Author: Roman-Francesco Rogat

As part of the transaction, Sanity Group has been valued at up to €250 million, consisting of an initial valuation of €130 million and up to an additional €120 million tied to defined performance metrics over a twelve-month period ending April 1, 2027. This positions the agreement among the largest transactions in the European cannabis and healthcare sector to date, as well as one of the most significant deals in Berlin’s startup ecosystem in recent years.

By joining forces, Sanity Group and Organigram combine their respective strengths across the value chain: Sanity Group’s deep market knowledge and regulatory expertise in Europe complement Organigram’s extensive experience as a licensed producer, as well as its innovation and production capabilities. The shared objective is to further strengthen their position in key European markets and unlock new growth opportunities. Sanity Group will continue to operate with its existing team and brands and will further scale its European platform. At the same time, pharmacy customers and partners will benefit from enhanced resources, international connectivity, and increased innovation capacity.

As part of the closing, Max Narr, former Managing Director and Chief Strategy & Investment Officer of Sanity Group and Managing Director of its subsidiary Endosane Pharmaceuticals, has been appointed to Organigram’s Board of Directors for the duration of the agreed earnout period, where he will support the continued development of the joint business. His appointment underscores the close strategic alignment between the two organizations and ensures representation of the European perspective at the group level.

Long-term Commitment to the European Market 

“Sanity Group was founded on the conviction that a sustainable medical cannabis market will emerge in Europe, and that those companies best positioned to lead will be the ones that establish robust supply chains early, invest in authentic brands, and build deep regulatory expertise,” Hänsel added. “Our goal has always been to consistently build and strengthen that foundation. We look forward to taking the next steps together with Organigram and further expanding our position in a rapidly evolving market.”

From Organigram’s perspective,  this marks the beginning of the next chapter in its global strategy: “The closing of this transaction is the beginning of the next chapter in what we have been building together for some time – the creation of a truly global cannabis company,” said James Yamanaka, CEO of Organigram. “Sanity Group has established a leading position in Germany and Europe through deep expertise and disciplined execution. This combination creates a company with the scale, infrastructure, and market presence to compete at the highest level in both Canada and Germany. I am proud of what both teams have achieved to reach this point and look forward to what we will build together going forward.” 

Medical Cannabis Patient Care Remains a Core Focus 

Sanity Group will continue to focus on medical cannabis, innovative product development, and scientific pilot projects, while expanding its activities in both existing and new European markets, including the United Kingdom, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. “Patient care remains at the core of everything we do,” said Hänsel. “With the additional capabilities, we are now even better positioned to improve access to medical cannabis across Europe and further professionalize patient care.”

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For further information, particularly regarding financial and capital markets-related details of the transaction, please refer to Organigram’s press release.

The second anniversary of the Cannabis Act thus marks not only an important political milestone but also the right time for an objective interim assessment. The results confirm key assumptions of the debate to date: The illicit market has already been partially pushed back without leading to a sharp rise in consumption. While consumption among adults remains largely stable and shows no increase among adolescents, and in some cases even a decline, demand is gradually shifting toward legal sources. At the same time, these legal channels of access, particularly in the non-medical sector, remain structurally limited.

Development of Comprehensive Cannabis Law

Two years after the Cannabis Act came into effect, it has become clear that the regulatory frameworks of the Medical Cannabis Act (MedCanG) and the Act on the Handling of Cannabis for Non-Medical Use (KCanG) cannot be viewed in isolation from one another. The new EKOCAN findings highlight the close interplay between medical care and the recreational market. On the one hand, the report shows that the medical market fulfills an important supply function and contributes to reducing illegal sources of supply, but at the same time it draws attention to existing structural challenges. “The data clearly show: The market does not function in separate segments, but rather in mutual interdependence,” explains Finn Hänsel. “When legal access is restricted, demand does not disappear. It shifts back to the illegal market, with negative consequences for public health, product quality, and the containment of illegal structures.”

Against the context of a planned amendment to the MedCanG, Sanity Group is therefore warning against hasty and indiscriminate interventions. At the same time, existing legal channels of access for consumers have not yet sufficiently covered demand. In 2025, only a maximum of 3.5% of consumers were able to obtain cannabis through cultivation associations; nationwide, only 366 cultivation associations were approved. Meanwhile, the proportion of consumers who primarily grow their own cannabis rose from 5.4% (2024) to 21.4% (2025). At the same time, however, illegal procurement through social contacts (“social supply”) remains the most common source at 35.2%.

Sanity Group advocates for evidence-based refinement of the existing legal framework that addresses both areas simultaneously. The goal must be to expand legal access channels for recreational use while ensuring patient-centered and comprehensive access to medical cannabis. A key component of this approach is scientifically designed pilot projects for the controlled distribution of recreational cannabis through specialized retail outlets. Corresponding applications have already been submitted to the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE).

Waiting for the Final Report

The evaluation commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Health is being conducted by an
interdisciplinary research consortium consisting of the Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research
(ZIS) of the University of Hamburg, the Institute of Criminology at the University of Tübingen, and the
Centre for Health and Society at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. The publication of the second
interim report is part of a multi-year evaluation process. Further steps include the consolidation of all
results into a final synthesis, as well as additional scientific publications and a conference in 2027. The
final evaluation report is scheduled for 2028.

“Two years after the Cannabis Act took effect, one thing is obvious: the reform deserves a serious,
scientifically based evaluation, not a rushed political change of course,” said Finn Hänsel. “As agreed in
the coalition agreement, we should wait for the full evaluation to be completed before drawing farreaching
conclusions or imposing new restrictions.”