An employee harvests cannabis (marijuana) in a greenhouse at the production site of German pharmaceutical company Demecan for medical cannabis in Ebersbach near Dresden, eastern Germany on November 28, 2022. AFP
EBERSBACH, Germany 鈥� In the east German countryside, close to Dresden, a former abattoir is now home to the biggest indoor cannabis farm in Europe.
Behind the recently renovated concrete walls, the German startup Demecan has been growing marijuana in accordance with the law for the past year.
The company is one of only a handful in Germany to have a license for the production of this 鈥済reen gold鈥�, which has been legal in Germany for medicinal use since 2017.
But the budding industry is eyeing a bigger prize: Chancellor Olaf Scholz鈥檚 government plans to legalize the drug for recreational use as soon as 2024, which would leave it with one of the most liberal cannabis policies in Europe.
鈥楾别苍蹿辞濒诲鈥�
Inside the building, the smell of the plants 鈥� lined up in their hundreds under yellow grow lamps 鈥� is overwhelming.
鈥淲e will have the option to expand the facility to cultivate recreational cannabis,鈥� Demecan鈥檚 managing director Philipp Goebel tells AFP.
The government coalition, led by Scholz鈥檚 Social Democrats, has put forward a roadmap for the legalization of cannabis with a target date of 2024.
Under the draft plans, adults would be allowed to hold a maximum of between 鈥�20 and 30 grams鈥� of cannabis for private consumption, via a network of licensed stores and pharmacies.
Demecan鈥檚 massive complex, which covers around 120,000 square meters (1.3 million square feet), produces one tonne of cannabis a year, but it has yet to reach capacity.
The company could quickly increase production 鈥渢enfold鈥� to meet growing demand, Goebel says.
Harvests at the farm happen every two weeks with workers plucking the flowers from the plant stems before they are dried.
鈥淚 like this job a lot, it is not like any other,鈥� says 34-year-old Sven Skoeries, who studies horticulture alongside his responsibilities at the farm.
Demecan has no trouble recruiting for its growing business, in a region otherwise marked by its aging population and lack of workers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a trendy product that generates a lot of interest,鈥� Goebel says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a new industry, that鈥檚 interesting for me,鈥� says Jana Kleinschmidt, 25, as she snips off leaves with a pair of scissors.
As well as its own production efforts, Demecan has a license for the import of another 20 tonnes of cannabis into the country from Canada annually.
鈥淲e are currently supplying 55 percent of the German market,鈥� says Goebel, who notes his firm is in 鈥減ole position鈥� to capitalize on legalization.
Snoop Dogg
The recreational cannabis market in Germany is a potential four-billion-euro ($4.2 billion) business, according to a recent study by the Heinrich Heine University in Duesseldorf.
In recent months, fundraising in the sector has taken off as businesses await the green light from legislators.
Berlin startup Cantourage, a manufacturer of cannabis-based medicines, floated 15 percent of its shares on the Frankfurt stock exchange in November.
Cansativa, the only online platform for the sale of therapeutic cannabis products in Germany, raised $15 million in February with the help of US rapper Snoop Dogg.
Sanity Group, a German company that focuses on cannabis-derived products, likewise raised $37.6 million in September.
Legalization looks like a good deal for the government, too. The same study from Heinrich Heine University estimated the move would boost the public finances by 4.7 billion euros per year.
But the idea remains controversial.
At the end of October, Klaus Reinhardt, the head of the German Medical Association, called the plans 鈥渁lmost cynical鈥�.
It was 鈥渟hocking鈥� to legalize a substance that could 鈥渓ead to behavioral problems in adolescents, as well as addiction and psychological changes鈥�, he said.
The conservative opposition to the government has also set itself against the move.
The Bavarian state Health Minister Klaus Holetschek, who is part of the conservative Christian Social Union party, called the idea 鈥渁 dangerous signal for all of Europe鈥�.
First, however, the government鈥檚 plans need to be approved by the European Commission 鈥� or they risk going up in smoke.
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