How Germany will legalize cannabis

How Germany will legalize cannabis was leaked to the RND newspaper group last week. If the law is signed, it means Germans will be able to buy, sell and grow legal cannabis.

The leaked plan also suggests that the Germans will limit advertising and ban any promotion of consumption.

How Germany will legalize cannabis

How Germany will legalize cannabis has been on the minds of many since the centre-left coalition came to power last year. German bureaucrats have visited US legal states like California to understand how cannabis can be successfully legalized.

Interestingly, when Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently visited Canada, the legalization of cannabis was not one of the topics discussed.

The plan circulating in German government halls is incremental rather than comprehensive. Still, it’s a significant step compared to European countries that are decriminalizing cannabis (like Portugal).

Germany is the wealthiest and most populous country in the European Union. How Germany will legalize cannabis is just as important as when.

The German coalition government promised legalization in November 2021.

details of the plan

The leaked paper results from an investigation by the German Narcotics Commissioner. Like the Canadian “task force” in the run-up to legalization, the federal government has also set up its own task force. Burkhard Blienert addressed the topic.

The Blienert Plan would legalize the purchase and possession of up to 20 grams of cannabis by adults. The plan also allows Germans to grow two cannabis plants per household.

She suggests that Germans who want to sell cannabis can do so in licensed specialty shops and pharmacies. (Pharmacies are better equipped to deal with rural areas, the paper says).

Unlike Canada, the Germans are interested in using these specialty stores as centers of consumption. There is also talk of “coffee shops” like in Amsterdam.

German pharmacies have been selling medical cannabis since 2016. Until recently, Germany imported most of this cannabis from Canada’s licensed producers.

THC capsules and international law

As part of their “public health” approach to legalization, the Blienert Plan recommends a THC concentration limit of 15 percent.

Interestingly, they also recommend a different age-restricted THC limit for young adults. If you are over 18 but under 21, the law prohibits you from purchasing cannabis with over 10 percent THC.

The 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs prevents nation states from legalizing cannabis.

Uruguay and Canada ignored the convention when legalizing cannabis. In Germany the situation is a bit more complicated as they are also signatories to European laws preventing the legalization of cannabis.

The Blienert plan recommends producing and selling cannabis exclusively in Germany to circumvent this problem.

How Germany will legalize cannabis will no doubt come as a shock to major Canadian producers hoping to supply cannabis to Germany.

Criticism of how Germany will legalize cannabis

The German government is a coalition of left-wing political parties. The Blienert plan takes into account all the different interests in how Germany wants to legalize cannabis.

But as the saying goes: You can’t always please everyone.

Kristine Lütke, a politician in the three-party governing coalition, took to Twitter to voice her dissent. Calling THC limits and other rules for young adults “unnecessarily restrictive”!

She tweeted that these rules “will drive consumers to the black market. A catastrophe for youth, health & consumer protection.”

Others are more welcoming of the Blienert plan but expect Parliament to change some details about how Germany will legalize cannabis.

As of this publication, the coalition government’s Department of Health has not issued an official statement on the Blienert plan to legalize cannabis.

footnote(s)

https://www.rnd.de/politik/cannabis-legalisierungs-besitz-von-20-gramm-kuenglich-straffrei-alle-known-details-zu-lauterbachs-MRG6W7HVYFCU7OIV7ARZX7ZE2E.html

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