Germany’s plans to legalize adult marijuana are one in a series of socially progressive policies proposed by the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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BERLIN — Germany may very well be weeks away from introducing a law legalizing cannabis as part of sweeping reforms that will give the green light to the drug’s consumption and sale in Europe’s largest economy.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach last week he said the plans had received “superb feedback” from the European Commission, the EU’s executive, adding that the bill may very well be announced by late March or early April.
“We will soon give you a proposal that works, which is in step with European law,” Lauterbach said after months of talks with Brussels.
Government published draft proposals for the legalization of adult marijuana in October to enhance public health. Lauterbach insisted they’d be promoted to the Bundestag – Germany’s federal parliament – provided that the initiatives were in step with EU law.
Based on plans, cannabis would not be classified as a drug, and residents over 18 can be allowed to hold as much as 30 grams of the drug for private use. Consumers could also grow up to 3 plants at home, and licensed shops and pharmacies could sell cannabis products.
May 1 will be seen as the day Germany legalized marijuana.
Steffen Geyer
director of the Hanfa Museum
If approved by parliament, the law may very well be implemented in phases between now and mid-2024. This is able to make Germany the world’s largest regulated domestic cannabis market and the first country in the EU to permit business sale – with potentially sweeping implications for the bloc.
In the Netherlands, a country widely related to the legal smoking of weed, the growth and sale of this drug to so-called technically criminalizedthough tolerated. While in other countries like Malta legalization is restricted.
“If I can trust my government sources, the first change will are available in May,” said Steffen Geyer, director of the Hanf Museum, a Berlin-based cannabis museum he described as “the heart of Germany’s legalization movement for the last 30 years.”
“1 May [2023] will be seen as the day Germany legalized marijuana [for personal use]Geyer told CNBC, noting that business legalization is prone to occur next 12 months. “Cannabis in Germany will be a success, I’m sure. The long run is green.”
“The Future Is Green”
Marijuana legalization is one of a series of socially progressive policies proposed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party “traffic light” coalition government, which he got here to power in 2021 after 16 years of conservative rule.
About 4 million people in Germany used cannabis in 2021and a quarter of all 18- to 24-year-olds in the country have tried it, in keeping with Lauterbach, who said the goal of the changes was to extend public oversight and reduce drug-related crime.
“Currently, the government is by far the most open about it,” said Martin Chodorowski, account manager at Tom Hemp’s, a Berlin-based retailer of cannabidiol (CBD).
Martin Chodorowski, account manager at Berlin-based cannabidiol (CBD) store Tom Hemp’s, says Germany’s proposed cannabis reforms would create a more stable regulatory framework for corporations like his and her suppliers.
CNBC
CBD is the lively but non-addictive component of hemp, derived from the hemp plant. Its sale has been legal in Germany since 2017, provided that the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the foremost psychoactive part of cannabis – is below 0.2%. In the meantime, the sale of other weed products is prohibited.
“The opportunities for us as a German company are the biggest in a decade,” said Chodorowski, who welcomed the prospect of a more stable framework for suppliers and consumers of cannabis products.
It’s estimated that the legalization of the drug could create 27,000 recent jobs and herald an extra €4.7 billion ($5 billion) annually in tax revenue, social security contributions and savings from criminal prosecution. study 2021 from the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf.
“It’s the most boring revolution you will ever recognize,” Geyer said, adding that the number of recent jobs could rise to 35,000. “Individuals are just attempting to be normal. These jobs are already being done today, but without paying taxes, without paying Social Security.”
EU regulatory challenges
The federal government has a wonderful line to walk to provide a bill that’s in step with EU law, international drug treaties and public health concerns.
Europe has long taken a conservative approach to marijuana legalization, with EU rules requiring member states to make sure that marijuana legalization is legal sale of illegal drugs including cannabis, is “subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties”.
The plans would even be incompatible with international treaties, including the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961although countries corresponding to Canada and Uruguay have suffered no serious consequences since the drug was legalized.
Most European countries don’t want to go on this direction. But nobody would have thought 10 years ago that Germany…
Franjo Grotenhermen
executive director of the International Alliance for Cannabinoid Medicines
The Ministry of Health didn’t confirm the details of the proposed bill to CNBC. Nonetheless, preliminary documents suggest the government will issue an interpretative declaration to show that legalization will help protect youth and combat the illegal drug trade.
“The European contract says that each state must implement the fight against the illegal use of cannabis, and the German government will say we haven’t got illegal use, we regulate legal use,” Geyer suggested.
The European border-free Schengen area of which Germany is a member also currently prohibits the importation of illegal drugs across European borders. Which means that Germany would should show that it will probably produce enough domestic supply without undermining its neighbors’ drug policies.
Impact on the medical market
Berlin’s proposals will also should prove they will not disrupt the country’s well-established medical marijuana market.
The sale of medical marijuana has been allowed in German pharmacies since 2016, but there are still several barriers to entry, including costs. Some doctors warn that legalizing the drug for recreational use could increase the risk for patients who may seek self-medication.
“Patients who cannot afford medical marijuana can self-use adult marijuana without medical advice. In our opinion, this could definitely be avoided,” said Johannes Gallois of the German Association of Pharmaceutical Cannabinoid Producers.
Activists show for the legalization of marijuana during the annual Cannabis Parade (Hanfparade) on August 13, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. In 2021, 4 million people in Germany are estimated to have used cannabis, and a quarter of all people aged 18 to 24 in the country.
Carsten Koall | Getty Images | News Getty Images
Nonetheless, wider public acceptance of marijuana might also help remove the stigma of the drug and improve public acceptance of its medical advantages, Gallois noted.
“The overall de-stigmatization of cannabis as a substance will also result in a de-stigmatized medical marijuana market,” Gallois added.
The federal government is currently reviewing its medical marijuana guidelines, including the way it is prescribed and reimbursed under the National Statutory Health Insurance Scheme.
“The Domino Effect”
The plans come as marijuana legalization has come under renewed debate in recent times. In the last decade, Canada, Uruguay and most recently Thailand have taken steps to legalize the drug.
Legalizing the drug in the EU’s largest economy could potentially open the door to similar reforms in other European countries. Lauterbach had previously called the plans a “model for Europe.”
“Most European countries don’t want to go on this direction. But nobody would have thought 10 years ago that Germany would move towards legalizing marijuana,” said Franjo Grotenhermen, founder and executive director of the International Alliance for Cannabinoid Medicines, a Cologne-based medical association.
We want examples like Germany, like Europe, to point out that society will not collapse whether it is made legal.
Steffen Geyer
director of the Hanfa Museum
Neighboring Luxembourg AND Czech Republic has already proposed plans to legalize marijuana to be used by adults. In Austria, Italy and Spain, personal possession of small amounts of the drug is not any longer a crime.
Maltathe smallest EU member state, in 2021 it became the first country in the bloc to legalize possession of the drug for private use and to permit private “cannabis clubs” where members can grow and share the drug.
“Germany may be a pioneer and create a knock-on effect on this regard,” said Gallois.
Some are optimistic that such moves in Europe could also speed up the liberalization of the global cannabis market, most notably in the world’s largest economy, where recreational and medical use of the drug is already legal in several US states.
“The entire illegal drug business will sort itself out as the United States changes its sentiment at the federal level,” Geyer said.
“But we’d like examples like Germany, like Europe, to point out that society will not collapse whether it is legalized on a larger scale. 80 million Germans is a good start, but it surely will not be the end of the story,” he added.