It’s official: New coalition government to legalize recreational cannabis use

Even the toughest German “medical only” voices in the cannabis industry posted the news on their social media outlets, including LinkedIn, for the past week, even before the news was official. But that has officially changed since Wednesday. The new so-called “traffic light coalition” will in fact legalize the recreational use of cannabis with a corresponding draft law in the German Bundestag next year.

For those who fought in the trenches for years, if not decades, for it, it’s an exciting moment. It also electrifies the industry, which now has 100 medical cannabis distribution licenses, a growing patient base (an estimated 100,000 at this point), and an issue that just won’t stop. Especially since the Swiss (partly a German-speaking country) do the same. This is particularly important given the timing. Germany could even propose Luxembourg in the leisure discussion within the European Union.

But no matter how exciting, the devil is, as always, in the details. How much, what exactly and how it will be implemented is still open. Cannabis is still not really decriminalized, and there is still a great deal of weird jurisdiction and laws that need to be changed.

What is known so far

The reason this is such a big deal is because the announcement comes because the three parties that won the most votes in the September federal elections sealed the deal to work on a joint plan that would lead to cannabis reform ( together with the phase-out of coal by 2030 with at least 15 million electric cars on the streets at the same time). After that, it is only a matter of drafting the law and introducing it to the German Bundestag. Unlike the US, where there have been several unsuccessful attempts to pass federal legalization law, that law is almost guaranteed. The Germans are so funny.

Here’s what’s actually official. The coalition wants to do this in a statement from the SDP, the Greens and the FDP. “We’re introducing the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for consumption in licensed stores. That controls the quality [of marijuana], prevents the transmission of contaminated substances and guarantees the protection of minors. “

The government will review the experiment in four years’ time to determine the effects (including economic and social). However, there is little chance that such a step forward will be reversed.

Problems and problems along the way

It’s not that this will go smoothly. There are several important problems to be solved. The most important of these is how the state’s Federal Narcotics Act can be changed. Cannabis, including CBD, is considered a narcotic. This is already out of line with EU policy (with a lawsuit pending to change that). Regardless, add THC to the mix and there will be some fancy footwork and legal eagles to bring about the change not only in the new legislation, but also in that governing and regulating medicinal diversity.

German influence

There is no doubt that Germany’s move to recreational cannabis will fuel the debate across Europe – and possibly over the same period in which it has been influencing the medical discussion. Just four years ago, the concept of using medicinal cannabis even for pain relief was a very strange, often socially unacceptable topic. Today there are around 100,000 German patients.

The Germans may not have arrived yet, but they are definitely on their way.

This is absolutely a Colorado, if not a Canadian turning point. But it can also be one that affects not only Germany or even Europe, but an international and global one.

On international news that Mexico is implementing recreational reform by the end of the year and Italians may have the option to vote on legalizing personal ownership and home growing from next spring, not to mention both Luxembourg and Switzerland having their own It is clear that full and definitive cannabis reform is now a mainstream topic and target at the federal level in many countries.

This will undoubtedly also fuel the debate in the United States. If Germany can do this, less than four years after federal legalization of its medical market, what is the US waiting for? Or China? In the latter case, cannabis is seen as a great, if not green, and global investment in the face of a corporate real estate market that may finally collapse on a global scale.

In the meantime, the final days of Prohibition have clearly and globally arrived.