How many cultivation clubs are there? Population, coverage, cannabis clubs per inhabitant

Cultivation clubs, so-called Cannabis Social Clubs (CSC), are nothing new. Members can buy cannabis in a cultivation club. They have been around since partial legalization in April 2024. As of today, there are almost 300 approved cannabis social clubs in Germany. But how many cultivation clubs are there in the federal states? How good is the coverage of residents in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin or Saxony in comparison? Here is our calculation (as of 08/25). Are you a patient and can’t find a club nearby? With Zen you can get your cannabis & prescription online.

There are 293 cannabis clubs in Germany (as of 08/25)

What do you think about grow clubs? These approval figures shocked our editorial team: Less than 293 clubs were approved! One example: In Bavaria, there are only 0.6 growers’ associations per 1 million inhabitants. A growers’ association may have a maximum of 500 members.

Few varieties, little coverage: after a year, the growers’ association experiment shows how bureaucracy is a burden on the concept. Even federal states with a high density of growers’ associations only reach a few people. Hamburg leads the way with 6.8 growers’ associations per 1 million inhabitants. However, this also means that with 13 growers’ associations, a maximum of only 7,500 people can be supplied in Hamburg – in a city with 1.5 million inhabitants over the age of 18.

Let’s take a look at the figures:

With currently 293 growers’ associations and a maximum of 500 members per association, a maximum of 146,500 adults could be supplied, which is only around 0.21% of the German population aged 18 and over. Would you have thought that?

How many cannabis users are there?

According to DHS 2021 ~4.3% of the population (18-64 years). This means that around 2.21 million people in Germany use drugs “regularly” (at least once a month). For 18-25-year-olds, the 30-day rate is significantly higher (~11.2%, DHS 2023).

2.21 million people in Germany consume “regularly” (at least 1×/month).

How many cultivation clubs are there? Here are the current figures from 08.25. sorted by the most cannabis clubs per federal state. Top 3:

1. North Rhine-Westphalia
2. Lower Saxony
3. Rhineland-Palatinate

Distribution of growers’ associations by federal state

Here you can see the distribution of growers’ associations by federal state.

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Infographic: Growers’ associations by federal state

Table: Growers’ associations by federal state

Federal state	Inhabitants	Quantity	per million
North Rhine-Westphalia	17.9 million	83	4,6
Lower Saxony	8.1 million	55	6,8
Rhineland-Palatinate	4.2 million	27	6,4
Baden-Württemberg	11.2 million	23	2,1
Saxony	4.1 million	16	3,9
Brandenburg	2.5 million	16	6,4
Saxony-Anhalt	2.2 million	14	6,4
Hamburg	1.9 million	13	6,8
Hesse	6.4 million	11	1,7
Schleswig-Holstein	2.9 million	9	3,1
Bavaria	13.4 million	8	0,6
Berlin	3.9 million	7	1,8
Thuringia	2.1 million	6	2,9
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	1.6 million	3	1,9
Bremen	0.7 million	2	2,9
Saarland	1.0 million	1	1,0

Growers’ associations by federal state: per million inhabitants

Sorted here by the most cannabis clubs per million inhabitants. Top 3:

1. Hamburg
2. Lower Saxony
3. Rhineland-Palatinate

Distribution by federal state / per 1 million inhabitants

Infographic: Cultivation association by resident

Table: Cultivation association by inhabitants / federal state

Federal state	Inhabitants	Quantity	per million
Hamburg	1.9 million	13	6,8
Lower Saxony	8.1 million	55	6,8
Rhineland-Palatinate	4.2 million	27	6,4
Brandenburg	2.5 million	16	6,4
Saxony-Anhalt	2.2 million	14	6,4
North Rhine-Westphalia	17.9 million	83	4,6
Saxony	4.1 million	16	3,9
Schleswig-Holstein	2.9 million	9	3,1
Thuringia	2.1 million	6	2,9
Bremen	0.7 million	2	2,9
Baden-Württemberg	11.2 million	23	2,1
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	1.6 million	3	1,9
Berlin	3.9 million	7	1,8
Hesse	6.4 million	11	1,7
Saarland	1.0 million	1	1,0
Bavaria	13.4 million	8	0,6

Growers’ associations by federal state: supply gap

Security of supply is crucial. Here you can see how big the current “supply gap” is at the growers’ associations. The top 3 best-supplied federal states:

1. Hamburg
2. Lower Saxony
3. Brandenburg

Federal state	Residents 18+	supplies	open
Hamburg	1.5 million	6.500 (0,44 %)	1.493.500
Lower Saxony	6.6 million	27.500 (0,42 %)	6.572.500
Brandenburg	2.0 million	8.000 (0,40 %)	1.992.000
Rhineland-Palatinate	3.4 million	13.500 (0,40 %)	3.386.500
Saxony-Anhalt	1.8 million	7.000 (0,39 %)	1.793.000
North Rhine-Westphalia	14.3 million	41.500 (0,29 %)	14.258.500
Saxony	3.4 million	8.000 (0,24 %)	3.392.000
Schleswig-Holstein	2.3 million	4.500 (0,20 %)	2.295.500
Bremen	0.6 million	1.000 (0,17 %)	599.000
Thuringia	1.7 million	3.000 (0,18 %)	1.697.000
Baden-Württemberg	9.0 million	11.500 (0,13 %)	8.988.500
Berlin	3.1 million	3.500 (0,11 %)	3.096.500
Hesse	5.2 million	5.500 (0,11 %)	5.194.500
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	1.3 million	1.500 (0,12 %)	1.298.500
Saarland	0.8 million	500 (0,06 %)	799.500
Bavaria	10.9 million	4.000 (0,04 %)	10.896.000