visit to the largest indoor production in Europe

Dressed in a white, antibacterial jumpsuit, gloves and a cap, you have to go through three ultra-secure airlocks in a maze of corridors. Finally, the last door opens. Here is the largest indoor cannabis production in Europe. “Here is Fort Knoxlaunches with humor Philippe Goebel, the general manager of the start-up Demecan, in reference to the famous American military camp. The narcotics directive requires the premises to be secured with 24 centimeter reinforced concrete walls. No one can enter from the outside and hygiene measures are necessary to prevent viruses, bacteria or other dirt from entering the site and harming the plants. Plants are very sensitive. You have to be careful, because they are used to make medicine.”

Will recreational cannabis soon be allowed in Germany? The government of Olaf Scholz could give the green light as early as 2024. While waiting for legalization, companies in the sector are preparing like Demecan. This German start-up grows cannabis for therapeutic purposes in a former slaughterhouse near Dresden, in the east of the country.

“We still have a lot of places available”

Six hundred cannabis plants are lined up on tables in a room lit by blinding yellow light. The room is heated to 23°C. Gardener André Horn monitors temperature and humidity levels: “We have to make the plants believe that they are in the middle of nature. The plants are in full bloom. We can smell the smell very strong. They are in their eighth week and next week is the harvest. We cut the shoots one by one at the bottom of the plant.”

In the event of legalization, Demecan could increase its production without difficulty, affirms Michel Muller, one of the employees. “As you see, we still have a lot of places available here. Before, it was the biggest slaughterhouse in Europe and there are still a lot of areas that we can exploit and expand to install greenhouses depending on the legalization details.

“If we run the site at full capacity, we can produce ten tonnes each year. That’s ten times more than today.”

Michel Muller, Demecan employee

at franceinfo

For Demecan and the handful of other companies in the sector. The possible legalization by 2024 represents a huge challenge. The demand for cannabis could reach 400 tons per year in Germany, fifteen times more than the current therapeutic cannabis market.