In Germany, it is not easy to become a legitimate cannabis patient.
I have been suffering from migraines for more than 40 years, and I found out how effective cannabis works for migraine attacks nearly 30 years ago. Since 2011, I have been an official cannabis patient in Germany. At first, my doctor prescribed me Dronabinol (Marinol). The drops worked, but not as well as herbal cannabis. Moreover, they were 12 times as expensive as cannabis which was difficult to afford, even with a good income. That is why I applied and was approved for an exceptional self-therapy license with cannabis in 2015. Ever since then, I have been able to purchase up to 90 grams of cannabis each month from the pharmacy. I decided to test out how much my federal document containing a stamp from the German Ministry of Health would be worth in the countries that taught us Germans about medical cannabis.
Stop #1: Vancouver / BC
When I visited the first medical dispensary, my paperwork was carefully inspected and copied. After that, I was able to purchase BC Romulan for $13/gram. Mentioning my document when I entered the next shop, the Budtender replied: “We’re recreational man.” Now I know for sure, Canada is on the way to federal legalization.
Stop #2: Seattle
In the search for a medical dispensary, we learned that the recreational shops now also serve medical patients. But unfortunately, my federal document was not accepted — I had to pay the full price with taxes. I had to laugh about the dosage in the edibles I was interested in purchasing. My German recommendation is 600mg of THC a day. That would be 60 of the delicious biscuits or eight bottles of soda for $560. I could neither afford nor was I allowed to buy so much at one time. I stuck to a gram of cannabis-oil I could dribble into my coffee throughout the day.
Stop #3: Oregon (Portland and Ashland)
In Portland, access to medical was impossible because I do not have a driving license from the state. Since the taxes are even higher, I’d pay more in an Oregon dispensary than in Germany’s pharmacies – but at least the medicine is better in Oregon.
Stop #4: California
The state was about to legalize and I had heard that some dispensaries were already recreational. Just before Santa Rosa, I thought of the first one and kindly asked the watchman if I might purchase some medicine – with or without my German document. The manager informed me that I could neither enter the shop nor purchase anything without a valid Californian medical card.
Once in Oakland, I wanted to talk to a cannabis law expert to become more familiar with the Californian legal situation or perhaps even find a doctor who would take my German prescription seriously. At that time in California, I did not have the opportunity to switch to recreational like I did in Oregon or Washington. The lousy experience was rectified the next day when our friend Eden took us to a “Measure C” club, which had the best menu and prices on the whole coast.
A Visit with Tommy Chong
Finally well-equipped, we headed to Beverly Hills to meet Tommy Chong. I interviewed Tommy for my YouTube Channel, and later we talked about his visits to Berlin in the 1970s. “Free love, ya know”.
A few miles further down south in Irvine, the Weedmaps-experts informed me that my German license would be accepted in Las Vegas. We started the RV and immediately drove nonstop to Las Vegas.
Stop #5: Las Vegas
Once there, Essence manager Anne was pleased to welcome guests who had come so far. “Las Vegas would like to welcome cannabis patients from all over the world”, we learned from the extremely attentive employee. My papers were scanned and copied before I was allowed to enter the dispensing area. When Anne showed me the shop, I was overwhelmed. Outdoor, indoor, Sativa, Indica, hybrids, hash and all kinds of extracts, waxes and oils you could imagine. The “Essence” in Las Vegas offered the best selection of the trip thus far, and the prices were moderate. Above all, the variety of extracts was extraordinary. I purchased “Super Jack” (100% Sativa) and a “SinIndica” , “Lemon-O.G.” CO2 extract and a “Gorilla Glue” Wax from Moxie. Unfortunately, the schedule was tight and “Essence” remained the only dispensary in the USA where I was able to shop legally as a German cannabis patient.
Stop #6: Denver
What was actually clear to me before I arrived: Just like in Oregon and Washington, I will get no medical. So I enjoyed the Amsterdam of the USA and educated myself about the Colorado cannabusiness.
Medical Marijuana in Germany
In Germany, it is not easy to become a legitimate cannabis patient. There are still very few doctors who deal with the subject and are willing to cope with the country’s arduous bureaucratic hurdles. Similar to the United States, cannabis is not yet classified as medically useful in Germany, making the road to legalization all the more difficult.
Before the recommendation of medical marijuana is possible in Germany, all other conventional therapies must have been exhausted. After receiving a doctor’s recommendation, an application must be submitted to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). The federal doctors examine the patient’s application before making the final decision.
Overall, the whole process from the first doctor’s visit to the “exception approval for a self-therapy with cannabis” is supposed to take between four and eight months — provided the BfArM adheres to the stipulated three-month deadline. However, since more and more patients are submitting requests, the department is now understaffed and processing times have increased substantially.
North America vs Europe
I don’t believe that the supply of cannabis to patients should be a question of the issuing location of the driver’s license or the individual’s nationality. Unfortunately, in some states of the U.S., there seems to exist a real fear of cannabis tourism or abuse — traveling cannabis patients from abroad are just not on the agenda. Canada and Las Vegas suggest that it can also be done differently, without campaigning in public for cannabis tourists, as it was once in California. In Germany, patients have other problems, such as far too high prices, a limited selection of varieties and too few informed medical professionals. However, since the cannabis program is based on a federal law, its exceptions apply to the whole country, regardless of which state you are registered as a patient. In addition, Germany’s program provides patients with a high degree of legal certainty in court, even in higher and federal courts. All together, the cannabis culture in North America is much more complex than in Europe.
