Top German Officials unveil draft Marijuana legalization bill

The German Health Ministry unveiled a draft law to legalize marijuana and submitted it for public review to officials of state.

The law would allow adults to grow a small number of cannabis plants as personal use, and it would set up rules for creating social clubs that could provide marijuana. Officials plan to introduce a second complementary measure, which would create pilot programs for commercial sale in cities across the country.

According to a translation, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach stated that by allowing adults to buy cannabis within certain limits, the country can “dry up the black market” and combat crime. He said that guardrails would be in place to stop youth from gaining access to marijuana.

According to the newly-released proposal, adults 18 years and older could grow up to three plants at home. The cannabis plant cannot be used to make oils or concentrates.

German Cannabis Law Proposal:

Adults (minimum age of 19) can grow three cannabis plants. pic.twitter.com/wSbiYhVvHQ

VOC Nederland July 6, 2020 HTML0

The maximum amount of marijuana that can be owned by an individual is 25 grams. Exceptions are made for people who work in the marijuana social clubs. These clubs couldn’t be within 200 meters from a school and there could only be one club per 6,000 people in each city or district.

The permit for a social club would be valid up to seven-years, with the option of extending it after five years. The draft bill stipulates that membership in the clubs must last for at least two month.

The first pillar in the legalization plan will be approved by the cabinet after an administrative review next month. Separately, officials aim to release the second component of the legalization plan concerning a commercial marijuana pilot program in the second half this year.

A summary of the draft legislation states that “current developments show that consumption of cannabis, particularly among youth, is increasing despite existing prohibition regulations.” The law is intended to improve health protection, enhance cannabis education and prevention, reduce the illegal cannabis market, and strengthen protection for children and youth. To protect consumers, it is important to control the quality of cannabis and prevent the transfer of contaminated substance.

The draft law makes it easier for cannabis consumers to behave responsibly, it states. The draft law allows for private self-cultivation as well as community non-commercial cultivation and controlled transfers of cannabis to adults.

Bewegung in Sachen #Cannabis! Die Lander- & Verbandeanhorung zu Cannabis-Clubs & #Eigenanbau ist gestartet. Mitte August soll der Gesetzesentwurf dann ins Kabinett & nach der Sommerpause zu uns in den #Bundestag – Zeit wird es! #WeeklyWeedTweet

— Kristine Lutke (@kristine_ltke) June 6, 2023

The summary of the 163 page bill outlines estimated costs for implementing and regulating this program as well as savings that will be made from reduced enforcement. New revenue is also expected through wage taxes on people who work at cannabis clubs.

Plan : As the government moves to advance the home-cultivation and social club pillars, sends the separate commercial program legislation to European Commission to be reviewed before it is enacted.

As described previously by officials, the measure would allow cannabis to be sold at retail outlets in selected jurisdictions as part the pilot program. This would allow the country the opportunity to evaluate further reforms over a five-year period. 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.

In April , the health minister first shared details on the revised legalization plans. distributed the legislative text in April to cabinet officials.

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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”.

lawmakers who have pressured the government to implement far-reaching marijuana legalization policies responded mostly positively to April’s announcement from the government outlining certain policy proposals. However, some legislators did mention areas that they would like to improve. The revised measure, released this week, has been criticized by advocates who believe it is too restrictive for adults.

In March, the health minister stated that German officials received “very positive feedback” from EU regarding the previous reform framework.

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 is the result of months of discussions and reviews within the German government and its “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 the cannabis prohibition as well as enacting regulations for a new legal industry. They first revealed certain details of this plan last year.

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