What does the members' personal requirement mean?
Members' personal requirement (Eigenbedarf der Mitglieder) is the quantity of cannabis that the members of a cultivation association are expected to need for their own consumption. The law uses the term as the standard for the licence. The annual home-cultivation and passing-on quantities must be limited so that they are expected to be necessary to cover the members' personal requirement for their own consumption (§ 13 para. 3 KCanG).
What the term means in the law
The licence of a cultivation association covers joint home cultivation and the passing on of cannabis to members for their own consumption (§ 13 para. 1 KCanG). It may only extend to activities within the fenced-off premises (§ 13 para. 2 KCanG). Within this framework, the quantity is limited. The law ties this limit to the members' requirement.
For practice, this means that the decisive factor for the quantity is the members' expected personal consumption. The number of members is a central factor here. More members mean a greater requirement, but only within what the authority permits.
How the annual quantity is set
The application contains specific details on this. The association states the estimated future number of members (§ 11 para. 4 no. 6 KCanG). It also states the quantities in grams, separately for marijuana and hashish, that are expected to be cultivated and passed on per year (no. 9). The authority is to decide within three months of receiving all details and evidence about the application (§ 11 para. 5 KCanG).
The estimate should be traceable. A figure without justification is hard to check. The association can describe how it determined the requirement. The law does not prescribe a procedure for this. The founders are best advised to ask the authority in advance which justification it expects.
Later adjustment
Membership numbers change. For this reason, the law provides that the authority must later adjust the licence with regard to the annual quantities if the cultivation association proves that the required personal requirement has changed because of changed membership numbers (§ 13 para. 3 sentence 2 KCanG). The association must therefore document the change and may not simply grow more.
Notification duties also apply. The association must notify the authority without delay of changes to the details in the application, including the estimated number of members and the expected annual quantities (§ 11 para. 6 no. 1 KCanG in conjunction with § 11 para. 4 nos. 6 and 9 KCanG).
Monitoring annual quantities in daily operation
The annual quantity is an upper limit that the association must keep in view. The law requires cultivation associations to document stock, cultivation, passing on and destruction in grams (§ 26 para. 1 KCanG). By 31 January of each calendar year, the authority must be informed electronically of which quantities were cultivated, passed on and destroyed in the previous year, and how much was available at year end (§ 26 para. 3 KCanG).
Cannabis that exceeds the permitted annual quantity counts as not eligible for passing on (§ 18 para. 4 no. 3 KCanG). The association may not pass such cannabis on to members, and it must be destroyed without delay (§ 18 para. 3 KCanG). If the association repeatedly exceeds the permitted annual quantities, the authority may revoke the licence in whole or in part (§ 15 para. 1 no. 2 KCanG).
Common misunderstandings
- Personal requirement is not an individual amount per person: the term describes the requirement of the association as a whole, not a fixed amount for each member.
- More cultivation does not mean more passing on: passing on remains bound by the limits of the law, even if the harvest is larger.
- Personal requirement is not home cultivation: a member's private home cultivation is a separate area with its own rules (§ 9 KCanG).
What you can do now
- Estimate the expected number of members and justify the estimate in writing.
- Calculate the annual quantity in grams, separately for marijuana and hashish.
- Set up a procedure that records stock, harvest and dispensing on an ongoing basis.
- Clarify with the competent authority when an adjustment becomes necessary and which evidence it requires.
The rules on passing on to members are explained in How much may members receive each month? How the annual quantities are set overall is shown in How are the annual cultivation and dispensing quantities set? The documentation in detail is described in How must the club document harvest and dispensing?
Frequently asked questions
What does personal requirement mean under the law?
It means the quantity the members of a cultivation association are expected to need for their own consumption (§ 13 para. 3 KCanG). It limits the association's permitted annual home-cultivation and passing-on quantities. The term describes the community's requirement, not a fixed amount per person.
What happens if the club gains more members?
The authority must later adjust the licence with regard to the annual quantities if the association proves that the requirement has changed because of membership numbers (§ 13 para. 3 KCanG). The association must notify the authority without delay of changes to the application details (§ 11 para. 6 KCanG).
How much cannabis may the association cultivate per year?
The upper limit results from the licence and the members' personal requirement (§ 13 para. 3 KCanG). Specific figures are in the authority's decision. In the application, the association states the expected quantities in grams.