Frequently Asked Questions
Medical cannabis refers to cannabis-based medicines used for therapeutic purposes. The plant contains many compounds such as cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids, which can have different effects through their interaction. These interact with your body's own endocannabinoid system and help your body achieve, restore, or maintain a state of balance. The best-known cannabinoids are THC and CBD.
Flowers are a suitable choice when you want to treat acute symptoms. Extracts, on the other hand, are for those who struggle with symptoms long-term and want to alleviate chronic ailments persistently. A combination therapy of flowers and extracts is possible, so it's best to discuss this with your treating physician.
Production takes place in accordance with the internationally applicable guidelines of Good Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). All production steps, such as cultivation, harvesting, drying, analysis, storage, and many more are considered, monitored, and documented. Since medicinal cannabis is a plant-based medicine, pharmaceutical quality must be ensured. In the pharmacy, it must be ensured that the manufacturer's expiry date of the cannabis flowers is not impaired by proper storage and further processing. In addition, the cannabis flowers and cannabis extracts are checked for their identity before being used in the formulation. By proper storage and hygienic retrieval of cannabis flowers and extracts, you as a patient can significantly contribute to quality assurance. Changes in active ingredient content, faster degradation, and contamination can thus be avoided.
Cannabis flowers are usually inhaled using a vaporizer. The active ingredients quickly enter your body and can take effect within a few minutes. The effects typically last between 30 to 90 minutes. Cannabis extracts are usually taken orally, for example with a dropper. The effects set in later, usually after 30 to 120 minutes, but last longer, about 3 to 4 hours. Your doctor will determine the appropriate dosage for you. Generally, start with a low amount and only increase it upon medical advice. Always adhere to the prescribed dosage.
Store your cannabis buds ideally in an airtight container, protected from light, and at a temperature between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. Make sure to keep different strains stored separately and keep them out of reach of children. Brown glass jars combined with a humidity regulator like Boveda or Integra Boost are particularly suitable for storage. This way, quality, aroma, and consistency will be preserved for as long as possible.
You can find the shelf life of your cannabis flowers on the label of the respective container. It may vary depending on the strain. If the shelf life has expired, please do not use the product anymore. Dispose of your cannabis medicine safely in household waste or take it to a pharmacy for proper disposal.
If you want to travel abroad with medical cannabis, you should definitely inform yourself in advance about the applicable regulations in your travel destination. An English medical certificate with details on necessity and dosage can help avoid misunderstandings during checks. For travel within the Schengen Area, there are clear guidelines. You can find more information here: https://www.bfarm.de/DE/Bundesopiumstelle/Betaeubungsmittel/Reisen-mit-Betaeubungsmitteln/_node.html
If you adhere to the prescribed dosage and gradually increase your therapy, cannabis is generally well tolerated. Depending on the application, effects such as fatigue or increased appetite may occur. In some cases, these can also be part of the desired effect. If you notice any unwanted side effects, please consult your doctor in a timely manner. If necessary, the therapy can be adjusted.
As cannabis is a natural product, flowers can vary in appearance, smell, content, size, consistency, and taste depending on the harvest. Differences between strains are also normal. Crucial is that medical cannabis flowers must meet the legal pharmaceutical quality requirements. A small flower size, as well as small amounts of leaves, stems, or seed pods, are not considered a defect according to the German Pharmacopoeia. Before goods are dispensed or processed in the pharmacy, they are tested and released by the manufacturer. In the pharmacy, another pharmaceutical check of each individual batch takes place.
Prescriptions
Cannabis flowers and extracts can be used for certain diseases. This applies when other therapies are not available or are not sufficiently effective. Even if there are no generally recognized treatments according to medical standards in individual cases, this therapy may be considered.
To obtain a prescription for medical cannabis, please discuss with your doctor whether this therapy is suitable for you. They can decide if treatment is appropriate and issue the appropriate prescription. If you do not have a treating physician, you can also contact a telemedicine platform or an online doctor.
If you received a prescription in paper form from your doctor, we can only process your order once the original has arrived at our location. Please send your prescription to: Asavita / Aponeo Pharmacy Frankfurter Allee 241 10365 Berlin Alternatively, you can also drop it off directly at our pharmacy. Additionally, please send us your contact details at service@asavita.de so that we can clearly associate your order.
Your e-prescription and your contact details are usually transmitted to us automatically, regardless of whether it was issued by your family doctor or through a teleclinic. As soon as we have received your prescription, we will confirm receipt and inform you by email about the next steps of your order.
Whether the costs are covered is always decided individually by your health insurance. They assess your condition and evaluate whether therapy with cannabis is appropriate in your case. For questions regarding cost coverage, it is best to contact your health insurance directly. If your therapy is covered, we will bill the cannabis medication directly to the health insurance. You will have to cover the statutory co-payment and any shipping costs incurred yourself.
Order
The humidity packs Integra Boost / Boveda 58% / 62% that come with your package are specifically calibrated for cannabis flowers. With their 2-way regulation, they ensure that your buds are always stored at an optimal humidity level. This helps to preserve the aroma and terpenes as best as possible. If needed, you can simply take the pack out of the transparent protective packaging and place it in the jar to keep the quality of your cannabis flowers for a longer time.
You can only order a maximum quantity that has been prescribed to you on your prescription. However, you can select a smaller quantity at any time. Please note that an item that has been used once cannot be ordered again using the same prescription, even if it was only partially redeemed.
Doctors usually prescribe up to three items per prescription. If you have requested more than three types, your prescription will therefore be split into multiple prescriptions and sent separately. You will receive a separate confirmation of receipt for each prescription and can place the order.
My flower looks different or smells and tastes different than usual, what could be the reason for that?
Cannabis is a natural product. Therefore, flowers of the same variety may vary slightly in appearance, smell, taste, and active ingredient content depending on the batch. These differences are normal and clearly defined by pharmaceutical quality standards. However, if something seems unusual to you, please do not use the product and contact us directly.
Payment
For all orders, only payment in advance is possible. The transfer can be made via our payment link or manually to the following bank account: Konstantinos Georgios Primbas UniCredit Bank - HypoVereinsbank BIC: HYVEDEMM488 IBAN: DE53 1002 0890 2600 1347 39 Reference: Order number
As soon as your payment has been received by us and can be assigned to your order, you will automatically receive a confirmation via email. The processing time may take between 1 and 3 days depending on the payment method. If your payment has already been pending for a longer period, please contact us. In that case, send us a transfer receipt at service@asavita.de so that we can manually verify your payment.
Delivery
Under normal circumstances, your shipment will be left at a nearby parcel station or post office for you. If that is not possible, DHL will return the package to us. As soon as the return has been received by us, we will actively get in touch with you. You can then choose between a reshipment or a cancellation of your order.
Please check immediately upon receipt whether your package is damaged or has already been opened. If possible, do not accept damaged or opened shipments and refuse acceptance directly with the delivery person. Please inform us as soon as possible by phone or via email at service@asavita.de. Do not use the contents before we have jointly reviewed the case and coordinated the next steps with you.
Pickup
You can pick up your order at our pharmacy from Monday to Friday between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM. If your original prescription arrives by 12:00 PM and your payment has been processed, your order is usually ready for collection on the same working day from 3:00 PM. Your order is finally ready for collection as soon as you have received our collection confirmation via email.
Account & Privacy
You can request the deletion of your customer account by sending an email to datenschutz@asavita.de. Subsequently, all data in the webshop will be removed promptly, and you will no longer be able to log in to or access the mentioned user account. Reactivation, account merging, or data recovery is not possible. If you wish to have a new customer account with us, please register again. Note: We are legally obliged under the GDPR to archive all data related to order processing (billing and shipping address, order transactions) for ten years. This data cannot be deleted. All other data is deleted and no longer accessible to anyone.
Is your question not answered here? Feel free to contact us.
