It was one of the promises made by the traffic light government: the controlled distribution of cannabis. How many grams are allowed? Are young people at risk? What do critics say?
For years, activists and users have been calling for the legalization of cannabis, as at the annual Hanfparade in Berlin.
For anyone excited about cannabis legalization, it’s not a bill, it’s a key issues paper, presented by the Minister of Health at the federal press conference. Because Lauterbach made it clear: If the European Commission does not agree because the points violate European law, no draft law will follow.
The consumption of cannabis for medical purposes has been permitted in Germany since 2017, and the key issues paper by the Federal Ministry of Health deals with consumption for “pleasure purposes”.
The intoxicant cannabis and the substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) should no longer be legally classified as narcotics in the future. The acquisition and possession of a maximum amount of 20 to 30 grams should be punishable for adults. In addition, the paper provides for the cultivation of “three female flowering plants” to be allowed for adults.
Cannabis products for smoking and inhalation or for ingestion in the form of capsules, sprays or drops should be freely available for sale. So-called edibles, i.e. sweets or biscuits with cannabis, initially not.
If the law were changed, consumption in private rooms and in public would be permitted nationwide in the future. In addition to the sales tax, a “cannabis tax” on products sold is also planned. The cannabis production for national needs should take place exclusively in Germany, international trade is not possible according to the paper.
The cultivation, purchase and possession of cannabis remains prohibited for minors. Due to the increased risk of cannabis-related brain damage in adolescence, it is currently being examined whether an upper limit for the THC content should be set for the sale of cannabis to adults up to the age of 21.
So it is conceivable that 18-20 year olds could buy cannabis in specialty shops and pharmacies, but only products with a low THC content after an age check. In addition, the locations of cannabis shops are to be regulated. Minimum distances to schools, children’s and youth facilities must be observed.
The public consumption of cannabis would remain prohibited in schools, day-care centers, playgrounds, public parks and other places where children and young people are. The federal states should be given the opportunity to decide on further restrictions.
It is unclear whether and when the legalization will come into force, since the approval of the European Commission and international bodies is required first.
The sale should take place with age control in licensed specialist shops and possibly pharmacies. There will initially not be a mail order business. Advertising for cannabis products is prohibited.
In Switzerland, cannabis is a prohibited drug, possession of which can be punished with a fine of 100 francs. Anyone who only carries a small amount of cannabis with a maximum of 10 grams for their own consumption will not be fined. Anyone who gives an adult a maximum of 10 grams for joint consumption – but does not sell it – remains unpunished.
Contrary to popular belief, cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands. Consumption was only tolerated and decriminalized with a change in the law in 1976. Five grams of cannabis and up to five plants are tolerated without prosecution. In the Netherlands, decriminalization and legal gray areas opened the door to organized crime.
In Portugal, the use of hard drugs and the possession of small amounts of cannabis have been decriminalized and are only considered administrative offences. Medicinal cannabis has been legal in Portugal since 2018.
Doctors warn of the consequences of drug use in young people. One Long-term study from 2021 shows that the consumption of cannabis, especially in adolescence, can change the brain structure and thus also behavior. “The brain only matures at around the age of 25,” said the association’s head of paediatricians, Thomas Fischbach, of the “Pharmazeutische Zeitung”.
Association leader Fischbach also criticized the regulations of the regulated delivery from Lauterbach’s key issues paper: “It must be prevented that older people are sent ahead to sell the substances to younger people.”
Critics see the practically uncontrollable self-cultivation of youth protection ad absurdum. With in-house plants there would be no quality control, here increased home cultivation could take place in the higher THC range, which would contradict a prescribed THC content.
Although Health Minister Lauterbach emphasizes that he wants to “push out the black market” with legalization, it is questionable whether consumers will not switch to the black market because of the state-regulated THC level and the additional “cannabis tax”.
Criticism comes before opposition. The Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”: “It is to be feared that legalization will attract cannabis fans from other European countries. The federal government must ensure that there are no incentives for drug tourism to Germany.”