As of: February 20, 2024, 9:03 a.m
By: Andrea Gräpel
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The legalization of cannabis is much discussed, but it could make its medical use easier.
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The law on cannabis legalization is expected to be passed in the Bundestag next week so that the first stage of legalization can come into force in April.
To a certain extent, this also affects the Herrschinger company Canify, formerly Bavaria Weed, which sells medical cannabis and is aiming to go public.
Herrsching
– Bavaria Weed from Herrsching was the only company in Bavaria in 2020 that was allowed to import cannabis in large quantities and process it in their facility in Leipheim.
The legal successor Canify hopes that the legalization of cannabis planned by the legislature will create a dynamic that will give the company a boost as soon as the plant is no longer traded as a narcotic.
As a narcotic, it still requires a lot of effort for doctors to prescribe cannabis.
As soon as this hurdle falls, this could give Canify a boost, even if the focus remains on medical cannabis, says managing director Sascha Mielcarek.
The Bavaria Weed founders Thomas Hoffmann and Stefan Langer from Herrsching have left the legal successor.
They founded the company after medical cannabis became available by prescription in 2017.
Their goal was to become a European leader in business.
This is probably why they brought the Danish company Canify AS on board.
It has a pharmaceutical cannabis production facility in Denmark.
In 2022, the two companies merged, as a result of which Bavaria Weed GmbH became Canify AG.
The new owners' declared goal is to take their brand public in the medium term.
It went too far for a long time.
“I wanted to stay down to earth,” he says.
He founded a new company near Leipheim, next to the old production facility, which he currently rents to Canify.
The company's headquarters are still in Herrsching, board member Mielcarek: "We are and will remain listed in the commercial register there." The economist has been managing the business for a year and has his office in Cologne.
“We currently have two employees in Herrsching,” he says.
The office locations in Cologne and Berlin were set up after the pandemic, also in order to be more comprehensive.
The production facility in Leipheim remains.
Canify currently employs a total of 25 people.
IPO medium-term goal
Going public is planned for the medium term, he says cautiously, after the move was flirted with last year.
The upcoming legalization could certainly advance the project, even if recreational legalization has no direct impact on business.
But as soon as cannabis is no longer classified as a narcotic, doctors will be able to prescribe it more easily.
Currently, explains Canify supervisory board member Sebastian Pötzsch, this is only associated with various bureaucratic hurdles - this starts with filling out the prescription and ends with the fact that it has to be safely stored in a safe.
“We certainly hope that acceptance among doctors will increase with legalization,” says Pötzsch.
Cannabis could be prescribed like any other medication.
From a medical perspective, cannabis is primarily used for pain symptoms, but also for mental health.
The aim of recreational legalization is to weaken the black market.
The bill would allow adults to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal use and to grow three cannabis plants at home.
Clubs with up to 500 members are allowed to grow cannabis together.
However, the draft has already been changed several times.
State ministers also currently consider the implementation to be irresponsible, and the German Medical Association is equally critical of the project.