Basics

Understanding medical cannabis

These pages are the part commercial providers skip, because it does not sell: what the substance actually is, what the research supports, what the form of administration means in practice — and when the right answer is that cannabis is not the right thing. We earn nothing from any prescription, which is why we can afford to say so.

Read this first

What is medical cannabis?

The way in: what it is, what separates THC from CBD, how the doctor–prescription–pharmacy route works — and for whom it is ruled out from the start.

9 min · last updated 3 September 2026

Where it works — and where it does not

Indication by indication, with the disagreements left visible rather than smoothed over. For much of what cannabis is prescribed for, the evidence is thin.

11 min · last updated 3 September 2026

THC and CBD — the class says more than the strain name

For the effect, the class counts, not the strain name. Two THC-dominant strains with different names do not differ in the clinical evidence — the most honest sentence one can say about strain lists.

How quickly, and for how long, something works

Schematic, not to scale: the range is individual and depends on dose, preparation and person. The point is the ratio — whoever re-doses an oral form before it has even taken effect overdoses.

What actually exists

Forms of administration

Flower, extracts and oils, oromucosal spray, capsules and magistral preparations — what each form is, how quickly it acts, its honest advantages and drawbacks, and in which of the three countries it exists. Including the explanation of why Europe has no edibles.

Strains and medicines (64)

Producer-published figures for THC and CBD content, genetics and, where published, terpene profiles — with the source. No efficacy claims, no prices, no shop links, no ratings: the evidence on individual strains is thinner than the market pretends, and the THC:CBD class says more than any strain name.

Who it is not suitable for

We put this list near the top rather than in the small print. In most medical frameworks the following count as hard exclusions, or at the very least as strong warning signs:

A psychosis in your own history or in close family.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Serious cardiovascular disease.
Being under 18, outside narrowly defined exceptions.
An existing dependence disorder — particular caution is called for here.

Whether your situation fits the published criteria is something you can work through yourself in the self-check. It runs in your browser, sends nothing and stores nothing — and it can equally come to the conclusion that this route is not the right one for you.

All guides

The guides themselves are published in German only — these links open the German page. Only the two titles above are translated, for orientation.