Cronos Group Inc (CVE: MJN) (OTC: PRMCF) is one of the largest licensed cannabis producers in Canada, only trailing a few industry behemoths like CANOPY GROWTH CORP COM NPV (OTC: TWMJF), APHRIA INC COM NPV (OTC: APHQF) and AURORA CANNABIS IN COM NPV (OTCL ACBFF).

While the U.S. continues to squabble state-by-state over medical and adult use legalization, over the past year cannabis has quietly grown into a truly international industry.

Germany is liberalizing cannabis access for the seriously ill. Both domestic and international firms are vying for a market potentially worth hundreds of millions of euros.

Germany is taking another step to make cannabis available to patients, mandating that health insurers cover the cost of the pain medication in certain cases for the seriously ill.

Marijuana is the most-consumed illegal drug in Germany, but as of this month cannabis now has expanded medical and legal allowances. And this makes doctors as well as patients happy.

Germany’s doctors are embracing the newly legal prescription of medical marijuana, which went into effect at the start of this month.

“I predict a certain increase of this therapy, though to what extent is unclear,” said Josef Mischo of the German Medical Association, referring to how doctors can now treat their patients with the drug.

“As a medical community, we welcome the fact that therapeutic possibilities have now been expanded.”

Germany just passed one of the world’s most progressive medical marijuana plans. The new law will put weed in more pharmacies and require public insurers to cover the costs of cannabis products, as they do other pharmaceutical prescriptions, when cannabis is prescribed for “severe conditions.”

Germany will also start growing its own weed. This will replace the old medical marijuana law, which granted permits for people to grow their own. So recreational growers will not have any excuses for ‘exotic houseplants.’