Is THC legal in Germany?

Formal status

The general EU threshold for hemp is 0.3% THC (Regulation (EU) 2021/2115), and it applies to the crop in cultivation rather than to finished products.

Germany is explicit that this does not carry over to food. BVL states the 0.3% figure is the KCanG demarcation for commercial hemp and does not govern hemp-containing foods. Regulation (EU) 2023/915 sets maximum levels only for hemp seeds and hemp seed oil, neither of which covers a cannabinoid-extract spray or capsule.

Everything else is assessed case by case against the acute reference dose. Since February 2021 BfR has recommended using the EFSA figure of 1 microgram delta-9-THC per kg of body weight per day as the basis for assessing hemp-containing foods, applied to the labelled recommended daily dose. Germany then runs a documented two-tier test: exceeding the reference dose makes a food unfit for human consumption; exceeding the separate LOAEL of 2.5 mg THC per day makes it injurious to health.

Do we sell here?

Yes, for now: Sleep spray, Sleep capsules.

Germany measures THC differently from most countries - not as a percentage of the product, but as an amount per daily serving, assessed case by case. That makes it one of the stricter regimes in the EU on this specific point.

Trace THC is a natural part of a full-spectrum extract, and what we're actually watching in Germany is the same broader position on cannabinoids in food that affects our CBD and CBN content.

Outlook

Germany's assessment turns on delta-9-THC and delta-9-THCA measured per labelled daily dose, which is a different unit from the percentage figure used in most other member states - a point worth understanding for anyone comparing country pages.

German trade press frequently reports a 0.3% threshold as governing CBD finished products; BVL says plainly that it does not apply to foods, and BVL is the authority on that.

Timeline

February 2021

BfR Stellungnahme 006/2021 recommends the EFSA acute reference dose of 1 microgram delta-9-THC per kg body weight per day as the basis for assessing hemp-containing foods, including food supplements, applied case by case to the labelled recommended daily dose.

Bundesinstitut fuer Risikobewertung (BfR)

April 2024

The KCanG enters into force. BVL confirms that the commercial hemp exemption at 0.3% THC applies only to trade without intoxication potential for commercial or scientific purposes, and does not make cannabinoid-containing foods marketable.

Bundesamt fuer Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit (BVL)

February 2025

Baden-Wuerttemberg's state laboratories report on 72 CBD and cannabinoid-extract products sampled in 2023-24: all 72 objected to as unauthorised novel food, and 46 additionally classed as injurious to health. Online shops are named as the main sales channel.

Untersuchungsaemter Baden-Wuerttemberg

March 2026

More than 100 CBD novel food applications are pending at EU level, 19 validated and under EFSA review, with proceedings suspended pending safety data. A 2024 BfR survey is reported as having detected THC in 20 of 26 CBD oils tested.

Verbraucherzentrale