Germany legalizes the possession and consumption of cannabis… with restrictions

The Lower House of the German Parliament (Bundestag) approved this Friday the legalization of the possession and consumption of up to 50 grams of cannabis, subject however to a series of restrictions. The bill, proposed by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in April last year, has been the subject of considerable controversy.

In a heavily modified version, the law obtained votes in favor of the deputies of the government coalition of social democrats, greens and liberals, as well as the left.. On the contrary, the Christian Democratic opposition and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) voted against.

“I myself was against legalization for many years, but it is Science that now says that we must follow this path,” the social democrat Lauterbach highlighted in his speech. The minister advocated avoiding “punitivism and tabooing” and not “criminalizing young people whose lives we have destroyed because we have not protected them from the black market.”

Lauterbach summarized the law by pointing out that, on the one hand, it legalizes self-consumption, creating an “alternative” to the black market, while increasing penalties for traffickers who sell cannabis to minors and providing for campaigns to raise awareness among adolescents. of the special danger that comes with consumption while the brain is still growing.

The conservative opposition attacked the Government's plans and stated that not only will it have the opposite effect to that desired, but it will serve to further alienate citizens who think that the coalition only focuses on issues of “identity” and avoids important issues.

“You seriously maintain as minister responsible for the health of children and young people that with legalization we are going to reduce consumption among children and adolescents. “It's the biggest nonsense I've ever heard,” charged Christian Democrat deputy Tino Sorge.

50 grams at home

Starting in April, when the new law will come into force, those over 18 years of age will be able to grow a maximum of three cannabis plants at home for self-consumption or possess 50 grams of dried flowers in their private space (a maximum of 25 grams if found in public space). In addition, starting in July it will be legal to create 'clubs' with up to 500 members that will be able to cultivate cannabis collectively and non-commercially and exchange it among themselves for private consumption.

On the other hand, sentences for possession or self-cultivation for quantities of up to 25 grams will be removed from the criminal records of those convicted retroactively.

Consumption in public will be subject to a series of restrictions, as it will remain illegal within a radius of 100 meters of the entry points to educational centers and sports facilities, while in pedestrian areas smoking will not be allowed until after 7:00 p.m. GMT. . No later than 18 months after the entry into force of the new law, an evaluation will be carried out to determine what effect it is having on the health of children and adolescents.

Objections and anticipation

While jurists have warned of the considerable burden that the review of up to 100,000 crimes related to cannabis will entail, medical associations have warned of the risk that the drug poses precisely for young people.

Klaus Reinhardt, president of the Hartmann League of Physicians, expressed concern that legalization would lead more people to experiment with cannabis, which regularly consumed before the age of 25 can cause irreversible damage to brain development.

On the other hand, pro-cannabis associations have a real explosion of self-consumption clubs, between 3,000 and 4,000 the first year, according to the president of the Association of Cannabis Social Clubs, Steffen Geyer, to RND. Geyer highlighted that there are already at least 300 groups in the process of establishing themselves as clubs waiting for the law to come into force.