Germany ends cannabis flower reimbursement as a Hürth pharmacy files for insolvency
Michal Maňas / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
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Since the end of July 2026, German statutory health insurance no longer reimburses medical cannabis flower. Three months after the change, Apotheke Lux 99, a pharmacy in Hürth that specialises in medical cannabis, has filed for insolvency. Here is what the law changed and what the filing shows so far.
What the law changed
The GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz (the health insurance contribution-rate stabilisation act) passed the Bundestag on 10 July 2026. It removes cannabis flower from statutory reimbursement. There is no replacement provision and no transition period for patients already in stable treatment, according to Cannabis Health News.
Cannabis extracts remain reimbursable in principle, but only after a mandatory six-month trial with an approved finished medicine. The coalition added that condition before the vote, the same report says.
- GermanyLegalMedical cannabis flower no longer reimbursed by statutory health insurance since the end of July 2026. Extracts only after a six-month trial with an approved finished medicine.
The first large pharmacy insolvency
On 19 October 2026, Apotheke Lux 99 in Hürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, filed for insolvency under self-administration (Eigenverwaltung). In this procedure, current management keeps running the business under court supervision. The owner, pharmacist Tobias Loder, cites a sharp fall in revenue after the change, according to Hanf Magazin. The trade publication Apotheke Adhoc also reports the insolvency of Loder.
According to the same Hanf Magazin report, the pharmacy is one of Germany’s largest specialists in medical cannabis.
- Bundestag passes the GKV contribution-rate stabilisation act on 10 July
- Statutory reimbursement for cannabis flower ends at the end of July, with no transition period
- Apotheke Lux 99 in Hürth files for insolvency under self-administration on 19 October
Over 80
What is still open
Two questions remain open. The first is how the six-month rule for extracts works in practice for patients who have not yet started treatment. The second is what happens to patients who were already receiving flower when the change took effect. Critics quoted by Cannabis Health News say the law leaves patients in stable treatment without protection.
Cannactually reports on the law and does not give medical advice. For questions about a treatment, speak to the prescribing doctor. For the pending German bill on medical cannabis prescriptions, read our earlier article: Germany’s medical cannabis bill could fail EU law, an expert says.
