On November 4th physicians, regulators, public affairs experts and industry leaders will discuss medical cannabis frameworks in Germany. During the Cannabis Health Symposium they will focus on the science, the system, and continuing education for healthcare professionals. What to expect? Here are some thoughts from the speakers and attendees.
Disclaimer: This article is part of a media partnership. Our readers receive 15% off with our discount code 15_Krautinvest. You can also get your discount directly via this link.
Michael Ueberall, Medical Director, Center of Excellence in Health Care Research and Institute of Neurological Sciences:
“Chronic pain does not need another ‘winning’ drug class. It needs treatments that deliver meaningful benefit to the right patient. I look forward to discussing whether cannabinoid medicines can help us get closer to that goal.”
Artur Schrörs, Former Head of the Drug Department in Frankfurt am Main:
“The legalization of cannabis for recreational use has transformed the societal debate. However, this development presents a major challenge for medicine: the clear distinction between recreational use and evidence-based, medically supervised cannabis therapy risks becoming blurred. The result is persistent stigmatization, causing significant distress to both patients and the medical community. The consequence for patients: they are stigmatized rather than treated. A sense of criminalization. As a specialist group, our goal must be to ensure – through objective, science-based, and unbiased communication – that the medical aspect remains the focus, for the benefit of our patients.”
Sita Schubert, EUMCA General Secretary:
“Germany has been at the forefront of the European cannabis evolution for years now. The Cannabis Health Symposium, taking place on 4 November in Frankfurt, is the key platform for discussing the latest medical regulations, patients’ rights and clinical innovations, and for playing an active role in shaping the future of patient care.”
Antonia Menzel, Chair of the Executive Board, BPC – Bundesverband pharmazeutischer Cannabinoidunternehmen e.V.:
“Germany has the largest medicinal cannabis market in Europe, but scale on its own tells us very little. Two years after the Cannabis Act (CanG), the majority of patients still fund their treatment privately. If cannabinoid medicines are to be handled like any other prescription medicine, closing that gap is a shared task for clinicians, industry, policy and statutory health insurance alike. The symposium puts exactly those issues on the agenda, and I look forward to bringing the industry perspective into that discussion.”
Shabnam Sarshar, Women’s Health & Cannabinoid Therapeutics Advisor, The Recalibration:
“Whether you’re in the cannabis industry to help people, to make money, or both, ‘Midlife Women’ is the market you can no longer ignore. We’re the highest-potential patient segment, and the least served.”
Ana Serrato, Chair, Cannabis Human Health Committee, and Chairwoman, EUMCA:
“Setting the Standard: How Harmonization Turns Cannabis-Based Medicines (CBMs) into Trusted Care Across Europe. Early access programs for CBMs run under fragmented, country-specific rules – each with its own quality expectations, evidence requirements, and pathway to patients. That fragmentation leaves manufacturers, regulators, and healthcare professionals without a shared language, making it hard to guarantee that patients receive consistently high-quality, safe products wherever they are treated. That is the gap ASTM D37.11: Human Health is built to close, covering product quality, health evidence, and responsible use in one framework. Closing it benefits manufacturers with one consistent technical reference, healthcare professionals with reliable evidence to guide prescribing, patients with assurance of quality and safety, regulators with a harmonized benchmark, and investors with the predictability needed for cross-border trade. Trusted cannabinoid-based care will not come from national regulation alone – it requires one shared standard, built for the full journey from product to patient.”
Tjalling Erkelens, Chairman of the Board, Bedrocan International:
“This event brings together dedicated medical cannabis professionals on subjects that really matter: pharmaceutical quality, standardization and appropriate regulation of cannabis as medicine.”
Tobias Bosse, Chief Commercial Officer, Grünhorn Group:
“Banning telemedicine doesn’t solve anything. It just pushes patients back to the black market. Proportionate quality standards are the better path to both patient safety and access to therapy.”
Patrick Möbius, Head of Business Intelligence, Grünhorn:
“Germany’s medical cannabis market has changed fundamentally since the Cannabis Act came into force in April 2024. Easier prescribing, growing telemedicine access and broader social acceptance have significantly expanded patient access and accelerated market growth. The talk provides a data-driven view of the market’s current state, focusing on two questions: Which macroeconomic, regulatory and competitive trends are shaping the industry, and how is patient demand evolving? It will examine rising international supply, increasing competition and price pressure, alongside regional and product-level demand paths.”
Dr. med. Julian Wichmann, CEO, Bloomwell:
“In Germany, there is an intense political debate about access to medical cannabis. Yet far too often, that debate takes place without the physicians who actually treat patients, without the people who make these therapies possible, and without the patients themselves. To help close this gap, Bloomwell has been surveying medical cannabis patients about their real-world experiences on a quarterly basis since 2024. The findings reveal a striking gap between reality and the assumptions and prejudices shaping the political debate. And it is on the basis of these assumptions that calls are now growing again to tighten the regulation of medical cannabis and introduce stricter laws. Reports such as our Cannabis Barometer, as well as events like the Cannabis Health Symposium, are therefore crucial to bringing evidence and real-world patient experiences into the debate and to developing a better understanding of the benefits of medical cannabis. This is a fundamental prerequisite for regulation that is evidence-based, proportionate and genuinely solution-oriented.”
Dirk Heitepriem, President, Branchenverband Cannabiswirtschaft e.V.:
“Europe can lead the world on medical cannabis if we work together.”
Garvin Hirt, CEO, Copeia:
“Copeia’s innovative solutions simplify time-consuming processes and support patient-focused therapy.”
Disclaimer: This article is part of a media partnership. Our readers receive 15% off with our discount code 15_Krautinvest. You can also get your discount directly via this link.