Cannabis Around the World: The ASC Green Brief -November Edition
You check your grinder. You check your rolling papers. You should be checking the news.
While you were arguing about which indica-dominant hybrid has the best terpene profile, governments have been busy tweaking, tightening, and in some cases slamming the brakes on cannabis policy.
Germany is tuning its “partial legalisation.”
Thailand has gone from a cannabis free-for-all to “show me your prescription.”
The US is still doing that awkward “it’s illegal but also kind of not” dance.
Time for a lap around the map.
Germany: legal, kind of, but walk to the pharmacy
Germany loves a rule. So, of course, its cannabis “legalisation” arrived with footnotes.
Phase one of the CanG law in 2024 gave adults homegrow (up to three plants), possession rights, and non-profit grow clubs. Commercial sales? Still off the table. Think “legal, but bring your own. And join a spreadsheet.”
Now the government is going after how people get medical cannabis.
In October 2025, the German cabinet signed off on a draft law that will:
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Ban online and telemedicine prescriptions for cannabis
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Stop mail-order cannabis deliveries
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Force patients back into face-to-face doctor visits
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Limit dispensing to physical pharmacies only
Why? Imports have exploded. We are talking 400% more cannabis imports in the first half of 2025 than the same period in 2024. And the government is not convinced that all those patients suddenly developed mysterious conditions the moment telehealth launched.
So the message from Berlin is roughly: “Yes, medical cannabis exists. No, you may not speed-run the process in your pyjamas.”
For ASC growers in Germany, this does two things:
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It quietly makes home cultivation and clubs more important. If you plan to rely less on pharmacies, knowing your nutrient schedule and flowering time is no longer just a hobby detail.
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It keeps the spotlight on non-commercial supply. That means more people trading cuttings, hunting phenos, and hunting feminised seeds with the right terpene profile instead of grabbing whatever the tele-clinic prescribes.
Germany is still officially “partial legalisation,” but the fine print is starting to matter more than the headline.
Thailand: from weed wonderland to prescription only
Remember when Thailand went from zero to “dispensary every ten metres” after 2022 decriminalisation? It was the first Asian country to do it, and tourists flew in thinking they had unlocked cannabis New Game Plus.
Fast-forward to mid-2025 and the vibe has changed:
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Cannabis flower has been reclassified as a controlled herb / narcotic
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Shops can only sell to people with a medical prescription
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Recreational use is effectively banned
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Existing stores must pivot into medical-style clinics or close
Officials blame kids getting easy access, smuggling, and a swarm of unregulated dispensaries. Industry and activists blame politics and panicking. Either way, the days of turning up in Bangkok and walking into any bright green shop for a bag are over.
For travellers, this matters:
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Turning up in Thailand with the mindset “it was fine last time” is now risky.
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The rules are shifting fast and enforcement is getting sharper.
For growers watching from Europe, Thailand is a case study in what happens when a government legalises first and regulates later. The initial boom created thousands of small businesses, farms, and brands. The reversal has left many of them hanging.
And yes, somewhere out there, lovingly grown local sativa hybrids are now sitting in jars behind counters that nobody can access without a doctor’s note. An entire country’s terpene profile just got pushed back into the filing cabinet.
USA: the feds are flirting with Schedule III
Across the Atlantic, the United States is playing the slowest game of “it’s complicated” in history.
Here is the short timeline:
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2023: The US health department (HHS) recommends moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, officially admitting it has medical use.
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May 2024: The DEA publishes a proposed rule to actually reschedule. Big deal, but still just a draft.
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January 2025: A key hearing on the rescheduling is postponed after an appeal. Bureaucracy doing what it does best.
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Mid-2025: Legal and industry analysts still expect Schedule III to happen, but the timing and details are a moving target.
If cannabis does land in Schedule III, what changes?
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Federally licensed companies could treat cannabis more like a “real” medicine.
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Tax rules ease up for US operators. That infamous 280E problem becomes less brutal.
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Research opens up. More lab coats, more data on how specific terpene profiles interact with different conditions.
What does not change:
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Cannabis does not suddenly become federally “legal” like alcohol.
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State-level chaos continues. Some states will still be dry, others fully open.
From a European grower perspective, this is background noise with interesting side effects. US breeders and brands will get more space to play. Expect more US feminised seeds, insane THC numbers and new indica dominant hybrid crosses finding their way into the Amsterdam Seed Center catalogue over time.
So yes, the US federal government is inching toward admitting what every medical patient already knows. Slowly. While everyone else keeps rolling.
Europe’s side quest: HHC, synthetics and alphabet soup
While Germany and Thailand hog headlines, regulators quietly sharpened their knives for the “legal highs” hiding in the hemp zone.
By early 2025:
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HHC and other semi-synthetic cannabinoids (the stuff made from CBD but marketed as “legal weed”) were listed as controlled in at least 22 EU member states.
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In March 2025, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted to place HHC under the same international control as THC. (EUD
So those “legal weed” vapes in random kiosks across Europe? Many of them are now legally treated like classic cannabis, or worse.
From a grower point of view, this is almost funny:
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You spend months on a single plant, dial the nutrient schedule, argue about flowering time, obsess over terpene profile.
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Someone else sprays semi-synthetic cannabinoid goo on hemp flower and sells it in a foil pouch.
Regulators have noticed the difference. The trend is pretty clear: whole-plant cannabis with rules is in. Synth-adjacent shortcuts are out.
Good news for people who actually care about genetics. Bad news for the corner-shop “space rocks” sector.
Governments wobble. Good grows don’t.
This month’s headlines are a reminder: cannabis law is not a straight line. Germany tightens prescriptions. Thailand slams into reverse. The US hovers over the Schedule III button like it is trying to land a plane.
Meanwhile, growers keep doing what growers do:
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Picking strains that match their space and legality.
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Learning how to work with nutrients instead of fighting them.
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Turning small rooms and balconies into tiny forests of glittering trichomes.
Check your local rules before you germinate.
Check the news before you travel. And when you are ready to pick the next round of genetics, you know where the seed racks live.
Laws come and go. Good cannabis stays legendary. We’ve got feminised seeds, autoflowers, and hybrids that don’t require a prescription, permit, or paper trail Use our Seed Finder.