An organization responsible for analyzing the pharmacy market in Germany recently conducted a survey of the industry's opinion on medical cannabis. About 500 pharmacists participated in online interviews for Aposcope. The results - published by the specialized journal Apotheke Adhoc - could shed light on and guide the way companies approach the medical cannabis sector in the country. Pharmacists play a key role in the distribution of medical cannabis in Germany as they are the only legal point of sale.
Three-quarters of pharmacists believe that the German market for medical cannabis will continue to grow, and among this group, 15% said growth would be strong. This confirms the sharp increase in the import of therapeutic cannabis in 2019 in Germany, mainly due to the extension of medical conditions to obtain a prescription.
About half of pharmacists think they are well informed about medical cannabis, but less than 5% said they were "very well" informed. Others said they were poorly or very poorly informed. Employees said they needed more information, including billing (66%) and legal issues (63%). Information about recipes, authorized medications or product compositions is also desired.
As for the source of this information, most pharmacists considered that the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) was a reliable source. Other sources considered reliable include the Federal Association of Pharmacists, the Federal Association of German Pharmacy Associations, the German Association of Pharmacists and the Health Insurers. Information from importers, distributors or producers came behind these institutions, mainly because of the risk that they would be more biased.
Domestic cultivation of cannabis in Germany is expected to begin in the spring of 2020, as production licenses have been granted recently.