German Bundestag pushes health authorities for cannabis reform

In a rapid turn of events, the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag has put pressure on German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach to present a draft recreational hemp reform bill later this year, which is expected to be passed by the end of 2022.

If he fails, he loses part of his ministerial budget.

The committee, which is currently negotiating all parts of the government’s annual spending, decided to temporarily suspend public relations funding for the Department of Health if the Recreational Cannabis Act is not passed this year. Lauterbach had just announced that it would like to introduce such a law in the summer rather than in the fall. It’s unclear which decision was actually made first, but at this point it’s apparent that the Traffic Light Coalition has decided to prioritize a truly burning issue.

Regardless, this is an important step both nationally and globally when it comes to cannabis legalization. It is almost unprecedented as a pressure tactic in German politics (which is posh by US standards). Furthermore, despite all the bureaucratic delays on pretty much everything here, it’s also very clear that the German government can act fairly quickly if they want to.

The American Congress (especially the Senate side of the hill) should take note.

It’s not as if holding key issues hostage to budget deals is an unheard-of tactic in Washington. It’s just that no one has been desperate enough or motivated enough to use it for cannabis reform.

The Germans are coming

The excitement on the German side of the discussion is absolutely increasing every day. Deals are made, even in preliminary handshake form, and plans for all kinds of projects are advanced.

The fact that leisure reform is now essentially on the legislative act is also beginning to solidify realistic estimates of market launch. It’s unlikely anyone will allow the market launch until the last two quarters of 2023. It is more likely that the market launch is planned for the first or second quarter of 2024. However, decriminalization can happen a little faster.

Of course, there are many considerations to all of this – not the least of which is managing and creating paperwork (hopefully this time via efficient, non-crazy digitized processes) to move forward.

The fact that this is coming is also very interesting when you consider that the digitization of the German healthcare system is also one of the topics that Lauterbach is supposed to promote. This alone is an arduous discussion for a system that still routinely uses fax machines. Using cannabis as a means of accelerating the digitization of the healthcare system it touches is a smart move. Even smarter if, again as part of this reform package, it relieves insurance companies on the reimbursement front.

The German healthcare system is currently in a massive budget crisis. Recreational cannabis reform would certainly begin to solve a bottleneck of problems. Starting with the tax revenue. Of course, as many in the Bundestag know, the continued criminalization of people known to be legitimate cannabis patients who the system cannot process and treat quickly enough is also an increasingly lightning-rod problem. The waiting times for a new appointment with a neurologist or orthopedist are currently at least three to five months, even in large cities like Frankfurt. Whether such doctors decide to prescribe cannabis or whether the patient’s insurer will cover the costs are two different questions.

Recreational cannabis reform will go a long way in relieving some of the pressure, bureaucratic, political, and administrative. Not to mention financially.

The Significance

The fact that Germany appears to be accelerating cannabis reform and is continuing to advance under such circumstances will hopefully be a wake-up call to the rest of the world. Starting with the United States, of course.

In addition, the effects will be felt almost immediately across Europe. Of course there will be more conservative states that will put the brakes on reforms. Newly re-elected Emmanuel Macron vowed he would not legalize recreational use during his tenure. On the other hand, the accomplished French leader is a politician who knows which way the wind is blowing. And on this it has a beautiful, Europe-wide unifying effect.

Portugal, Luxembourg and possibly Spain could also act quickly now to start creating export crops and products for a very lucrative and hungry market. Greece has a field day.

What is allowed to travel where will be an interesting discussion, as will the ability of which cannabis strains are allowed to cross borders. The first recreational market could actually take place first with cannabis grown in Germany. That would give current bidders a huge (and unfair) advantage for medicinal growers. It would also potentially give Cansativa an incredibly unfair advantage (if not addressed immediately) – namely that they currently hold the monopoly distribution position granted by the BfArM for all German cannabis of at least medicinal quality grown in Germany.

This needs to be addressed, pronto. Otherwise there will be marches in the streets. Given the pressure, and therefore speed, Lauterbach is now under (and who has the lion’s share of ears on the subject), it’s very likely that many issues (and people) will be thrown under the bus in favor of the rich club, white males who are now trying to exert their own brand of control over the conversation even now.

The other discussion that also quickly comes up is home growing.

Regardless of the specifics (e.g., banning all foreign GACP high-THC cannabis from Germany for a period of time) or what is likely to develop, the reforms are clearly and swiftly coming to Germany.

How it is appropriated, tweaked and modified is unclear. But the levers are clearly moving now, with a very stimulating twist to transform Germany, the largest economy in Europe, into one of the most important cannabis markets in the world.