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So far, the response to the court’s decision from Canadian LPs has been mixed.

Aphria chief executive Vic Neufeld said, in a written statement, that his company was “disappointed by the delay,” but that they would continue in the interim with the construction of a cultivation facility in Germany.

This was echoed by MedReleaf chief executive Neil Closner: “We are obviously disappointed by the news of this delay but we are simultaneously moving forward with our plans to begin exporting cannabis to Germany in the near future,” he said.

Spokespeople for Canopy and Aurora, which have already begun shipping cannabis to Germany through their respective subsidiaries, Spektrum Cannabis GmbH and Pedanios GmbH, were more upbeat.

“The German market is establishing itself and if that process takes 12 months or 20 months, we’ll work towards it and supply the market with imported product in the interim,” said Canopy’s communications director Jordan Sinclair.

“Honestly, it’s an odd situation,” said Cam Battley, Aurora’s chief corporate officer. “We don’t want to be triumphalist in a situation where there have obviously been some legal complications for the German government. But in the short-to-medium term, this is nothing but good for Aurora. It means with a very limited number of competitors we’re going to be able to increase our shipments.”

With a large and aging population covered by socialized medical insurance, Germany is seen by many as the crown jewel of the European medical marijuana market. According to one estimate by U.K.-based cannabis consultancy Prohibition Partners, the German medical market could be worth as much as 10.2 billion euros annually in the coming years.