First came the association
We founded the association on 5 September 2023, a good six months before the Consumer Cannabis Act (KCanG) came into force. A cultivation association must be a registered non-commercial association or a registered cooperative (§ 1 no. 13 KCanG). It has only been able to apply for a licence since the rules for cultivation associations took effect on 1 July 2024.
The application
We submitted our application to the Arnsberg District Government at the end of July 2024. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the district government is the competent authority. The requirements include (§ 11 para. 4 KCanG):
- details of the association, the board and everyone who is to have access to cannabis, with certificates of good conduct and extracts from the central trade register,
- the estimated number of members, the location and size of the cultivation areas and the planned annual quantities,
- a plan for securing the cannabis against theft and against access by unauthorised persons,
- the appointment of a prevention officer,
- a health and youth protection plan.
We wrote our plan together with an external addiction counsellor. At the time of the application, we had not yet rented anything. The authority is supposed to decide within three months once all the information and supporting documents have been received (§ 11 para. 5 KCanG).
What the authority checks
The licence is refused if, for example, someone on the board is not reliable, the plan is missing or the property is too close to schools, children’s and youth facilities or playgrounds: it must be at least 200 metres from their entrance (§ 12 para. 1 KCanG). Cultivation and passing on must not take place in a private home. The cultivation areas need protection through fencing, burglar-proof doors and windows or other suitable measures (§ 22 KCanG). Our property met the distance requirements from the start.
There are also rules on membership (§ 16 KCanG): only adults who have lived in Germany for at least six months can become members, an association may have no more than 500 members, nobody may be a member of more than one association, and the statutes must provide for a minimum membership period of three months. In North Rhine-Westphalia, there may be no more than one cultivation association per 6,000 inhabitants (§ 4 ZVO-KCanG NRW).
The licence and what it costs
On 25 November 2024, the Arnsberg District Government granted us a licence as the first association in Dortmund. It is limited to seven years and is valid until 31 December 2031; it can be extended after five years at the earliest (§ 14 KCanG). It has been in effect since 1 January 2025. The licence decision required structural security measures, such as security doors, barred windows and an alarm system. The board and staff had to submit certificates of good conduct and extracts from the central trade register. In North Rhine-Westphalia, issuing the licence costs €1,150, and inspections are charged according to the work involved.
From the licence decision to the first passing on
We have been a cultivation association since 1 January 2025 and grow on 360 square metres. We harvested for the first time in April 2025 and passed on cannabis to members for the first time in mid-May 2025. We only took out a firm lease on the cultivation area after receiving the licence; the lease began on 1 January 2025, and cultivation started from then. It takes a good four months from sowing to dried, lab-tested flowers.
Day-to-day operation
The licence is only where the work begins:
- Passing on only in person, on the association’s enclosed premises and after an ID check, within the maximum amounts (§ 19 KCanG).
- Prevention officers with proven training from a specialist or state office for addiction prevention or addiction counselling (§ 23 para. 4 KCanG). Our prevention officers were trained by Suchthilfe im Kreis Unna.
- No entry for under-18s, no promotional signage (§ 23 KCanG), no advertising for cannabis or the association (§ 6 KCanG).
- Mandatory records of stocks, cultivation and passing on, to be kept for five years, and an annual report to the authority by 31 January (§ 26 KCanG).
- Regular inspections by the authority (§ 27 KCanG).
What we advise other associations
- First the licence, then the lease. We only took out a firm lease on the space once the licence decision had arrived. That way, you do not pay rent for months in which you are not allowed to grow.
- Disclose your finances from the start. Fees and costs should be easy to understand before anyone joins, and the board should present a financial report at every general meeting. This builds trust and prevents disputes.
- Take lab testing and prevention seriously. Have batches tested in a lab, train prevention officers early and work with specialist services. This is what authorities and the public judge an association by.
- Plan capacity honestly. Only admit as many members as your cultivation can actually supply. A waiting list is better than promises the harvest cannot keep.
- Clarify fire safety, occupational safety and insurance early on. Cultivation areas with lamps, ventilation and irrigation need a well thought-out fire safety plan. If you employ staff, you are responsible for their health and safety at work. And which insurance policies the association needs should be settled before the first plant is in place.