Is weed finally going to be legalized?

Throughout its history, Germany has introduced conservative cannabis laws. But with the latest election results, weed could finally be legalized.

The country recently had its elections in September, in which the SPD, Germany’s center-left party, won the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). The CDU is the country’s center-right party and has been in power for 16 years. Since the CDU is both fiscal and socially conservative, changes to cannabis laws were never really on the table. But the recent upheaval in the Bundestag could mean that there will be changes soon.

The SPD and will they legalize weed?

So where does the SPD stand when it comes to changes to cannabis laws? Officially, the party supports the full decriminalization of cannabis, but legalization currently seems unlikely. As early as 2020, the party voted against laws that would have made a legalized cannabis market possible.

It should be noted that the SPD’s stance on legalization might reflect slow and steady progress rather than a total refusal to go beyond decriminalization. Full legalization may seem like too radical and too fast a social policy, so decriminalization might first help put the waters to the test. If the legislation proves popular, we could see steps toward legalization. But given the current political climate, we are likely to see decriminalization rather than full legalization of weed.

What do other parties think about weed in Germany?

Unlike Canada, Germany has an electoral system that focuses on representing voters. Why is that important? This means that the country is seeing a lot more coalitions as parliamentary majorities are much more difficult to achieve. This year’s election proves the same thing. The SPD holds 206 of the country’s 598 seats. To gain broader control over the bills, they need to form a coalition with other parties. Since coalitions demand political concessions from their participants, other parties could influence the SPD’s attitude towards cannabis.

For example, the Greens are a likely candidate for an SPD coalition. Unlike the SPD, the Greens advocate more radical approaches to cannabis legalization. More precisely, they want to free Germany from its informal cannabis market. To do this, they would allow weed to be legally sold in designated locations. Although the SPD is against legalization, they could find themselves in legal situations in which they need the support of the Greens. If so, they may have to give up their stance on legalization to enlist the support of their coalition partner.

Overall, the decriminalization of cannabis is emerging in Germany. And with the push-and-pull of Bundestag policy, we could even see legalization in the future.