On March 18, 2024, the "16th Think Tank Saxony – Open Forum for Future Issues" of the Saxon Union took place at the Dresden Airport terminal. With distinguished guests from politics, business, and science, representatives of the Grünhorn Network discussed the question: "How do we enable Saxon value creation and innovation?"

More than 1,000 visitors gathered in five forums to learn about the most important future topics. As a Saxon corporate group and operator of Germany's largest mail-order cannabis pharmacy, the Grünhorn Network actively participates in shaping the future of the region. Political discussions at the Grünhorn booth were strongly influenced by the upcoming Bundesrat session on cannabis legalization on Friday, March 22. Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) stated at the event that he would vote against the law, aiming "to ensure that this law never emerges from the mediation committee."

Sven-Roger von Schilling, Co-CEO of Schurer Pharma & Kosmetik GmbH within the Grünhorn Network, made it clear to Michael Kretschmer during the discussion what the rejection in the Bundesrat would mean for Grünhorn, the Saxon location, and the employees in the cannabis industry. Cannabis companies and politicians agreed that strengthening the medical supply of cannabis patients is necessary and that reducing bureaucracy by removing cannabis from the Narcotics Prescription Ordinance (BtMVV) contributes to this.

Saxony will vote for the call of the mediation committee due to the amnesty regulation, said Conrad Clemens (State Secretary, CDU) in a conversation with Grünhorn. In further technical discussions with members of the Saxon state government, repeated references were made to the poorly crafted law by Mr. Lauterbach.

It remains exciting for us as a Saxon company with 150 employees and an international investment orientation. The Grünhorn Network looks forward to further exchanges with politicians in Leipzig.