Lauterbach appoints new traffic light drug commissioner - observers interpret the election as a clear clue
Created: 01/12/2022, 4:05 pm
From: Andreas Schmid
Burkhard Blienert has been campaigning for a different drug policy in Germany for years.
Now the 55-year-old is the new drug commissioner.
© Mauersberger / Imago
The new drug commissioner has been chosen.
By naming the traffic light government, to a certain extent, it is committed to the coalition agreement.
Cannabis legalization is approaching.
Berlin - Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has appointed a new drug commissioner.
The SPD politician Burkhard Blienert is to follow Daniela Ludwig (CSU).
The Ampel-Coalition is thus underpinning its ambitions to legalize cannabis.
Burkhard Blienert is Lauterbach's new drug commissioner
Blienert was a member of the German Bundestag from 2013 to 2017 and acted as drug policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group.
The politician, who was born in Rhineland-Palatinate, was also a member of the health committee.
In the 2017 and 2021 federal elections, he missed entering the Bundestag in the Paderborn district.
He was already considered a possible candidate for the post of Federal Drug Commissioner in 2019.
However, the then Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) opted for Daniela Ludwig from Upper Bavaria.
The CSU politician has repeatedly positioned herself against cannabis legalization, most recently the traffic light warned of cannabis approval.
The previous drug commissioners of the federal government
2019 to 2021 | Daniela Ludwig | CSU |
2014 to 2019 | Marlene Mortler | CSU |
2009 to 2013 | Mechthild Dyckmans | FDP |
2005 to 2019 | Sabine Bätzing | SPD |
2001 to 2005 | Marion Caspers-Merk | SPD |
1998 to 2001 | Christa Nickels | Green |
1992 to 1998 | Eduard Lintner | CSU |
The traffic light coalition wants to legalize cannabis during this legislative period.
In the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP it says: “We are introducing the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for pleasure purposes in licensed shops.” With the naming of Burkhard Blienert, the traffic light shows, as it were, that it is taking this goal seriously.
That goes down well with advocates of legalization.
This is a strong signal that the Ampel-Coalition is serious about legalization.
Georg Wurth, German Hemp Association
Drug officer: cannabis experts rate Blienert's name positively
The cannabis expert Niklas Kouparanis rates the move towards
Merkur.de
as a “good choice”. Kouparanis has built up several cannabis companies and is one of the pioneers in Germany. "We are pleased to have a proven, qualified expert in a very decisive position on the way to the legal cannabis market." Blienert has already proven that he can approach the subject holistically and bring national laws into line with international agreements.
The German Hemp Association (DHV) rates the personnel as similarly positive. It is a clear commitment by the traffic light to legalization. "Making Blienert the drug commissioner is a strong signal that the Ampel-Coalition is serious about legalization," says DHV managing director Georg Wurth. "We assume that the debate on the details of the upcoming regulation will now get underway." The German Hemp Association had already campaigned for Blienert in 2019. The SPD politician is valued in the DHV.
According to Kouparanis, an infrastructure that is satisfactory for consumers is required for legalization in Germany to go smoothly.
"The most important finding for Burkhard Blienert must therefore be: The legal market stands or falls with a secure, nationwide supply, otherwise the black market will have the upper hand." 32 year old.
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