In Germany, medical cannabis is a prescription medicine. There is no “prescription at the tap of a button” and no entitlement to a particular strain. Anyone seeking a prescription goes through a medical review: first in writing via a questionnaire, and by conversation if the doctor considers that necessary.
On a platform such as SchnellRezept this usually means four steps: a medical questionnaire, payment of the treatment fee, a medical review – with a phone or video call only if the doctor decides it is needed – and forwarding to your chosen pharmacy. If the product is in stock, it can often be ready for pickup or prepared for dispatch within about 30 minutes.
1. The medical questionnaire
The medical history form is the basis of remote treatment. It usually takes a few minutes and must be completed fully and truthfully. Incomplete or softened answers can put your health at risk and distort the medical decision.
The questions typically cover:
- Contact details and identity – including age verification via ID, because the service is only for adults.
- Symptoms and history: for example pain, sleep problems, nausea, loss of appetite or other burdensome complaints.
- Current medicines, allergies, and chronic or mental-health conditions.
- Safety points, including driving: after cannabis you generally must not drive or operate machinery for at least eight hours – longer depending on how you feel.
- Exclusion criteria, such as pregnancy, severe heart disease, recent suicidal thoughts, or other situations where remote treatment is often unsuitable.
In the same flow you choose a preferred product, quantity, pharmacy and delivery method – pickup or shipping. That is information for the pharmacy, not a normal shop order: whether anything is prescribed remains a medical decision. You pay for the products later at the pharmacy.
2. Payment
After the questionnaire you pay only the prescription or treatment fee on the platform. That covers the request, the referral and the medical review – not the cannabis itself. Medicine costs arise at the pharmacy once a prescription exists and you collect or receive the product.
Payment is not the purchase of a prescription. It triggers the forwarding of your details to a cooperating doctor. If treatment does not go ahead after review, the fee is usually refunded. Statutory health insurance does not normally cover this online fee; reimbursement for cannabis itself follows separate, stricter rules and is independent of this step.
3. A medical call only if the doctor needs it
A doctor reviews the questionnaire, the safety answers and your ID. Many requests can be assessed on that basis. An extra conversation is not automatically part of every case.
A phone or video appointment takes place if the doctor has follow-up questions – or if the law or your health requires a personal consultation. The call then clarifies diagnosis, previous treatments, dose or risks. It is a medical aid to the decision, not a sales call.
- Whether a prescription is issued is decided only by the doctor.
- The preparation, cannabinoid ratio and dose are also set by the doctor – not by the questionnaire alone.
- A refusal is possible, for example if there is no indication, a contraindication, or unclear information.
4. Ready for pickup or dispatch in about 30 minutes
If a prescription is issued, it is sent automatically to the partner pharmacy you chose. You do not need to pick a pharmacy again. The platform does not sell the medicine; the purchase contract is only between you and the pharmacy.
If the product is in stock and the pharmacy is open, it can usually have it ready for collection or prepared for shipping within about 30 minutes. “Ready for delivery” means the parcel can leave – not that it is at your door in half an hour. Transit time then depends on the pharmacy and the courier.
Without stock, outside opening hours, or for special preparations it takes longer. Prices, availability and shipping are questions for the pharmacy.
What the law in Germany requires
Doctors may prescribe cannabis for medical purposes when they consider it clinically indicated. After partial legalisation of home growing and possession of small amounts, medical cannabis remains a medicine – with a prescription, a pharmacy, and the usual rules for narcotics or other prescription products, depending on the preparation.
Remote treatment is allowed when it is medically justifiable. Where the law or the individual case requires it, there must be personal contact – often as a video appointment. The platform only mediates; the treatment contract is between patient and doctor.
In short
A cannabis prescription in Germany comes from a medical review, not from payment alone. You complete a medical questionnaire, pay the treatment fee, speak with the doctor only if needed – and if a prescription follows, the chosen pharmacy can often have the product ready for pickup or dispatch in about 30 minutes. Whether therapy is appropriate for you remains an individual medical decision.