As of: March 25, 2024, 8:10 a.m
By: Andreas Schmid
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The Federal Council gives the green light to the partial legalization of cannabis.
What does that mean specifically?
All important questions and answers about the grass law.
Take a deep breath with Karl Lauterbach and the traffic light coalition: The Federal Council has decided: The cannabis law does not have to go to the mediation committee.
Partial cannabis legalization is also taking shape in Germany.
This raises many questions about cannabis law.
Here are the main answers:
When does the cannabis law come into force?
The cannabis law comes on April 1st, Easter Monday.
The majority of the federal states decided not to convene the mediation committee, which would have delayed the entry into force.
What is a mediation committee anyway?
The Mediation Committee is a type of dispute resolution body in German politics.
Laws passed by the Bundestag that do not find a majority in the Bundesrat end up in this committee.
The cannabis law does not require consent per se.
This means that the traffic light was able to push it through with its majority in the Bundestag anyway.
The states could have delayed it through the mediation committee.
Who voted for the mediation committee?
In recent weeks, several federal states have announced that they will vote for the mediation committee.
Ultimately there were only four states: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg and Saarland.
The remaining states such as North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony abstained.
Abstention is equivalent to a no vote.
The critical countries were apparently also convinced by a protocol statement in which the federal government accommodated them on a number of points.
A look at the plenary session of the German Federal Council.
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
Will the cannabis law be changed again?
Essentially, it remains as passed by the Bundestag.
Protocol declarations are not legally binding, but rather have a political character.
The government would have to take action and implement subsequent changes to the law before July 1, as promised in the protocol statement.
The protocol statement available to
IPPEN.MEDIA
is, for example, about more money for prevention programs or subsequent changes to the law in the control of cannabis clubs.
The amnesty regulation, which is controversial among the federal states, remains in place.
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What does the amnesty regulate in the cannabis law?
This means a waiver of punishment for cannabis offenses that have not yet been completed.
This means that public prosecutors will soon have to review numerous cases that should not have resulted in penalties under the new law.
The federal government wants to stick to this.
The amnesty is a “matter of justice and takes constitutional principles into account,” it says in the minutes statement.
What is allowed according to the cannabis law from April 1st?
Cannabis is removed from the list of prohibited substances in the Narcotics Act.
People aged 18 and over are permitted to own certain quantities and grow their own food.
Possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal consumption should be permitted, which can also be carried in public spaces.
You should be able to store up to 50 grams in your private apartment.
Three plants can also be grown there at the same time.
Anything beyond this must be destroyed immediately.
Harvesting may only be done for personal consumption and not for passing on to others.
Seeds, plants and harvested hashish and marijuana must be protected against theft and access by children - for example with lockable cupboards and rooms.
What about the cannabis clubs?
According to the cannabis law, there should be cultivation and distribution of grass in special cultivation associations.
These cannabis clubs for adults are to be permitted from July 1st: In the clubs, up to 500 members who live in Germany are allowed to grow cannabis and distribute it to each other for their own consumption - a maximum of 25 grams of cannabis per member in one day and a maximum of 50 grams per month. For 18 to 21 year olds, 30 grams per month with a maximum of ten percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the substance with the intoxicating effect, should be permitted.
The clubs must be organized as non-commercial associations and require a permit that is valid for a limited period of time.
The attached building may not be an apartment and may not have conspicuous signs.
Advertising is taboo, as is cannabis consumption directly on site.
Cultivated areas and warehouses must be secured, and rules should apply to transport.
What does the cannabis law apply to children and young people?
A major point of criticism of the cannabis law is the protection of children and young people.
Purchasing, possessing and cultivating cannabis remains completely prohibited for minors.
Passing it on to children and young people is a punishable offense.
Consumption “in the immediate presence” of people under 18 should be prohibited, as well as in pedestrian zones from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Smoking weed is also prohibited in playgrounds, schools, children's and youth facilities, sports facilities and within sight of them - i.e. within 100 meters of the entrance area as the crow flies.
Initially 200 meters were planned.
What regulations still exist with cannabis legalization?
At the same time, the Ministry of Transport is currently examining how a THC limit could be set for cannabis while driving - similar to the 0.5 per mille limit for alcohol.
Expert suggestions should be available by the end of March.
Sanctions are also regulated: adults who have up to 30 grams of cannabis with them or up to 60 grams at home are committing an administrative offense.
If there are more, you are still committing a crime.
With the planned amnesty, those affected should also be able to apply for the corresponding entries in the Federal Central Register to be deleted.
This is relevant, for example, for certificates of good conduct.
Wasn't a completely different legalization planned?
Correct.
In the coalition agreement, the federal government actually promised “the controlled supply of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes in licensed shops”.
The traffic light has long since said goodbye to this plan - also because of EU law.
But there should be a second pillar of legalization: model regions with corresponding shops.
Whether and when this pillar will come is completely unclear.
There isn't even a draft of the law, just a four-page key points paper.