As of: January 23, 2024, 7:57 a.m
By: Andreas Schmid
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Even after the first stage of legalization of cannabis, it is not that easy to get weed legally © Fabian Sommer /dpa
Burkhard Blienert wants a “paradigm change” in drug policy: Specifically, this means allowing cannabis consumption and stricter rules on alcohol and tobacco, as the SPD politician explains in an interview.
Berlin – Burkhard Blienert has been campaigning for a new drug policy in Germany for years.
In 2015, he was one of the first SPD politicians to talk about legalizing cannabis, and he was also actively involved in the medical grass law.
He has been the federal government's addiction and drug commissioner for two years.
As such, he acts as the traffic light's mouthpiece on drug issues.
Current ongoing topic: cannabis.
The federal government actually promised comprehensive legalization.
There is now a draft law on a two-pillar model.
In the first pillar, home cultivation and distribution in cultivation associations, the so-called cannabis social clubs, should be permitted.
In addition, the possession of 25 grams for personal use should remain unpunished.
Cannabis would be removed from the list of prohibited substances in the Narcotics Act.
In the medium term, pillar two plans to sell through specialist shops, but only in selected model regions.
However, it currently seems unclear whether pillar one will even be implemented.
In an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA, Blienert talks about the traffic light's cannabis plans, criticism of the law and the general drug situation in Germany.
The SPD politician also calls for stricter rules on gambling, tobacco and alcohol - namely "uniform regulations for all addictive substances - i.e. generally for 18 years."
Mr. Blienert, you are the federal government's addiction and drug commissioner. What are you addicted to?
I smoked for several years, but over 20 years ago I reached the point: “This is unhealthy.
Why am I doing this?” – and stopped.
And luckily we managed to do that.
If you can't do it alone, you can get help from the BZgA's free counseling services - by phone and at www.rauchfrei-info.de.
May is also our quit smoking campaign month.
You yourself say that you have never consumed cannabis. Would you try it if it's legal?
It would be allowed for me as an over 18 year old.
But the question doesn't arise for me.
Not everything that is allowed is healthy or even something I have to try.
For me it's not primarily about the freedom to do something, but rather about better health protection and less criminalization with all its social consequences.
The draft law was supposed to be available in 2022, but only came in the summer of 2023. The law was then planned for January 1, 2024. Now it's April. What date will the launch be postponed to next time?
It's more complex than many people might have initially imagined.
But we are at the finish line.
The controlled release and the cannabis law are very ambitious projects.
The bill now being discussed primarily strengthens the health protection of regular consumers.
In the second step, the scientifically supported model projects must focus on occasional consumers.
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Casual stoners have to go to the dealer for the time being
Many people expected it to be easy and legal to buy weed. A two-pillar model with cannabis clubs is now initially planned. What does someone do if they spontaneously want to smoke a joint on the weekend but are not a club member? Then the only way is to go to the dealer?
Yes, that's why we have to tackle the second pillar, and with it health protection for occasional users too.
So that no one who really wants to consume and can't be dissuaded from having to buy stretched weed from the dealer on the street corner.
We finally have to honestly admit that cannabis is not only consumed by a few people in Germany, but by several million people.
In December things seemed clear, at least for Pillar 1. Everything was negotiated. Then parts of the SPD intervened. The law comes from the SPD-led Ministry of Health. What's going on in your party?
This makes it clear once again how multi-faceted the topic is being discussed.
In the SPD we are always a party of open and tough debates and I can understand that with such a comprehensive bill there was a further need for discussion and clarification.
And some of the points that are now being discussed in the SPD also come from the coalition partners.
Burkhard Blienert has been the Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues since 2022.
© IMAGO/Political Moments
“Young people are trying cannabis as early as 12 and 13 years old”
Among other things, criticism comes from the protection of minors.
There is legitimate medical evidence that cannabis use under the age of 25 can be extremely unhealthy and associated with long-term psychological and physical damage.
This is particularly due to the brain not yet fully maturing.
That's why there was always a debate about the age limit: should consumption only be permitted from the age of 25 or, as with other addictive substances, from the age of 18?
For the federal government, the answer is clear: 18.
There are mutliple reasons for this.
Above all, with a higher age limit we would not have been able to ensure health protection and would not have done enough to counter the black market.
Especially in the 18- to 25-year-old age group, many people consume cannabis and they would all continue to go to the dealer who sells them much more dangerous cannabis.
Even under current conditions, we already have a very early age of entry into cannabis.
What is the starting age?
We know from studies in Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg, for example, that young people try cannabis at the age of 12 and 13.
Overall, cannabis consumption among young people under the age of 18 in Germany is significant: a good 340,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have consumed cannabis at least once in the past few months.
The trend has been increasing for a good ten years.
Several pediatric and adolescent medical associations as well as the German Medical Association say that legalization would cause even more young people to smoke weed because they would have easier access to cannabis. Is that correct?
There is a certain amount of experimental use among young people, and this also applies to other drugs, one has to assume.
In Canada, for example, it rose slightly shortly after regulation, but then fell again just as quickly.
If we decriminalize, I think it will lead to better prevention and more youth and health protection.
Because it is currently difficult to talk openly about the drug at school or in youth work, especially with young people who have already tried it, because criminal law is always involved.
Let's talk about new, harder drugs. Synthetic drugs such as Captagon or the opioid fentanyl are currently said to be increasingly in circulation. Does the government have an overview of what is being sold and consumed on Germany's streets?
We have various instruments to monitor the very dynamically developing drug market and we do this together with international partners.
This is also necessary to describe the latest developments, especially since we are talking here in particular about organized crime and branched networks.
What does the drug market look like in Germany?
Example of fentanyl: We’re looking closely.
The opioid crisis in the USA and Canada will not repeat itself here because we fundamentally have different, better conditions.
Nevertheless, we must be vigilant.
We are currently talking about 100 deaths per year that can be attributed to the abusive use of fentanyl.
That is bad.
Crack is also an increasing problem in some large cities.
At the same time, cocaine is reaching Europe on a significant scale.
One has to assume that many times more of what is confiscated by customs and police is in the drug trade.
You are a member of the LEAP association, which wants to decriminalize drugs for adults. Consumption is a “matter of personal freedom”. Do you see it the same way?
My membership is suspended because I now represent the federal government.
But I also support a paradigm shift in drug policy: more protection, more help, away from punishment.
It doesn't help anyone at all to stigmatize something because it's undesirable.
That doesn't go away the problem.
Addiction is not a stigma, it is a disease.
And we finally have to talk more, openly and honestly, about drugs and addiction.
I want to get there.
It is always an individual decision why people take drugs.
So should other substances be legalized or decriminalized after cannabis?
We are now in the midst of the cannabis release debate.
This is an extremely thick board that we now have to drill.
We also have a lot to clarify socially.
Nevertheless, it is exciting to look at countries like Portugal, which were early on in favor of further decriminalization.
This helps us in Germany to have a constructive debate.
What can this debate look like?
You have to ask yourself the question: Why do people take drugs?
Why can't they get away from it anymore?
What is the trigger that makes many people become helpless and turn to stimulants or other substances that they hope will help them in order to seemingly be able to cope in our hectic world?
Drug commissioner for stricter rules on alcohol: “generally 18 years old”
Let's come to the legal side of intoxication: According to the WHO, only Czechs and Latvians are ahead of Germany in Europe when it comes to consuming pure alcohol. Does Germany have an alcohol problem?
Alcohol and its consumption are part of our everyday lives.
The problem is therefore very big and particularly affects very young people.
In the USA you can drink from the age of 21, in many European countries from the age of 18. In Germany, 16-year-olds are allowed to buy wine and beer...
... and from the age of 14, consumption is permitted as accompanied drinking with parents; this regulation is unique in Europe.
This reflects the anachronistic perception that we do not have an alcohol problem in Germany.
But we have a big problem with alcohol consumption.
Alcohol is a very strong cell poison.
Accompanied drinking must be abolished.
When children and young people sit next to their parents, the effect of alcohol is and remains the same and catastrophic at this age.
But we also need the political will to change this regulation.
So far, very few people have advocated for it.
Should the general limit remain at 16?
It would make sense to have uniform regulations for all addictive substances - i.e. generally set at 18 years.
That would be sensible.
I can't decide that alone, but that's also the recommendation that many doctors support.
Stricter rules when smoking: Smoking ban in outdoor restaurants and in the car
Let's stick with young people. Since 2020, the number of young people smoking has almost doubled. Why is smoking apparently “cool” again?
Before Corona, we reached children and young people through our prevention measures.
This direct approach did not exist during the Corona period.
There is also the problem of e-cigarettes among young people.
To generally say that the e-cigarette is the more harmless option is therefore not enough, especially when it comes to children and young people.
On World No Tobacco Day 2023, they said they wanted to make Germany a “non-smoking society”. By when and how should this be achieved?
The strategy of the non-smoking society is an international goal.
By 2030, the goal is for less than 13 percent of adults and less than three percent of young people to consume tobacco products, e-cigarettes or other related products, especially if they contain addictive nicotine.
I don't see that Germany can achieve that at the moment.
We are lagging behind even when it comes to the simplest measures, such as the strict regulation of advertising and sponsorship or the unpleasant question of further increases in the price of nicotine products.
What prices are involved then?
Roughly speaking, we are currently at a pack of 20 cigarettes for 8 euros, other countries are already at 12 euros or more.
The price is an adequate means to deter children and young people in particular, but also to reduce the overall smoking rate among adults.
Our experience shows that higher prices are a deterrent.
France wants to reduce smoking in public; there are no cigarette machines in Scandinavia. Is something like this also conceivable for us?
The construction kit is diverse.
From a health perspective, smoking in outdoor dining areas should no longer be permitted.
I am also in favor of banning smoking in the car when children and young people under 18 or pregnant women are traveling.
I clearly agree with Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on this.
1.8 million people in Germany are addicted to medication
You recently published a data portal that deals with addiction in Germany. Tobacco is number one by a wide margin. Drug addiction follows even before alcohol. What medications are we talking about?
The two large groups are sleeping pills, sedatives and painkillers, especially prescription drugs that are highly addictive.
For example, opioids such as the powerful oxycodone or weaker ones such as tilidine and tramadol.
Who is addicted to medication in Germany?
A total of 1.8 million people suffer from drug addiction.
These include older people rather than younger people.
Many people are prescribed the medication for pain therapy - for years - and then develop an addiction.
More women are affected, especially taking sedatives.
Experts comment on this because women are more often prescribed the medication for classic illness patterns such as sleep disorders or restlessness.
Dependence in Germany: The biggest factor is tobacco consumption.
© Federal Ministry of Health
Gambling addiction is in fourth place. What's the trend there?
We are seeing rapid developments from classic gambling to slot machines to the online area.
Sports betting is very present and advertising on television and in football stadiums has increased massively.
Illegal gambling in particular is expanding dramatically: every third slot machine is illegal or manipulated.
There is no longer any player protection here.
The FDP wants to streamline the criminal code and declare illegal gambling to be an unlawful act. Do you think that's good?
No not at all.
It would be completely wrong to release those who lead others to gambling ruin through gambling from their responsibility.
It would even mean that even illegal gambling offers to children and young people would only be administrative offenses.
In combating illegal gambling, we need the cooperation of many authorities, from the police to the public order office to the tax office.
This is why criminal prosecution is essential;
When it comes to illegal gambling, we are also talking about organized crime structures.
And illegal gambling always means: rip-offs, indebtedness, a massive risk of becoming addicted to gambling and the greatest risk of suicide of all addictions.
Interview: Andreas Schmid