In Germany, the possession of cannabis will soon be exempt from punishment and the purchase of the drug will be legally possible, at least indirectly. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) presented revised plans of the traffic light coalition for cannabis legalization in Berlin on Wednesday. The legislation is scheduled to start in April. The plans don’t go as far as the original concept. Opponents of legalization warned against it.
The traffic light wants to allow the possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis in the future – that’s about as much as three tablespoons of muesli; dozens of joints could be rolled from it. Growing a maximum of three plants yourself should also be legal. In addition, the federal government wants to allow the cultivation and delivery of the drug in cannabis clubs, which are also allowed to deliver “seven seeds or five cuttings” for self-cultivation, as Lauterbach explained.
The originally planned specialist cannabis shops, in which intoxication products could be sold freely to adults, as in some US states, will not come about for the time being because they met with resistance from the EU in Brussels.
After the key points soon the law
The new key points for the legalization project are an intermediate step. The next thing to be presented in April is a first concrete draft law on legalization. After a vote in the government and a cabinet decision, this would later have to be passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat. According to Özdemir, the traffic light wants to try to shape the law in such a way that the Bundesrat does not have to agree. The federal states could then only object and delay the law. It is still unclear when the rules could come into force.
The cornerstones in detail – some things can still change in the legislative process:
– The possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis remains unpunished, such a quantity may also be carried in public.
– A maximum of three “female flowering plants” are allowed in self-cultivation – protected from access by children and young people.
– “Non-profit” associations with a maximum of 500 members may collectively cultivate cannabis for recreational purposes and only sell it to members for their own consumption. The minimum age is 18. The clubs must appoint youth protection, addiction and prevention officers and are not allowed to advertise themselves. Membership in more than one club is prohibited.
– A maximum of 25 grams of cannabis per day and a maximum of 50 grams per month may be dispensed per club member. Under 21-year-olds get a maximum of 30 grams per month, and an upper limit on the active ingredient content should also be set for them. The costs should be covered by the membership fees, if necessary, an additional amount per gram delivered.
– According to current plans, consumption should not be allowed in the club rooms. However, this is still controversial in the coalition, as Özdemir said. Alcohol is also banned there. In addition, there is a minimum distance for the clubs to schools and daycare centers.
– Consumption in public near schools or day-care centers is prohibited. It is not allowed to smoke weed in pedestrian zones until 8 p.m.
– Previous convictions for possession or self-cultivation of up to 25 grams or a maximum of three plants can be deleted from the federal central register upon request. Corresponding ongoing criminal and investigation proceedings will also be ended.
– Minors caught using cannabis must participate in intervention and prevention programs.
– In a second step, “commercial supply chains” are to be tried out in model projects in the municipalities of several federal states, from production to distribution to sales in specialist shops. The projects should be scientifically monitored, limited to five years and limited to the residents of these communities.
– This second pillar of the planned legalization is “probably still subject to notification”, according to the federal government. This means that the EU can have a say. At the moment it is unclear whether anything will come of it in the end.
“Black market will resent black”
“Today we have reached a milestone for the legalization of cannabis in Germany,” said Green Party leader Ricarda Lang in Berlin. Lauterbach and Özdemir defended the plans and affirmed that the project aims to increase the protection of minors, reduce the black market and cut the ground for crime. “Nobody should have to buy from dealers without knowing what you’re getting,” said Özdemir. “The black market will get angry, if you will, black.”
Lauterbach spoke of a controlled supply of cannabis to adults “within clear limits (…) flanked by preventive measures for young people”. The previous cannabis control policy had failed.
Criticism from the Union, the police and the German Medical Association
Sharp criticism of the traffic light plans came from Bavaria. Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) called the project a “wrong way”. Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) accused the government of trying “desperately” to “use legal tricks to find loopholes for their ideological legalization project”. He described the argument that legalization would lead to more youth protection as a “bad joke”. The CDU health politician Tino Sorge criticized that the coalition wanted to legalize a drug that psychologists and youth medicine doctors had been warning about for years.
The deputy chairman of the police union, Alexander Poitz, spoke of clientele politics. “The truncated cannabis legalization acts as a political maneuver to pacify the slowly growing impatient group of users,” he told the editorial network Germany (RND). Poitz doesn’t expect the plans to noticeably curb the black market. It is obvious that the entirety of the regulations made will not dry up the black market, but on the contrary will give it a significant boost, said the President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt.
