Will Home Cultivation Be Part Of German Cannabis Legalization?

Government leaders have been quoted recently saying that home grow would be a necessary component of recreational reform

Last week, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced that German recreational reform should be prioritized this summer. However, that is not all that is afoot in Germany. Within the last week, there have also been statements across the political landscape of the ruling “Traffic Light” Coalition that home-grow will also be included in this discussion.

Citing reasons that ranged from inevitability to an awareness that patients who still cannot convince their health insurers to reimburse them will almost have to be able to grow their own, voices from the SDP, the FDP and the Greens all discussed their reasons for allowing Germans to not only buy their weed but grow it too.

Now Come the Details

Given the reliability with which German politics tick (and of course, the impossibility of predicting anything in this industry) it is, however, highly unlikely that both a Health Minister and other members of the ruling coalition would make such statements with nothing to back them up.

However, what details are actually included in this first tranche of legalization legislation is still very unsure. There is also a lot of ground to cover.

Here are the biggest outstanding issues:

1. It is widely rumored that the government will allow specially licensed dispensary shops to sell recreational cannabis. In Germany, you can find wine, beer, and spirits in almost every grocery store. That is unlikely to happen with cannabis for the foreseeable future. However, do not expect to see a suggestion that cannabis will be sold in government-run stores – as Canada initially tried to implement (and then pulled back after widespread opposition). How such licenses will be made available is a big question. Will there be an open season or some kind of lottery system run by the states or municipalities?
2. How these new stores will be stocked is another question. Will there be additional cultivation licenses that can be applied for or will the existing medical license holders be given a monopoly on growing all high THC cannabis in the country? 
3. Home grow. If this is allowed, will it be permitted by the number of plants, licenses, or both?
4. Edibles and extracts. This is going to be hard-fought territory and there is almost no precedent for the same either in Europe or much of North America.

For now, there is a great deal of speculation and even maneuvering on the chessboard. However, it is clear that the tide is turning in Germany. The question now is how far, and how fast?