Cannabis in the News

Germany Extends Tax Stamps to Hemp Flowers

In a long-awaited shift that signals growing legal acceptance of industrial hemp, German customs authorities have begun issuing official tax stamps for hemp flowers containing no detectable tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive compound in cannabis that produces a ‘high’.

The move, confirmed by the German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW), marks a regulatory milestone, in that these products are now being formally recognised not as ‘cannabis’, but as smokable herbal products. As such, they now fall under the German Tobacco Tax Act, which covers alternative as well as traditional smoking products. All products subject to this Act are required to carry tax stamps, which are generally supplied by Germany’s state-owned security printer Bundesdruckerei.

‘The decision is a step in the right direction,’ said Lisa Haag, coordinator for technology, trade and services at BvCW. ‘Ultimately, the issuance of tax stamps brings more tax revenue, more legal certainty, and more economic freedom of action.’ Historically, smokable hemp flowers, even with THC levels below 0.3% (the EU threshold for industrial hemp) have been treated as cannabis by German customs and law enforcement due to the so- called ‘intoxication clause’ in the German Cannabis Act. This clause enabled authorities to classify hemp products as narcotics based solely on the theoretical potential for misuse.