Berlin Greens want to legalize party drugs - CDU sees "lobbying for organized crime"
Created: 08/13/2022, 06:49 am
By: Bettina Menzel
The logo of the Bündnis90/Die Grünen parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa/symbol image
The Berlin Greens want to decriminalize drugs, resistance comes from the CDU.
The proposal is already a reality in other countries.
Berlin - The legalization of cannabis has long been a topic of discussion in German politics.
The Berlin Greens should now ensure a larger debate with a new initiative.
Not only do they want to legalize cannabis, they also want to decriminalize hard party drugs like cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines in the capital.
"The right to intoxication should be a matter of course in a city of freedom like Berlin, it works even without the mentality of a Bavarian village police," said Greens parliamentary group leader Werner Graf on Friday shortly before the so-called Hanfparade on Saturday in Berlin.
Party drugs no longer illegal?
- That's why Berliners want to decriminalize green drugs
In the future, criminal proceedings should also be stopped in Berlin for possession of small amounts of hard drugs - as is the case with cannabis products such as marijuana and cannabis, the Berlin Greens are demanding.
In some other federal states, this is common with a gram of cocaine or a little ecstasy.
In addition, the Greens want the police not to even investigate cannabis finds weighing up to 15 grams.
The "Joint in the Park" should no longer be pursued by the police and the cannabis should no longer be confiscated.
Criminal law is the "wrong answer for harmless stoners," said Graf, adding: "The criminalization of drug users is a relic from the last millennium and must come to an end."
If the police currently find marijuana on someone in Berlin, they initiate an investigation.
If the amount found is less than 10 grams, the investigations are generally stopped by the public prosecutor's office and under 15 grams are usually stopped.
The police work “actually for the garbage can”, according to the Greens.
The federal government, made up of SPD, Greens and FDP, plans to partially allow cannabis and to introduce controlled sales of the drug to adults for recreational purposes in certain shops.
A bill is expected to be presented by the end of the year.
Decriminalize Hard Party Drugs?
- Objection to the Greens' proposal comes from the CDU
However, the CDU objected.
What the Berlin Greens are proposing is "lobbying for dealers and organized crime," said CDU domestic politician Franz Balzer of the
German Press Agency.
"Berlin's Greens are on a life-threatening wrong path," says Balzer.
In recent years, Berlin has become a "drug hub" and green areas such as Görlitzer Park are a "dealer's paradise" - at the expense of visitors and residents.
Berlin does not need more relaxation, but a change of course in drug policy, said Balzer.
Greens want to legalize party drugs - proposal is already a reality in Portugal
With regard to the legalization of drugs, one country in Europe stands out in particular: Portugal.
The small country on the Iberian Peninsula has one of the most liberal drug laws in the European Union - and has had numerous successes with it.
As early as 2001, the country decriminalized the use of all drugs.
Since then, Portugal has treated consumers of cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and the like not as criminals but as sick people.
If you are caught with a drug for personal use, you do not have to go to prison, but to a doctor or psychologist.
There are also drug replacement programs that the state pays for.
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Personal use is considered an administrative offense in Portugal - just like illegal parking.
Up to ten daily rations are legal, that is about 25 grams of marijuana, two grams of cocaine or one gram of heroin.
Larger amounts are considered dealing and are subject to penalty.
The police and judiciary can thus concentrate on the "big fish".
This saves a lot of money, which in turn can flow into counseling centers or methadone programs.
A look at the statistics shows success: In the 1990s, around 350 people died from an overdose in Portugal every year, in 2019 it was 63. The number of heroin addicts has been reduced to around a third since 2001.
The Portuguese government draws an overall positive summary of the drug law.
The critics of the drug policy of that time have now almost completely fallen silent, and the law is almost unanimously considered a success.
But experts are now calling for the legislation to be adapted to today's conditions.
Among other things, this involves the introduction of drug consumption rooms where people can consume safely under supervision
(dpa/bme).
