Details on German legalization – Cannabis | weed | marijuana

Details on German legalization have surfaced. A draft of the German legalization law has been leaked to the German Press Agency or the DPA news agency.

The German government is still working out the details of legalization, so some of these rules could change. But so far we have seen how Germany’s social cannabis clubs could work. And what restrictions the government is putting on cannabis users.

Details on the German certification

As German politicians advise in the Bundestag, their first legalization details look like this:

• Cannabis clubs will be capped at 500 members. You cannot be a member of more than one club.
• You can grow three plants at home for personal use.
• The cannabis club premises must be fenced with security requirements such as burglar-proof doors and windows.
• Greenhouses need a privacy screen.
• Clubs must maintain a certain distance from other cannabis clubs, schools, playgrounds, sports facilities, day care centers and other areas that the government deems vulnerable.
• Cannabis clubs are required to create a “health and youth protection plan” and to appoint an “addiction officer” who must undergo training and be updated on an ongoing basis.
• Members of the cannabis club’s board of directors are required to obtain a “Certificate of Good Conduct.”
• Clubs must follow rules on the use and limitation of pesticides and fertilizers, and keep detailed records of the process from seed to sale. Including where the seeds came from, how many seeds they stock, how many plants they grow, how much they have sold to members, current stock levels, stock destroyed or discarded, etc.
• Cannabis clubs must also report the cannabinoid content of their products to the government. So far, German legalization is only interested in THC and CBD details.
• Cannabis clubs may sell no more than 50 grams per month to a single member.
• Cannabis must be delivered in “plain packaging or unpackaged”.
• “Consumption incentives” for young people are prohibited.
• A leaflet with information on weight, harvest date, best before date and THC & CBD percentage is mandatory with every purchase.
• Consumption in public is legal, but not between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. You are also not allowed to consume within a radius of 250 meters from schools, day-care centers, playgrounds, youth or sports facilities etc.
• Cannabis remains illegal for those under the age of 18. If you are over 18 but under 21, you can only purchase up to 30 grams of cannabis per month, capped at 10% THC.

As mentioned in another article, German legalization includes a pilot project to test commercial legalization in selected communities. Details have yet to be worked out.

Cannabis Social Clubs: Pros and Cons

German pro-cannabis politicians hope to get these social clubs up and running by the end of the year. The pilot program may take longer, but optimists anticipate a fall 2023 launch.

That being said, what about those Cannabis Social Clubs? While full legalization of the free market is ideal, one could argue that the German model is superior to Canada’s.

As we have already mentioned, Canada is a cartel country. And the cannabis industry is becoming the same kind of oligopoly that dominates Canada’s telecom, banking, maple syrup, airline, beer, and food industries.

Meanwhile, authorities are targeting Canada’s social cannabis clubs that predated legalization — like the VCBC.

So let’s explore the pros and cons of the revealed details of German legalization.

Advantages

• Local Quality Control. Although the federal government insists on setting national benchmarks, it looks like each club can pursue its own style of growth.
• Nonprofit vs. Profiteering. There is nothing wrong with profiting from voluntarily purchased cannabis. But suppose you’ve lobbied and used government regulations to eliminate the competition. In this case, your gain is at the expense of others. That brings no profit; that is greed. Suppose the only options would be this profitable buddy capitalist model like in Canada or a non-profit social club model like in Germany. Then many would prefer the German model.
• Access: Every step towards legalization is a step in the right direction. Germans will be able to find and buy cannabis easily and know who the farmers are and how they grow it.
• Economical advantages: Even a small, non-profit legalization has economic benefits. From the capital goods needed to grow cannabis to the rise in the number of stoners buying binge eating. Everyone benefits from legal cannabis. Only moral busybodies fight back.

Disadvantages

• Social stigma: If the current draft becomes law, the German legalization details include the enduring stigma of a non-toxic medicinal plant.
• Nonprofit vs Profit: When the marketplace is open and free, anyone can buy or sell cannabis. In this environment, the only way to make a profit is to offer goods and services to people on a consensual basis. The German government bowed to pressure from the EU and removed the win and loss function that signals where resources should go.

Details on the German certification

German politicians have not set their legalization details in stone. But even if half of these proposals stand, it clearly shows in which direction the federal government is moving.

Like other legal systems, the government emphasizes public health and safety, including moral outcry about “young people” as if young adults had no decision-making powers.

But unlike other jurisdictions, where “public health” appeals are often a cover for corporate and state scrutiny, lawmakers in Germany appeared to be actually dealing with an illicit supply of cannabis.

Therefore, they plan to legalize non-profit cannabis clubs. There is no excuse for other countries not to follow in their footsteps. This includes the already legal Canada, where non-profit cannabis clubs have to fight for their existence in court.