These summaries are no substitute for legal advice. Only the official wording is binding; we link to it for every provision.
Technical terms are explained in the Glossary.
Last updated: 25 September 2026
Consumer Cannabis Act (KCanG)
- § 1 KCanGDefinitions
The Act sets out what its terms mean. Under it, a cultivation association is a registered non-commercial association or a registered cooperative. Its sole purpose: joint, non-commercial cultivation for own use, passing on cannabis to members for their own consumption, passing on seeds and cuttings, and informing members about addiction prevention and counselling. A place counts as a residence if someone has had a home there for at least six months.
- § 2 KCanGHandling cannabis
In principle, almost any handling of cannabis is prohibited: possession, cultivation, manufacture, trade, import and export, supply, passing on and acquisition. For adults aged 18 and over, the Act makes exceptions: permitted possession under § 3, private home growing under § 9, and joint cultivation and passing on in cultivation associations. None of these exceptions apply to minors.
- § 3 KCanGPermitted possession of cannabis
From 18, you may possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for your own use; for flowers, the weight counts after drying. At your residence or habitual abode, up to 50 grams and up to three living plants are allowed. In total, it may never be more than 50 grams.
- § 5 KCanGBan on consumption
Consumption is prohibited in the immediate presence of people under 18, everywhere. It is also prohibited in public in schools, on children’s playgrounds, in children’s and youth facilities, in publicly accessible sports facilities and on the premises of cultivation associations, in each case also within sight of them, and in pedestrian zones between 7 am and 8 pm. A place is no longer within sight at a distance of more than 100 metres from the entrance area. In military areas of the German armed forces (Bundeswehr), consumption is prohibited entirely.
- § 5 para. 1 KCanGBan on consumption in the presence of minors
You may not consume cannabis in the immediate presence of people under 18. This applies everywhere, including at home and outside the no-consumption zones.
- § 5 para. 2 KCanGPublic no-consumption zones
Public consumption is prohibited in schools, on children’s playgrounds, in children’s and youth facilities, in publicly accessible sports facilities and on the premises of cultivation associations, in each case also within sight of them. In pedestrian zones, the ban applies between 7 am and 8 pm. A place is no longer within sight at a distance of more than 100 metres from the entrance area.
- § 5 para. 3 KCanGBan on consumption in the armed forces
Consumption is prohibited in military areas of the German armed forces (Bundeswehr).
- § 6 KCanGGeneral ban on advertising and sponsorship
Advertising and any form of sponsorship for cannabis and for cultivation associations are prohibited. Under § 1, advertising means any commercial communication that is intended to promote, directly or indirectly, the consumption or passing on of cannabis, or has that effect.
- § 7 KCanGEarly intervention
If minors break the ban on possession, cultivation or acquisition without committing a criminal offence, the police or the public order authority informs their parents or guardians without delay. If there are substantial indications that the child’s welfare is at risk, for example because of risky use, the youth welfare office is also informed. The youth welfare office should work with the parents towards the young person taking part in an early intervention programme.
- § 9 KCanGPrivate home growing
From 18, you may grow up to three cannabis plants at the same time at your residence or habitual abode. You may not pass on what you harvest from them to others.
- § 10 KCanGProtective measures in private spaces
At home, cannabis, seeds and cuttings must be protected from access by others through suitable measures, especially from children and young people. A breach is an administrative offence and can cost up to €30,000.
- § 11 KCanGLicence requirement
Anyone who grows cannabis jointly and passes it on to members for their own use needs a licence from the competent authority. It is only granted to cultivation associations whose responsible persons are reliable, which secure the cannabis against access by unauthorised persons, especially children and young people, and which comply with all other requirements of the Act.
- § 16 KCanGMembership
Only adults who prove that they have their residence or habitual abode in Germany and confirm in writing or electronically that they are not a member of another cultivation association can become members. Under § 1, residence or habitual abode means a place where someone has lived for at least six months. A cultivation association may have no more than 500 members; associations must provide for a minimum membership period of three months.
- § 17 KCanGJoint cultivation for own use
In cultivation associations, only members grow cannabis, jointly and with active participation. Paid staff and non-members may only take on tasks that are not directly connected with cultivation or passing on; the exception is members who work in a minijob. Cultivation must follow good professional practice, and health risks, for example from plant protection products, contaminants or microbes, must be kept to a minimum.
- § 18 KCanGQuality assurance measures
Cultivation associations must avoid health risks that go beyond the typical dangers of consumption. To this end, they regularly take random samples of their cannabis and propagating material and test them. Among other things, cannabis may not be passed on if it exceeds set maximum levels of contaminants, was not grown by the association itself or is not in pure form as marijuana or hashish. Such cannabis must be destroyed without delay.
- § 19 KCanGControlled passing on of cannabis
Cultivation associations may only pass on cannabis they have grown themselves, only on their own premises, only to members who are present in person and only after checking their membership card and official photo ID. The Act limits the amounts per day and per month, more strictly for members under 21. Passing it on to third parties, shipping and delivery are prohibited.
- § 23 KCanGChild and youth protection and addiction prevention
Cultivation associations may not allow minors onto their premises and may not mark their premises in a promotional way from the outside. The board appoints a member as prevention officer. This person is the contact for questions about addiction prevention and makes sure the health and youth protection plan is put into practice.
- § 24 KCanGMembership fees
Cultivation associations that take the form of an association (Verein) set their membership fees in their statutes. The fees serve exclusively the statutory purpose: joint, non-commercial cultivation, passing on to members and information about addiction prevention.
- § 25 KCanGCost recovery
If cultivation associations pass on seeds or cuttings to other cultivation associations or to adult non-members resident in Germany, they must be reimbursed for the cost of producing them.
- § 26 KCanGDocumentation and reporting obligations
Cultivation associations keep ongoing records of what they grow, store, destroy and pass on. Each time cannabis is passed on, they record the member’s surname, first name and year of birth, along with the amount, average THC content and date. They keep the records for five years, present them to the authority on request and submit the data once a year in anonymised form for the evaluation of the Act.
- § 34 KCanGCriminal provisions
Among other things, it is a criminal offence to possess more than 30 grams when out and about or more than 60 grams in total, to grow more than three plants, to deal in cannabis or to supply it or pass it on to others. The penalty is up to three years in prison or a fine. If a person over 21 supplies cannabis to a child or young person, this is generally a particularly serious case, punishable by three months to five years in prison.
- § 34 para. 3 KCanGParticularly serious cases
In particularly serious cases, the penalty is three months to five years in prison. This is generally the case if someone acts on a commercial basis, endangers the health of several people, the offence involves a not insignificant quantity, or a person over 21 supplies, passes on, hands over or administers cannabis to a child or young person.
- § 34 para. 4 KCanGMinimum sentence of two years
Among other things, the penalty is at least two years in prison if a person over 21 supplies cannabis to children or young people on a commercial basis, induces a person under 18 to deal in or pass on cannabis, or handles not insignificant quantities as a member of a gang. In less serious cases, the penalty is three months to five years.
- § 36 KCanGProvisions on fines
Among other things, it is an administrative offence to possess more than 25 but no more than 30 grams when out and about, to break a ban on consumption, to advertise cannabis or cultivation associations, or not to protect cannabis at home from access by others. The fine for this can be up to €30,000, and up to €10,000 in other cases.
- § 43 KCanGEvaluation of the Act
Independent experts, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Health, examine how the Act is working, above all on child and youth protection, health protection and crime. A first assessment of the ban on consumption and the amounts was due by 1 October 2025, and an interim report by 1 April 2026; the comprehensive report follows by 1 April 2028. Cultivation associations should make it possible for their members to be surveyed.
Road Traffic Act (StVG)
- § 24a StVG0.5 per mille limit, THC limit
It is an administrative offence to drive a motor vehicle with 0.5 per mille of alcohol or more, or with 3.5 ng/ml of THC or more in the blood serum. If alcohol is combined with THC, the possible fine rises from €3,000 to up to €5,000. Prescribed medicines taken as intended are exempt.
- § 24a para. 1a StVGTHC limit
You commit an administrative offence if you drive a motor vehicle with 3.5 ng/ml of THC or more in your blood serum. The fine can be up to €3,000. This does not apply if the THC comes from a medicine prescribed for you that you have taken as intended.
- § 24a para. 2a StVGTHC and alcohol
Anyone who drives with 3.5 ng/ml of THC or more and also drinks alcohol, or sets off under the influence of alcohol, likewise commits an administrative offence. The fine can then be up to €5,000.
- § 24c StVGAlcohol and cannabis ban for new drivers
During the probationary period and before your 21st birthday, the rule at the wheel is: no alcohol and no THC. You may not consume either while driving, and you may not set off under their influence. THC from a medicine prescribed for you is exempt.
German Criminal Code (StGB)
- § 19 StGBCriminal incapacity of children
Anyone who is not yet 14 at the time of the offence is not criminally responsible and cannot be punished. So criminal responsibility begins at 14.
- § 316 StGBDriving while intoxicated
Anyone who drives a vehicle although they cannot drive safely because of alcohol or other intoxicating substances such as cannabis is punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine, even if they acted negligently. There is no fixed limit for this; what counts is being unfit to drive.
Driving Licence Regulations (FeV)
- § 13a FeVClarifying doubts about fitness to drive in cases of cannabis problems
The driving licence authority orders a medical report if facts point to cannabis dependence. It orders a medical-psychological assessment, the MPU, if there are signs of misuse, if offences have repeatedly been committed under the influence of cannabis or if the driving licence was revoked for this reason. Offences solely against the ban for new drivers do not count here.
German Civil Code (BGB)
- § 26 BGBBoard and representation
Every association must have a board. The board represents the association in and out of court; in other words, it is its legal representative. The statutes can restrict the scope of this power of representation. If the board consists of several people, the association is represented by a majority of the board members.
Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG)
- § 25 para. 1 TDDDGStoring and reading information on your device
A website may in principle only store information on your device or read it from there, for example with cookies or in local storage, with your consent. It must first inform you clearly and comprehensively.
- § 25 para. 2 TDDDGExceptions without consent
No consent is needed if storing or reading the information serves solely to transmit a message, or if it is strictly necessary for a service that you explicitly want to use to work.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPRConsent
Processing is permitted if you have given your consent beforehand. Consent must be freely given, apply to a specific purpose and be based on clear information. You give it through a clear action, such as ticking a box or clicking.
- Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPRContract
Processing is permitted where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into one. For us, this is mainly membership and the steps leading up to it.
- Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPRLegitimate interest
Processing is permitted if it is necessary for a legitimate interest and your interests and fundamental rights do not override it. Anyone relying on this must weigh up the interests and state the interest. You can object (Art. 21 GDPR).
- Art. 7 para. 3 GDPRWithdrawal of consent
You can withdraw your consent at any time, and withdrawing it must be as easy as giving it. Withdrawal takes effect for the future: anything done on the basis of your consent until then remains lawful.
- Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a GDPRExplicit consent for special categories of data
Health data and certain other particularly sensitive data may not be processed in principle. One exception is your explicit consent for specific purposes. Explicit means: clearly stated and relating specifically to these data.
- Art. 11 GDPRProcessing without identification
If an organisation does not need to know who you are for its purpose, it does not have to collect additional data just to be able to fulfil rights such as access or erasure. If it cannot identify you, these rights only apply to a limited extent, unless you yourself provide information that makes identification possible.
- Art. 15 GDPRRight of access
You can ask whether data about you are being processed. If so, you receive a copy and find out, among other things, the purpose, recipients, storage period and source of the data.
- Art. 16 GDPRRight to rectification
If data about you are incorrect or incomplete, you can demand that they be corrected or completed without delay.
- Art. 17 GDPRRight to erasure
You can demand that data be erased, for example if they are no longer needed for their purpose, you withdraw your consent or you object successfully. Limits are set, for example, by statutory retention obligations.
- Art. 18 GDPRRight to restriction of processing
The data are then only stored, but not used any further. You can demand this, for example, while it is being checked whether the data are correct or whether your objection applies.
- Art. 20 GDPRRight to data portability
You receive data that you provided yourself and that are processed by automated means with your consent or for a contract in a common, machine-readable format. On request, they go directly to another organisation, where this is technically feasible.
- Art. 21 GDPRRight to object
If processing is based on a legitimate interest, you can object on grounds relating to your particular situation. The processing must then stop, unless there are compelling legitimate grounds that override this, or the data are needed for legal claims.
- Art. 26 GDPRJoint controllers
If two or more organisations jointly determine why and how data are processed, they are joint controllers. They set out in an agreement who fulfils which obligations. You can exercise your rights against each of them.
- Art. 28 GDPRProcessors
If an organisation has data processed by a service provider, for example a hosting provider, it may only choose providers that offer sufficient guarantees for data protection. The two conclude a data processing agreement. The service provider then processes the data only on instructions and not for its own purposes.
- Art. 45 GDPRTransfers on the basis of an adequacy decision
Data may be transferred to a country outside the EU if the European Commission has decided that the level of protection there is adequate. For the USA, this has applied since July 2023 to companies certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
- Art. 77 GDPRComplaint to a supervisory authority
If you believe that processing infringes the GDPR, you can lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the country where you live or work. This is free of charge for you.