FRANKFURT, Germany – In relation to the population, the number of medical cannabis patients is significantly higher in southern Germany than in the north. The share is particularly below the national average in eastern German states. However, the number of patients in eastern German states has risen disproportionately since the removal of medical cannabis from the Narcotics Act (BtMG) on April 1, 2024. This trend toward nationwide normalization has continued over the past twelve months.
Average price drops to 4 euros in Q2 2026
A new report from the Bloomwell Group GmbH takes a differentiated look at developments since April 1, 2024 – including changes in prescribed quantities and the frequency of doctor-patient contacts. Beyond the regional distribution of patients, the report also analyzes price trends, variety of strains, and the THC content of medical cannabis flowers. Among other findings, the average price for medical cannabis flowers per gram dropped to four euros in the second quarter of 2026.
“The fact that the reimbursement of medical cannabis flowers by health insurance funds is being cut in an ‘austerity law’ is completely absurd in view of the price development in the out-of-pocket sector,” said Bloomwell co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Niklas Kouparanis. “The real problem has long been the outdated price regulation, which has completely decoupled itself from market dynamics. Until the law comes into force, health insurance funds are reimbursing up to 19 euros per gram of medical cannabis flowers. We have approached health insurance funds several times in the past to find more efficient ways of providing care for patients together. Instead, the legislator is now leaving chronically ill people, some of whom have been well-adjusted to their medication for years, completely out in the cold. Our offer for dialogue and cooperation remains valid.”
Nationwide normalization of patient numbers
Following April 1, 2024, the share of self-paying medical cannabis patients is highest in southwestern German states such as Saarland (29.6 percent above the national average), Bavaria (27.6 percent), Rhineland-Palatinate (17.9 percent), Hesse (16.5 percent), or Baden-Württemberg (14.4 percent). In eastern German states, the proportion of medical cannabis patients is lower in relation to the national average: in Brandenburg, their share is 31.3 percent below the average, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 18.2 percent, in Saxony 28.3 percent, in Saxony-Anhalt 22.5 percent, and in Thuringia 18.9 percent below.
Nevertheless, the share of medical cannabis patients in eastern German states has already significantly caught up since the removal of medical cannabis from the Narcotics Act (BtMG) on April 1, 2024. Since then, the growth factor—which describes the development of medical cannabis patients converted per 100,000 inhabitants—is 314 in Saxony-Anhalt, 184 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and 118 in Brandenburg. By comparison, it is 25 in Saarland and 17 in Bavaria over the same period.
This normalization has intensified in the past year: For example, the share in Saxony-Anhalt approached the national average to within -9.7 percent from July 2025 to June 2026. Before the removal from the BtMG, this value was -83.8 percent. In Bavaria, the value from July 2025 to June 2026 was still 12.1 percent above the average. Before April 1, 2024, it was 150.5 percent.
“Our new overview map of nationwide care with medical cannabis sends a positive signal: Digitalization has enabled access for cannabis patients even in regions where there is a lack of comprehensive, established doctors with experience in the field of medical cannabis,” said Bloomwell co-founder and Managing Director Julian Wichmann, MD. “Furthermore, information about legal digital therapy access is reaching those affected more and more effectively. Illegal self-medication, which carries risks, is therefore increasingly falling behind nationwide. Medical cannabis is now playing a leading role in combating the illegal market throughout Germany.”
Secure supply relies on digitalized shipping processes
Furthermore, it shows how necessary online shipping is: Almost half of the patients live more than ten kilometers away from one of the 271 pharmacies specialized in medical cannabis. Given the more than 1,000 different products in Germany as well as the necessary processing steps in the pharmacy, patients cannot redeem their valid prescriptions in most local pharmacies on-site. In six federal states, there is even no, or at most one, pharmacy specialized in medical cannabis.
For the analyses, anonymized datasets of six-figure cannabis patients and seven-figure prescriptions were taken into account. For the regional distribution of patients, the center of postal codes without personal identifiers as well as all addresses of specialized pharmacies were considered – a total of 271 – where patients have redeemed a prescription issued via Bloomwell since September 2020.
