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Berlin – Lower Saxony’s Health Minister Andreas Philippi (SPD) wants to make it more difficult to obtain medical cannabis via online platforms in order to prevent its misuse. He told the Hanover­schen Allgemeine Zeitung.

“It cannot be that smoking medicinal cannabis in a worry-free package is made so easy with just three clicks on the Internet,” the SPD politician told the newspaper. The federal government must “urgently take corrective action to stem an unwanted flood of medicinal cannabis.”

Even before the partial legalization of cannabis as a recreational drug, several online platforms that enabled the telemedical purchase of medical cannabis via private prescriptions were criticized. They were and are accused of being a source of cannabis for consumption under this guise.

According to the report, the partial legalization of cannabis has led to a further increase in this trade. Since a drug prescription is no longer required, the previous model is even easier. Philippi therefore wants to close legal loopholes.

The parliamentary manager of the Lower Saxony CDU parliamentary group, Carina Hermann, called the law legalizing cannabis a serious mistake by the traffic light coalition in Berlin.

“It is not enough for the legislature to take corrective action and ban the apparently brisk trade in cannabis products on the Internet in order to close legal loopholes. The dealers will find other ways,” stressed Herrmann. The law must be repealed in its entirety.

The Lower Saxony Medical Association is also calling for improvements. According to the report, it stressed that the legislature should “examine promptly whether this development meets the legislative objectives – including improved health protection and the controlled distribution of cannabis.”

According to the Federal Drug Commissioner Burkhardt Blienert (SPD), more than 80,000 people in Germany are currently being treated with medical cannabis. He said that positive experiences have been made with it, particularly in the treatment of spasticity or certain chronic pains, during a visit to the Saxon cannabis producer Demecan.

Blienert expects that more medical cannabis will be produced domestically in the future. So far, the majority has come from Canada or Portugal. The Cannabis Act and changes to the Narcotics Act have paved the way for a paradigm shift in addiction and drug policy. This will ensure greater acceptance on all sides. © lau/dpa/aerzteblatt.de