The law on the partial legalization of cannabis for personal use was recently passed by the Bundestag with the majority of the traffic light coalition. According to the law, consumption and possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis will be permitted in the future, but only for adults. When growing at home, up to 50 grams and three plants are allowed.
However, state politicians from several federal states announced at the end of February that they wanted to prevent the planned entry into force of the legalization of cannabis on April 1st and postpone it. It is a so-called objection law. The state chamber does not have to agree. However, she can appeal to the Mediation Committee, which would delay its entry into force.
He remains confident “that we can get past the mediation committee,” said Lauterbach at a press conference on the nursing care reform. But it is “actually a difficult law”. It now “depends on each individual federal state”.
With his protocol declaration, Lauterbach is going a long way towards helping the states, the Ministry of Health said. The four-page document, which is available to the AFP news agency, envisages several changes to grower associations and promises more support from the federal states in child and youth protection and addiction prevention.
Specifically, the inspection of cannabis cultivation clubs should no longer have to be carried out annually, but only at “regular” intervals, according to the paper. This gives the countries “sufficiently flexible and risk-based scope for action” when it comes to controls.
The cultivation associations should also be prohibited from cultivating larger areas of cultivation together. And the government also wants to make it clear by law which activities the cultivation associations are not allowed to outsource to commercial providers. Lauterbach promises to “securely anchor the changes to the cultivation associations in federal law before July 1, 2024”.
In addition, Lauterbach promises long-term money for prevention. The planned increase in funding by six million euros in the current year should be continued in subsequent years. In addition, a further 1.5 million euros would be made available for addiction prevention this year. The federal government also guarantees the development of a model curriculum for training prevention officers of the cultivation associations.
However, the government wants to stick to the amnesty regulation, which has been criticized by some countries. Lauterbach said on Wednesday that it would be unreasonable if people arrested for cannabis offenses had to stay in prison even though cannabis had been legalized.
