The legal CBD flowers and hemp leaf tea Opinion
The German government intends to implement a further reform in the law on industrial hemp by passing a law to liberalize industrial hemp (Nutzhanfliberalisierungsgesetz – NLG). This law would make it possible for the first time to legally market so-called CBD flowers and hemp leaf tea in Germany. It is expected to come into force in spring 2025. The report prepares for the changes that will come and contains numerous references to the tobacco tax that will then apply, as well as to legally compliant labeling and the notification requirements to be met. The report is sent with 23 pages (PDF) and several annexes.
Table of Contents
I. Outcome and Summary
- Outcome and Summary. 4
II. Legal Situation Regarding Industrial Hemp Under the New KCanG
- KCanG
- Decision of the Federal Court of Justice of March 24, 2021
a) Commercial and scientific purposes
b) Abuse for intoxication purposes
c) Federal Government’s Committee of Experts
d) Liberalisation of Industrial Hemp Act (NLG)
III. European Law Dimension
- Facts of the Kanavape Case
- Decision
- Interpretation of § 1 No. 9 – Industrial Hemp – in Accordance with European Law
- Reference to Health Protection?
a) Article 36 TFEU
b) Limit Values and Individual Substances - Conclusion
IV. Warnings, Tax Law and Notifications Under Tobacco Law
- Health Warnings
a) Principle of Health Warnings
b) Formulation and Design
c) Addressees of the Health Warning Requirement - (Tobacco) Tax Classification
- Case Study on the Amount of Tobacco Tax
V. Tax Stamp for Tobacco Tax
VI. Address of the Competent Main Customs Office
- Notification Procedure for Manufacturers and Importers
a) Competent Authority(ies)
b) Form and Timing of Notification, § 6 (4) Sentence 1 TabakerzV
c) List Broken Down by Brand Name and Type of Herbal Product - Advertising Possibilities for Herbal Products Despite (Tobacco) Advertising Ban
VII. Outlook
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About the author
Kai has been a business and corporate lawyer in Germany for 17 years gaining wide range of experiences in the process. He is very familiar with the interconnectivity between national and European regulations, especially in regard to consumer protection, product safety and emerging new cannabis products.
He has engaged in advocacy relating to cannabis beginning in early stages of his studies at Philipps University Marburg when the German Supreme Court ruled that small amounts of cannabis should not be criminalized. After medical cannabis was legalized, Kai started a legal blog (canna-biz.legal) on all the relevant new developments in the emerging cannabis market and became a legal expert especially for CBD products.
The Law firm KFN+
Kai and his Law firm KFN+ consult major CBD and medical cannabis companies and is legal advisor to the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), which is working on a Novel Food joint application for different CBD products.
Publications
- Prohibition Partners
- Leafly.de
- Globe and Mail, Canada
- Krautinvest
- Werben & Verkaufen
- Lebensmittelzeitung
- Hemp Industry Daily
- Cannabis Law Report
