A person smokes a joint, as Germany's "Friends of Cannabis" meet for a "smoke in" by the Brandenburg Gate, in Berlin, Germany, April 20, 2024. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's cabinet passed plans on Wednesday to restrict the online sale of cannabis to tackle a surge in imports of the drug since the legalisation of its recreational use last year, the government said.
The amendment to the existing law will require direct, in-person contact with a doctor for a cannabis prescription and ban mail-order delivery of the drug, with distribution restricted to physical pharmacies to ensure proper counselling.
Germany became the ninth country to legalise recreational use of the drug from April 2024.
In the first half of 2025, imports increased by more than 400% from the same period in the previous year, the government said.
"The massive increase in cannabis imports and the practice of prescribing cannabis online without any personal medical contact require political action," said Health Minister Nina Warken in a statement.
This rise is not due to increased demand from seriously ill patients, the government said, as prescriptions through the social health insurance system only rose by a single-digit percentage.
(Reporting by Bernadette HoggEditing by Madeline Chambers)
