The law on the legalization of cannabis should soon come into force in Germany, but many Länder ministers are urging for revisions and advocating for a delay in its implementation.
The cultivation and consumption of cannabis will become possible in Germany starting April 1…or almost. An increasing number of politicians are urging a delay in the enforcement of the cannabis legalization law set to take effect next month.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister of Health, Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD, Democratic Party), embodies this perspective. “In principle, we support the bill, but we believe that further consultation is necessary on several points,” she conveyed to the German daily Mitteldeutsche Zeitung on Monday. The areas requiring clarification notably include the maximum permitted quantities of cannabis and the minimum distances envisioned between places of consumption and establishments catering to young people and children. “Implementation naturally involves a great deal of bureaucratic effort, the preparation of which also takes time,” the minister added.
Cannabis social clubs
As it currently stands, the proposed law permits private individuals to grow, possess, and consume cannabis from April 1, and, from July 1, individuals can join “cannabis social clubs” to grow plants together. However, possession and consumption of marijuana will remain formally prohibited for people under the age of 18.
While the Bundestag, the federal Parliament, has already approved a corresponding bill, the Bundesrat, the representative body of the Länder, has yet to grant its approval on March 22. Several Länder, notably Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Baden-Württemberg, have voiced calls for the law’s postponement and implementing a series of amendments.
If the bill is referred to mediation on March 22, this would potentially delay the implementation of legalization by at least six months.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who has been leading the government’s cannabis plan for months, stated prior to the vote that the country was “fundamentally changing its cannabis control policy to combat the black market.”
More controls
But many disagree. The impact of cannabis legalization on the black market and organized crime “cannot currently be assessed as a relief factor,” explained a spokeswoman for the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Ministry of the Interior. She also pointed out that, with the new legalization, exposing street dealers would become significantly more challenging. “There will only be relief in the area of investigating consumption against adults,” she added.
In Canada, a year after the Cannabis Act, a law regulating the production, distribution, sale, and possession of cannabis, took effect in 2018, government figures showed that 52% of Canadians obtained (at least some) of their cannabis from a legal source (compared to 22% before legalization). However, a notable portion of Canadians still acquire cannabis through illicit means, sustaining the black market.
There are also fears that the new German legislation will push some individuals to increase their cannabis use… or prompt others to start using. Members of Germany’s CSU (Christian Social Union) party are calling for nationwide sewage monitoring to track cannabis consumption behavior following the planned legalization. This technique has been used in the past in various European countries to illustrate trends and increases in drug use.
“We need more controls so that Germany doesn’t become the most drugged nation in Europe,” said Klaus Holetschek, leader of the CSU group in the Bavarian State Parliament, asserting that allowing the cultivation and consumption of cannabis is “a mistake and a danger.”
“Early emotional and psychotic illnesses will increase. The brain matures around the age of 25, and those who consume cannabis risk permanent damage,” he explained.
A violation of international treaties
A recent international survey published by The Hanway Company, a research firm specializing in cannabis studies, unveiled majority support for legalization in several European countries, including Germany, where 55% of respondents expressed their favorable stance towards the measure.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) drug control agency has reiterated that it considers the legalization of marijuana for non-medical or scientific purposes to be a violation of international treaties.
If the bill is implemented, Germany will become the third European country to legalize the cultivation and personal consumption of cannabis, following Malta and Luxembourg (Note: Dutch law only tolerates the retail sale of cannabis, not its production). Pending the vote on March 22, the future of German cannabis legislation remains uncertain.
