Germany, if the Bundestag and the Bundesrat approve the bill that the Ministers of Health and Agriculture have announced this Wednesday, will become the first country in the European Union this year to legalize the possession and consumption of cannabis.
According to this text, the possession of a maximum of 25 grams of cannabis and the self-cultivation of a maximum of three plants will be exempt from punishment in the future, and the cultivation and distribution of the drug in special associations will also be allowed.
The bill is a revised text of the plan that the government had and that was negotiated with the European Commission.
The first project of the Executive, which was known in October 2022, accepted the free sale of cannabis for adults, but it was cancelled.
In this second text, the sale will not enter from the beginning, but will be tested later, first in model regions, with scientific support.
This was agreed by the Government after talks with the Commission of the European Union, according to the ministers.
The next step, which will now be taken in April, is to present a first concrete bill on the regulation of possession, cultivation and associations – the so-called cannabis social clubs.
Following a government vote, the bill will have to be approved by the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, the two houses of the German Parliament.
In their coalition agreement, the SPD (the German Social Democratic Party), the Greens and the FDP (Liberal Democrats) had agreed to introduce the “controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes in licensed shops”.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had already submitted proposals in this regard in the autumn.
However, it was feared from the outset that the plans would fail due to EU and international law.
In a press conference with the Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir (Greens), Lauterbach spoke of a two-pillar model.
The first pillar contemplates that the cultivation and sale of the drug should initially be possible in cannabis clubs, where the purchase of a maximum of 25 grams should be allowed.
Within a month, the purchase of up to 50 grams of cannabis should be legal.
Private cultivation of up to three plants will also be allowed.
In addition, the Government intends to create a pilot project that will enable legal commercial supply chains that can be better controlled by the State.
"The intention is to develop a pilot project that can serve as the basis for a European cannabis policy based on prevention and not on the criminalization of consumption," said Lauterbach.
“We don't create a problem, we try to solve a problem.
We know that with criminal law we do not get very far.
We want to protect youth, we want to combat the black market and drug-related crime”, the minister pointed out at the appearance.
“The goal is to make cannabis use safer.
It is about the controlled delivery of cannabis to adults within clear limits,” he added.
The minister described the previous cannabis control policy as “failed”.
“The number of drug crimes registered at the national level has been increasing for years.
A toughening of criminal law will get us nowhere."
And Minister Özdemir, who stressed that the release will only apply to adults, noted that “anyone who is not happy today is an illegal trafficker and criminal.
The black market will be angry."
The revision of the document became necessary after consultations with the EU Commission.
According to Lauterbach, they came to the conclusion that the previous text, the one they presented in October, had to be modified.
Originally, the federal government had aimed for more far-reaching legalization, which would likely contradict EU law, which obliges member states to criminalize the illegal trade in drugs such as cannabis.
When asked if the partially legal use of cannabis in the Netherlands served as a model for reform, Lauterbach said no: "We use the Dutch model more as a guide for what not to do."
The Netherlands maintains a policy of tolerance —not legalization— with soft drugs.
Its sale is considered a crime, but possession of a maximum of 5 grams of cannabis (hashish and grass) per person is not prosecuted.
You can also grow up to 5 plants.
It is only sold in the famous coffee shops, which can store up to 500 grams.
In Germany, the legalization of cannabis is one of the emblematic projects of the so-called traffic light coalition.
Youth organizations from the SPD, the Greens and the FDP have been lobbying for his release for years.
In their coalition agreement, the three formations had agreed to allow the sale of the drug "in a controlled manner to adults for recreational purposes in authorized stores."
The cannabis clubs
The proposed cannabis clubs in Germany will be "non-profit" associations with a maximum of 500 members, and may collectively cultivate cannabis for recreational purposes, and distribute it only to members for their own consumption.
The minimum age of the partners will be 18 years.
Clubs must appoint youth protection, addiction and prevention officers and cannot advertise themselves.
It will be prohibited to belong to more than one club.
A maximum of 25 grams of cannabis per day and a maximum of 50 grams per month per club member may be distributed.
Those under 21 years of age will receive a maximum of 30 grams per month, and a maximum limit of active substance content will be set for them.
Costs will be covered by membership fees and, if necessary, by an additional amount per gram dispensed.
It will not be allowed to consume in the premises of the clubs, and it will also be prohibited to serve alcohol.
In addition, there is a minimum distance between clubs and schools and kindergartens.
In public, it will be prohibited to consume near schools or nurseries.
Smoking will not be allowed in pedestrian areas until 8 pm.
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