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CBD green light, justice at the Düsseldorf District Court

May 30, 2021

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The Düsseldorf Administrative Court has finally done justice, affirming the right to sell products that contain CBD in natural extract form. A victory for Hempro International GmbH and the entire hemp supply chain, an emblem of circular economy, from farm to fork. (1)

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CBD, the Düsseldorf querelle

Hempro Int. had gone to the Düsseldorf Administrative Court last fall to challenge a municipal ordinance dated 11.7.20 that had banned the sale of any product containing CBD (cannabidiol).

The plaintiff complained about the misinterpretation–by the local government–of the guidelines of the North Rhine-Westphalia Land Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV).

LANUV, guidelines on CBD

The LANUV (Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz), in its April 2020 guidelines, had indeed stipulated that only products containing cannabidiol in the forms of ‘CBD isolate‘ and ‘CBD-enriched hemp extracts‘ should be banned from sale to consumers. Instead, without vetoing any traditionally produced natural extracts.

CBD products that reflect only the natural spectrum of plant components, in fact, contain neither CBD-enriched isolates nor extracts. (2) Cannabidiol, simply, is naturally occurring-in Cannabis Sativa L. – in higher proportions than other cannabinoids.

Hempro Int., justice at the Düsseldorf Administrative Court

Hempro International GmbH
– a company founded in Düsseldorf itself, in 2002, with 53 employees and more than 17 million euros in sales – had its case recognized by the administrative court, which overturned the municipal ban. In line, moreover, with the European Court of Justice ‘s 19.11.20 ruling (ECJ, Case C-663/18).

Indeed, the Court of Justice of the European Union, following a preliminary reference from the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence (France), had ruled out that CBD derived from hemp can be qualified as a ‘psychotropic substance‘ or ‘narcotic‘. Affirming the ban on restrictions on its circulation (and marketing) in the Internal Market.(3)

Hemp, cultural resistance

The Düsseldorf court ruling ‘is another landmark decision on the road to a normal and responsible market situation for the cultivation of industrial hemp and the sale of natural products with CBD in Germany.’ Thus commented Daniel Kruse, managing director of Hempro Int. as well as president of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA).

Nevertheless, ‘once againthe case demonstrates the arbitrariness of German authorities when dealing with the hemp supply chain.’ A cultural resistance that has persisted for decades and completely ignores the evolution of the supply chain. To the paradox that the Düsseldorf Administrative Court itself, in agreeing with Hempro International GmbH, did not even award it reimbursement of legal costs from the losing party.

Dario Dongo