Germany
Europe
#5 of 196 worldwide
#2 of 45 in Europe
Since April 2024 adults may possess 25 g in public and 50 g at home, grow three plants, and join non-profit cultivation associations. There are no shops, but medical cannabis is easy to obtain through pharmacies.
Score breakdown ▏world average
Select a segment to show or hide the exact rules and sources.
Possession · 25%5/10adds 12.5 of 25 points
Adults may carry up to 25 g in public and keep up to 50 g of dried cannabis at home. Holding 25–30 g in public (or 50–60 g at home) is an administrative offence; above that it is a crime. Applies to people who have lived in Germany for at least six months.
Personal cultivation · 25%4/10adds 10.0 of 25 points
Up to three plants at a time per adult, at your own residence, protected from access by children. Yield above the 50 g home limit must be destroyed. A fourth plant is a criminal offence.
Punishment & enforcement · 20%6/10adds 12.0 of 20 points
Within the limits nothing is punished; small overages are fines. Selling, giving away, or growing beyond three plants are crimes with prison of up to three years, more in aggravated cases.
Sharing & gifting · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Not allowed. Home-grown cannabis may not be passed on to anyone, even for free, and club cannabis is for the member's own use only. Giving cannabis to another adult remains punishable — the main reason this segment scores so low.
Consumption · 10%5/10adds 5.0 of 10 points
Public consumption is legal, with exceptions: not near minors, not in or within sight of schools, playgrounds, youth facilities and sports grounds, not in pedestrian zones between 7:00 and 20:00, and not inside or near cultivation associations.
Legal access · 10%3/10adds 3.0 of 10 points
There are no shops. The only non-medical source besides home growing is a non-profit cultivation association: up to 500 members, minimum three-month membership, at most 25 g a day and 50 g a month (30 g and max 10% THC for ages 18–21). Many regions still have few licensed associations.
More context not part of the score
Commercial recreational production is not permitted at all; associations must grow for their own members with member labour. Medical cultivation and import need a licence from the federal medicines agency.
Associations may hand out only flower and hashish. Edibles such as THC gummies or cookies remain banned, as do extracts for the adult-use channel.
Cannabis is no longer a narcotic in law: any doctor can prescribe it on an ordinary prescription, dispensed by pharmacies, and statutory insurers cover it for serious illness after approval. A government bill to require an in-person consultation before prescribing, aimed at telemedicine platforms, went through parliamentary hearings in January 2026. The bill, which would also ban mail-order dispensing of flower, was not put to a final vote before the summer recess and had not been passed as of September 2026.
Old convictions for conduct that is now legal can be deleted from the federal register on application. The driving limit is 3.5 ng/ml THC in blood serum, with zero tolerance for novice drivers and under-21s.
All sources
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