The red-green-governed Hanseatic city of Hamburg does not want to accept the law planned by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) to legalize cannabis in its current form. “We see in the current bill the risk above all that the illegal trade, with its sometimes very criminal structures in the background, would not be curbed,” said Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) in an interview with “Welt am Sonntag”. He cited two reasons: “The effectiveness or active ingredient content of legal cannabis is legally reduced. In addition, legally produced cannabis will likely be more expensive than illegal cannabis due to the numerous legal requirements.”
The draft law already introduced by the Federal Cabinet proposes to remove cannabis from the list of prohibited substances in the Narcotics Act. There will also be new requirements for ownership and cultivation. The regulations are scheduled to come into force at the beginning of 2024. Monitoring compliance with them would require significantly more effort for the police. In order to be able to take concrete action against Lauterbach’s plans, Grote would like to convert the set of rules, which have so far only been submitted to the Federal Council as an objection law, into an approval law so that the state chamber has a more important say.
