The German parliament has approved a law to legalize cannabis nationwide.
The Bundestag voted on Friday, 407-226 to pass the final cannabis legislation after eight committees had examined it two days earlier.
The bill, which will legalize marijuana possession and cultivation at home, and allow social clubs to distribute it to their members, now heads to the Bundesrat. This separate legislative chamber represents the German states. However, its members can’t stop the reform being implemented.
There are now new questions regarding the timeline. While supporters of legalization have stated that it would be effective in April, there is a question about this. The Bundesrat could refer the legislation to an expert committee for a discussion on the criminal justice implications. This would mean additional discussions lasting several months.
The floor vote came weeks after the leaders of Germany’s so-called Traffic Light Coalition Government announced that they had reached a final accord on the legalization legislation, resolving any outstanding concerns from the Social Democratic Party.
Before the vote, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said that the country was “fundamentally re-evaluating our cannabis control policies in order to fight the black market”.
Hier meine Rede fur die Legalisierung #Cannabis. Die bisherige Verbotspolitik ist gescheitert. Mehr konsumierende Kinder, mehr Schwarzmarkt, toxische Cannabisprodukte, steigende Kriminalitat. So geht es nicht weiter. Aufklarung statt Verbote, ohne Schwarzmarkt sind bessere Losung https://t.co/E1I0bKuxR7
— Prof. Karl Lauterbach February 23rd, 2024
He said that “the second goal” is to better protect children and young people, pointing out the high rates of youth usage under current law. He also stated that the legalization proposals are an “urgently necessary modernization of our marijuana policy.”
Kirsten Kappert Gonthe, of the Green Party, called the current criminalization system “absurd.” She said that prohibition had created a situation in which “children and youth in our country could easily obtain cannabis at every corner,” due to the lack regulations that will be instituted by the legal market.
Ein grosser Erfolg!
Das #CanG wurde im Bundestag verabschiedet.
Wir beenden Prohibition und #Kriminalisierung und machen den Weg frei fur Jugend-und Gesundheitsschutz.
Nach diesem langen Prozess freue ich mich sehr uber das Erreichte und danke allen fur ihren Einsatz.
— Kirsten Kappert-Gonther February 23, 2020
Kristine Lutke is a member of the Free Democratic Party. She said that legalization strengthens individual freedoms in Germany.
She said, “Today we are closing a chapter and beginning a new one.” We are at a historic turning point. “We are voting for a paradigm change in German cannabis policies.”
Wir sorgen fur mehr Kinder-, Jugend- und Gesundheitsschutz + schaffen eine erhebliche Verbesserung bei Medizinalcannabis. Die Justiz wird erheblich entlastet und wir verbessern die Pravention.
— Kristine Lutke (@kristine_ltke) February 23, 2024
Lutke stated that legalization would allow consumers to know “where the cannabis is grown, how many they have, and how much it contains, as well as knowing that it’s not mixed with harmful substances, such more dangerous drugs,”
The CDU/CSU coalition, which is a center-right alliance, has been strongly against the reform. Simone Bourchardt argued, for instance, that legalization would “be an additional burden” to the “strained health system” of the country, pointing out marijuana’s impairment of cognitive abilities.
Before the final vote, legislators rejected motions from CDU/CSU/Alternative for Germany to block legalization.
A new poll shows that Germans are in favor of legalizing marijuana, but by a small margin. The survey by YouGov revealed that 47 percent of respondents support the reform, while 42 percent are opposed. Another 11 percent were undecided.
The final vote on the Legalization Bill, which was originally planned for December , was eventually called off due to concerns raised by SPD leaders.
The first debate was delayed in October , in response to the conflict between Israel and Palestine . also pushed back the vote for November while supporters worked to improve the bill.
The health minister answered questions at a December meeting from members who were opposed to legalization. He responded at several points to lawmakers who claimed that legalization could send the wrong message to youth , and increase underage consumption.
Lawmakers also made a number of changes to the bill in recent months, mainly to ease restrictions which were opposed by advocates and supporters within the Bundestag. The changes included increasing the maximum amount of marijuana that can be kept at home and eliminating the possibility of prison time for possession slightly above the limit.
In April, the legislators agreed to implement the reform in a phased manner. In July, social clubs that allow members to purchase marijuana will open.
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.
The Bundesrat, which represents the German states, tried to block this reform in September but failed.
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Recently, the Health Committee of the Bundestag held an hearing at which some opponents criticized certain elements of the proposal.
The Union, an alliance between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Unions (CSU), also presented a policy proposal that did not legalize marijuana, but rather “improved health protection, strengthened education, prevention, and research,” Kappert Gonther stated at the time.
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.
The German Federal Cabinet has approved an initial framework for legalization measures to be implemented in 2022. However, the government said that it also wanted the EU‘s approval to make sure the reform would not violate their international obligations.
The framework is the result of months of discussions and reviews between the German government and the coalition of traffic lights. Officials have taken a first step towards legalization by 2022. They launched a series hearings to inform legislation that will end prohibition.
In November, government officials from several countries, including the U.S. met in Germany to talk about international marijuana policy issues, as the host country works to legalize the drug.
In 2022, a group of German legislators, including Narcotics Drugs Commission Burkhard Blienert , will separately visit the U.S., and tour California cannabis businesses , to help inform their country’s legalization approach.
The visit was made after the top officials of Germany, Luxembourg and Malta met for the first time 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 legal marijuana industry. They first revealed certain details of this plan in 2013.
In a new international survey released in 2022 , the majority of respondents in Germany and other key European countries supported legalization.
Biden urged to reschedule marijuana by veterans and law enforcement groups, including one that has DEA head as a member
The article Germany’s parliament approves Marijuana Legalization Bill first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
