There is a listed cannabis company in Bavaria. “We don’t want it to be known that we are here,” says the boss. Not even the mayor really knows.
There is an inconspicuous white building complex on the main street of a Lower Franconian community. A back yard leads to a second building, the door of which is secured with a numerical code. Behind them: employees with white coats, mouth and hair protection - and hundreds of kilos of cannabis.
Mayor has cannabis laboratory in the village: “I don’t know how many people know that”
The listed cannabis company Cantourage has set up its laboratory in Lower Franconia. The exact location cannot be named for security reasons. This secret course is working so far. You won't find a company logo on the facade. As a result, hardly anyone in the village knows what is going on behind the fence. And even the mayor, a CSU politician, is initially a bit taken aback when we ask him about the laboratory in the town hall. “Well, I don’t know what exactly is being dried there,” he says. “From what I heard, it was along the lines of medical cannabis. I don’t even know how many people here actually know much about this.”
He himself hasn't been to the laboratory yet, but explains that everything is fine with the company. “We as a community were actually only involved in terms of building law because this facility has to meet special requirements.” That is the case. “It was just a completely normal building law story.” Otherwise there were no problems. “It’s all completely unspectacular,” he says. In any case, weed production is completely legal here - and not just since the Traffic Light Coalition's cannabis law came into force on April 1st.
Cantourage produces medical cannabis. The hemp plants come from partners in New Zealand, Jamaica or Uruguay and are processed in the community. The plants are first dried, then cut to size and freed from germs. The rough preparatory work is done by a machine drum, the fine sanding is done by hand. Everything under strict hygiene regulations. Mouth, beard and hair protection are standard, as are gloves and white full-body suits. Once the medical cannabis has been prepared, it is weighed, packaged and sent to pharmacies.
Medical cannabis: “It has become easier to get a cannabis prescription”
A cannabis prescription can be prescribed by doctors in Germany since 2017 and is issued, for example, for chronic pain or epilepsy. The release of cannabis for the recreational market makes it easier to prescribe - even for minor complaints such as headaches or sleep disorders.
The new law means cannabis is no longer considered a narcotic. This means: “It has become easier to get a cannabis prescription because doctors are opening up to the topic and more doctors are prescribing,” explains Cantourage boss Philip Schetter in an interview with
IPPEN.MEDIA
. “Cannabis now has a status like Ibuprofen 600. It is not a narcotic, but it is available on prescription.”
In order to get a prescription, you actually need a doctor's consultation. On site in the practice or, as with Cantourage, online via video call. However, research by our editorial team shows that there are also some providers who circumvent this requirement. Schetter confirms this: “There are the first business models where recipes are created almost automatically.”
Cannabis company in Bavaria: “It shouldn’t be known that we are here”
The company never designed its business for the leisure market, but is now inevitably benefiting from the new regulations of the traffic light coalition. Accordingly, the company is growing and expanding its production facilities in Lower Franconia. However, the discreet appearance to the outside world should not change: “It should not be known that we are here because there are a few hundred kilos of cannabis stored on the premises.”
Here too, Schetter does not want to give any specific figures for security reasons. Because: “Opportunity makes thieves.” So far there have been no major incidents. “Once a man stood at our door and rang the doorbell at night. The police alarm went off and things quickly calmed down again.”
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