an estimated $32.3 billion in 2023 according to the report.