Original erschienen auf Deutsch bei Krautinvest
A guest article by attorney Kai-Friedrich Niermann, KFN+ Law Office
Times are not getting any better for industrial hemp. The central problem remains the intoxication clause, which was actually supposed to be abolished with the federal government’s hemp liberalization project (NLV). Due to the break-up of the traffic light coalition, the bill could no longer be passed by the Bundestag.
Despite this, or rather because of it, the investigations, searches and convictions against dealers of industrial hemp products continue on a daily basis. To get an impression of this, we recommend the Logbook of a Criminal Defense Lawyer – Part 2, which provides an overview of the cases of criminal prosecution against industrial hemp from KFN+.
Even hemp leaf tea in sights in sights of authorities
Even wholesalers of hemp leaf tea are currently facing criminal convictions, yet though hemp leaf tea has only a tenth of the THC content of CBD flowers. The major food retailers have not been ordering hemp leaf tea for years. On the one hand because of the criminal proceedings that have been initiated against growers and wholesalers. But also because of the novel food discussion, which has since been cleared up by the EU Commission with the inclusion in the „positive list“ of the novel food catalog for Cannabis sativa L.. As a result, less industrial hemp has been cultivated in Germany, and sales in the industry have been significantly reduced since 2021.
The „CBD flower“ industry is also eagerly awaiting clarification of the legal situation. Preparations were already in full swing with the announcement of the adoption of the NLV; for example, tax warehouses must be set up and tax stamps applied for, and the products must be notified and labeled as herbal smoking products. We are now seeing increased efforts by law enforcement to take action against the traders of these products. Overall, however, the situation remains uncoordinated throughout the country. For example, the Munich II public prosecutor’s office has returned seized CBD flowers due to their low THC content, while the Munich I public prosecutor’s office has submitted a comprehensive indictment with old cases from before 2020 to the Munich district court.
The intoxication clause – a never-ending story?
Fortunately, in November 2024 the Düsseldorf tax court expressly ruled in proceedings against the main customs office in Bielefeld that hemp cigarettes with a THC content of less than 0.1% THC cannot be misused for intoxication purposes and ordered the main customs office to send the requested tax stamps. The main customs office has applied for permission to appeal, so the ruling is not yet legally binding. If it were to become legally binding, this would have unforeseen consequences for the further practice of criminal prosecution if traders were able to invoke this judgment and the tax stamps sent by the HZA.
In contrast, March 2025, the VG Braunschweig did not rule out misuse for intoxication purposes in two proceedings brought by our office for the issuance of a general ruling to determine the marketability of industrial hemp flowers as a herbal smoking product and hemp leaf tea as a foodstuff, on the grounds of the EU principle of the free movement of goods. The actions were dismissed accordingly, the reasons for the judgment are not yet available.
The cultivation and possession of high-percentage THC flowers are now legal to a certain extent, but non-intoxicating CBD flowers as an alternative for consumers and healthy hemp leaf tea are to disappear from the market?
There is also still a criminal law risk for CBD oils, regardless of their approval as a novel food, as preparations are currently not included in the definition of industrial hemp in the KCanG. This should also be clarified with the NLV.
Appeal to politicians
There is therefore only one solution: the hemp liberalization project must return to the Bundestag as quickly as possible!
Rumor has it that the next Federal Minister of Agriculture will be a conservative CSU farmer from Bavaria. Most recently, the Farmers‘ Association and other associations appealed to the EU to strengthen European hemp cultivation. The Farmers’ Association also spoke out in favor of increasing the THC content to 1.0% THC.
A lot can happen in these crazy times, as we saw lately after the federal election with the new financial means of one trillion Euro for the federal budget. Perhaps hope for a complete liberalization of industrial hemp is not yet lost!