German parliamentarians call on health minister to speed up legalisation of cannabis

Legalization efforts in the 21st century have reached another milestone. In mid-May, the new health minister received an unexpected ultimatum from the budget committee of the German Bundestag. By the end of the summer, he must draft a bill to legalise cannabis for recreational use.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbarch has not even warmed up in office and is already facing a major green challenge. If he wants the ministry to receive public relations money from the state budget, he must urgently prepare legislation that will be passed by the Bundestag before the end of the year to legalize the country’s recreational cannabis market.

 

Minister agrees

 

Following this call, Lauterbarch issued a press release stating that it would try to come up with a bill as soon as possible. Germany should thus open the gates to the recreational cannabis market by the end of this year – or at least adopt appropriate legislation to kick-start the process.

 

Under legalisation, Germans can “look forward” to strict police controls and severe penalties for driving under the influence of cannabis.

It is impossible to predict how long it will take for the sale of cannabis to take off in the country once the legislation is enforced. History shows us that decriminalisation and expungement of criminal records have an almost immediate impact. However, it may take up to a year or two to establish a cannabis market. Just look at the US state of Colorado or Canada.

What awaits Germany?

 

There are question marks around further developments. But one thing remains clear. Although the Bundestag may ignore the question of cultivation and distribution for the time being for practical reasons, it will ultimately have to regulate them anyway. No one is happy about the current situation around growers. The same applies to the de facto distribution monopoly pushed through by the Federal Institute for Medicines and Medical Devices. However, no one expects the status quo to last in the country, even in the case of cannabis dispensaries (although no one still knows for sure what the requirements for obtaining a sales licence will be).

However, some issues have already been discussed. For example, the possibility of home cultivation is being considered, and many activists are lobbying for it. It depends, however, whether different rules would apply to medical and recreational cannabis users, not to mention the possible obligation for patient-growers to obtain a licence.

Germany should open its arms to the recreational cannabis market by the end of this year – or at least pass legislation to kick-start the process.

 

In addition, Germans can certainly look forward to strict police controls and harsh penalties for driving under the influence of cannabis. Also expect to see at least a discussion of online shops and delivery services, even if only allowed by individual dispensaries..

In any case, Germany has eight glorious months ahead of it, during which it will consolidate its position as the second largest Western economy to have committed to the full authorisation of cannabis for recreational use.

 

Anyway, we are very curious to see how it will be in Germany, because at the moment you cannot legally buy cannabis seeds there, even though they do not contain any psychotropic substances (THC). In the Czech Republic, for example, they want to take a slightly different route. Allowing cultivation for personal use at home, for example for making ointments, but also for recreational use. You can read more in the article here.

 

Article source: magazin-konopi.cz