The advertising of medical cannabis treatments on an internet platform is found to violate Germany’s drug‑advertising law. On Thursday, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) ruled that the operator of a website that facilitates requests for doctors to prescribe medical cannabis has breached the prohibition on public advertising for prescription drugs.
The lawsuit was filed by the German Competition Center (Wettbewerbszentrale), which identified the platform’s homepage as containing advertising in violation of the pharmaceutical advertising ban. The Frankfurt regional court initially rejected an injunction, and the appellate court partially granted the request. The platform’s appeal before the BGH was ultimately unsuccessful.
In its decision dated 26 March 2026 (case no. I ZR 74/25), the BGH held that the online presentations were aimed at promoting the sale of medical cannabis rather than providing neutral, fact‑based information about possible therapies. By advertising both the product and its therapeutic uses, the operator contravened the ban on public advertising for prescription medicines.