Luxembourg parliament votes to legalize marijuana possession and cultivation, making it the second EU country to end prohibition

The Luxembourg Parliament has approved legislation to legalize adult marijuana cultivation and possession.

On Wednesday, nearly two years after the first government proposal to end cannabis prohibition was made, the Chamber of Deputies approved the non-commercial legalization of cannabis with a vote of 38-22.

After Malta, Luxembourg is the second European Union country to adopt the reform .

The first proposal by the ministers for justice and homeland safety was in 2021. This law will allow adults in Luxembourg to grow and possess cannabis up to a maximum of four plants and up to three grammes in a safe location in their home.

BREAKING: Luxemburg legaliseert cannabis als eerste in Benelux, tweede in Europese Unie’Parlementsleden in Luxemburg hebben vandaag thuisteelt van vier cannabis planten per huishouden gelegaliseerd en bezit tot 3 gram op straat. ‘https://t.co/R4vop9S88r via @cannaindustrie

VOC Nederland June 28th, 2023 HTML0

The legislation has been approved and lays down penalties for possession or cultivation exceeding the allowed amount. The punishment for buying and possessing marijuana in excess of three grams could include a six-month prison sentence. This is a harsh penalty, considering that the possession limit is only three grams. Public consumption will also be prohibited.

RTL Today reports that at the end of Wednesday’s discussion, Justice Minister Sam Tanson stated that cannabis criminalization was an “absolute failure”. He said that “we must take a different path” and “seek a solution.”

le tribunal administratif

loi portant sur l’organisation du service des huissiers de justice & sur la profession d’avocat

Plus de details dans le communique https://t.co/5EZJzIrRSX

— Ministere de la Justice (@MinJus_Lu) June 28, 2023

In a notice regarding Wednesday’s vote, the minister described this legislation, stating that it was designed to “take a risk reduction and crime prevention” approach to marijuana.

Adults are allowed to grow four cannabis plants from seeds per household. In a similar vein, private consumption is also permitted. The cultivation site must be the residence or habitual home of the person and the plants cannot be visible on the public road. “At the same time, certain behaviors that remain illegal are simplified, such as the consumption, possession and transport of a maximum three grams of marijuana by adults for their own personal use in public.”

Green Party Deputy Josee Lorsche said the legislation was not about “trivializing or promoting marijuana.” Instead, it is “about combating drug-related crimes and the sale on the black market of cannabis.”

Deputy Dan Biancalana, of the LSAP, added that “prohibition has not stopped people using cannabis,” it is a “fact that the purely repressive method has remained a failed approach so far.”

It has taken a long time for this to happen. A coalition of major parties in Luxembourg decided, back in 2018, to pass legislation that would allow “the exemption of punishment or even the legalization” cannabis.

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The government of Germany, a neighboring country, has said that it is committed to legalizing marijuana under a model with varying levels of regulation.

The German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach circulated a draft law to legalize possession, cultivation, and social clubs of marijuana, the first part of a two-part framework for reform, among government officials last month.

Last year , top officials from Germany and Luxembourg, Malta, and the Netherlands met for the first time , to discuss plans and obstacles associated with legalizing recreational cannabis.

In a new international survey released last year , the majority of respondents in Germany and other key European countries supported legalization.