Law "Cannabis as a medicine”

Patients have been able to obtain medical cannabis on prescription since March 2017. The prerequisite is a "serious illness" and other treatment methods must have already been prescribed. What precisely constitutes a serious illness is kept very abstract.

Patients can then apply to have their therapy costs reimbursed by their health insurance company. According to the GKV-Spitzenverband (German Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds), such applications are approved in about 65% of cases.