German lawmakers have delayed a final vote scheduled for next Monday on legislation legalizing marijuana. This is expected to delay implementation of the nationwide reform until at least early in next year.
Carmen Wegge, a member of the Bundestag (Germany’s national Parliament), said on Friday that “the bill will be decided in December.”
Wegge of the Social Democratic Party said, “I understand that this is a big disappointment for many.” This decision was not easy. “Well-designed improvements will benefit us all.”
Das CannG wird im Dezember beschlossen. Das bedeutet, dass wir den Zeitplan nicht halten. Ich weiss, dass das fur viele eine grosse Enttauschung ist. Deswegen ist diese Entscheidung auch niemandem leicht gefallen. Gut ausgearbeitete Verbesserungen sind aber in unser aller Sinne.
— Carmen Wegge (@CarmenWegge) November 10, 2023
Kirsten Kappert Gonther of the Green Party, a member of the coalition, explained on social media that “some words still need to be worked out.” She added, “legalization will come just a little bit later.”
Kappert Gonther stated, “I’m confident that as a result the law will be significantly improved.” “This is a noble cause. Quality comes before pressure.
Das #CannaG kommt, nur etwas spater. Ich bin zuversichtlich, dass das Gesetz durch die Beratungen deutlich besser wird.
Es muss noch an Formulierungen zu einigen Punkten gearbeitet werden. Das ist fur einen guten Zweck, Qualitat geht vor Zeitdruck.
Abschluss geplant fur Dezember— Kirsten Kappert-Gonther (@KirstenKappert) November 10, 2023
Wegge responded to a commenter asking if the Bundesrat – a separate body of law that represents German states – would be “more or ‘forced to’ make a declaration in February” if Bundestag passes the bill in December.
She replied: “Yes, then it goes to the Bundesrat on February.”
In September, members of the Bundesrat attempted to block the reform proposal but failed.
The delay, which at this stage appears to be only a two-month setback to the process, has been interpreted by some, including the German news outlet LTO, as a breach of the coalition agreement between the SPD, Green Party, and Free Democratic Party (FDP), to complete the reform before January 1, 2024. The outlet reported Friday that “many were looking forward a legal joint for New Year’s Eve.”
LTO stated that it was “questionable”, given the delay, whether legalization could be implemented by March.
The Bundestag already had delayed by a week its first discussion on the legislation , held last month. This was allegedly because of the conflict in Israel/Palestine.
Last week, the Health Committee of the Bundestag heard from opponents who criticized certain elements of the proposal. The Union, an alliance between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Unions (CSU), also presented a competing proposal. This would not legalize cannabis, but “improve the health protection, strengthen education, prevention, and research,” Kappert Gonther stated at the time.
A motion from the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), said that lawmakers should focus instead on medical marijuana which “enjoys good reputation amongst the population.” It argued that the Bundestag should abandon adult-use legalization in favor of drafting a new bill to incorporate medical marijuana into the national health care laws, which could better address “benefits” and “risks” on an open-ended basis and lower costs for the patients.
Several groups, including the Federal Medical Association and the German Association of Judges, police and medical organisations, have spoken out against the coalition’s legalization proposals. Nearly three dozen institutions, individuals and groups submitted statements before the last hearing.
This measure, led by Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach would allow adults to possess cannabis legally and grow up to three plants for their own personal use. The bill would also allow social clubs to distribute marijuana among their members. Officials said that a second phase of legalization would eventually launch a commercial pilot program.
The legalization proposal as written would create social clubs which could distribute marijuana to their members. Purchase limits for those over 21 years of age are 25 grams per day, up to 50 grams total per month. The monthly limit for people between 18 and 21 would be 30 grams.
The facilities could not be within 200 meters from a school and there could only be one club per 6,000 people in each jurisdiction. The clubs would have a maximum of 500 members, and they would require a permit for social clubs that would last up to seven year with the option to extend. The draft bill stipulates that membership in the clubs must last for at least two month.
A summary outlines the estimated costs for implementing and regulating this program as well as the savings that will be made from reduced enforcement. New revenue is also expected through wage taxes on people who work at cannabis clubs.
Officials plan to introduce a second complementary measure, which would create pilot programs for commercial sale in all cities across the country. This legislation will be revealed after it has been submitted to the European Commission to review.
As described previously by officials, the measure would allow cannabis to be sold at retail outlets in selected jurisdictions as a part of the Pilot Program that would allow the nation to evaluate further reforms over five years. Officials would specifically study the impact the shops have on consumption patterns and the illicit drug market. Localities must opt-in to allow these stores to operate.
Lauterbach first shared details of the revised legalization plans in April. distributed the legislative text to cabinet officials in April. In response to criticisms of the bill by medical and law enforcement organizations, the health minister stressed that a major campaign would be launched to educate the public on the dangers of cannabis use.
Officials were working to update the framework to avoid any potential conflicts with international law. This timeline was originally set to end the first quarter 2023. However, it was extended due to “scheduling reasons”.
The German Federal Cabinet approved an initial framework of a legalization initiative late last year. However, the government wished to receive the EU‘s approval to make sure that the reform would not violate their international obligations.
The framework was the result of months of discussions and reviews within the German government and the traffic-light coalition. Last summer officials began a series hearings to inform legislation that would end the prohibition of cannabis in Germany.
Last year, a group of German legislators, including Narcotics Drugs Commission Burkhard Blienert , visited California and toured California marijuana businesses to inform their approach to legalization.
The visit took place two months after the first meeting of its kind between top officials from Germany and Luxembourg, Malta, and the Netherlands to discuss plans and challenges related to recreational marijuana legalization.
In 2021, the leaders of the coalition government announced that they had agreed to end cannabis prohibition as well as enacting regulations for a new legal industry. They first revealed certain details of this plan in 2013.
In a new international survey released last year , the majority of respondents in Germany and other key European countries supported legalization.
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The article German lawmakers postpone marijuana legalization vote scheduled for next week, pushing proposed reform into 2024 first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
