According to German news magazine Der Spiegel, Germany now has 343 licensed cannabis social clubs.
That’s 50 more licenses granted in 3 months since July 2025.
What are Cannabis Social Clubs?
In Germany, Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs) operate as non-profit entities that focus on cultivating and supplying cannabis solely to their members. CSCs should not be mistaken for coffeeshops and dispensaries which are typically for-profit businesses that are permitted to sell cannabis to non-members as well, albeit often with specific restrictions on who can purchase from them.
The primary goal of CSCs isn’t financial gain but rather providing their members with access to safe, high-quality cannabis that has a traceable origin.
Increasing numbers, but unequally distributed
It is clear there is steady growth. However, these CSCs are not evenly distributed across the country.
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) & Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) – the two states bordering the Netherlands – have far more clubs compared to the rest.
For example, those in Niedersachsen enjoy the highest access with 8.5 clubs per million inhabitants. In contrast, those in Bayern (Bavaria) have far less access – with only 8 clubs to serve a whopping 13 million+ inhabitants.
👇Here is the diagram showing the distribution of these CSCs:
Below is the ranking of states from highest to least number of CSCs.
(Those in bold are updated as of October 2025, while the rest are have only disclosed their their numbers as of July 2025.)
• Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia) – 𝟵𝟲
• Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) – 𝟲𝟴
• Baden-Württemberg – 𝟮𝟲
• Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate) – 27
• Sachsen (Saxony) – 𝟮𝟭
• Brandenburg – 16
• Hamburg – 𝟭𝟯
• Sachsen-Anhalt – 14
• Hessen (Hesse) – 11
• Schleswig-Holstein – 𝟭𝟬
• Bayern (Bavaria) – 𝟴
• Berlin – 7
• Thüringen – 6
• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – 3
• Bremen – 2
• Saarland – 0
More to come
The number of CSCs may yet increase by the end of the year. For one, the Chamber of Agriculture in Lower Saxony disclosed that there are already more than 50 clubs that have applied for a license.
With all the recent updates in the German cannabis market, all eyes are fixed to see how this will all unfold.
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