While demand has clearly skyrocketed over the last 18 months, this move seems short-sighted. In a recent interview with Grunhorn's Stefan Fritsch, we discussed the incoming challenges for the German market beyond political pushback.

The overflow of cheap, largely Canadian cannabis is pushing down the price of cannabis flower across all THC% categories, and this trend shows little sign of slowing down.

This dynamic, he believes, is being driven by so-called 'middle men'.

"They’re not growers. They don’t have a direct connection to the patient. They can source from anywhere and bring product in, but that disconnect makes the problem worse… it leaves them out of touch with the actual market.”

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Earlier this month, the quota was reduced to 88 tonnes, and new measures have been implemented to deter businesses from applying for more than they plan to import.

For 2025, the INCB set Australia's national import quota at 101 tonnes, but the ODC subsequently received applications totalling around 150 tonnes. In practice, only half that amount was ever imported, as many permit holders either failed to use their approvals or imported substantially less.

While Germany’s review appears to be the result of an underestimation of demand, Australia has also recently amended its import quotas in response to a widespread over-forecasting by license holders, leaving significant portions of the national allocation unused.

“The INCB has now confirmed this request. This will be published on the INCB website. The maximum quantity of cannabis released by the INCB for 2025 is 192t, 484 kg, 23g.”

In confirmation of the news, BfArM told Business of Cannabis: "The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) had applied to the INCB for a second increase in the cannabis quota for the current year, 2025.

Not only does this mark the first multi-compound cannabis medicine to have successfully passed through the (RCT) procedure, but it moves the argument that cannabis can be an effective and far less damaging alternative to opioids a notable step further.

businessofcannabis.com/first-multi-...

With its approval in Germany, and thanks to the ‘mutual recognition procedure’, the rest of Europe, Vertanical has made a significant dent in the unforgiving task of providing that data.

Scores of medical cannabis patients and prescribers are already well aware of the efficacy of cannabis in treating chronic pain, but for better or worse, bringing cannabis treatments into mainstream healthcare is going to require data from clinical trials.