Less effort, more money
Lauterbach makes concessions to countries when it comes to cannabis laws
March 20, 2024, 8:49 p.m
Union-led countries in particular are campaigning against the cannabis law in the Federal Council. But large parts of the traffic light want to enforce it, especially Health Minister Lauterbach. He approaches the states and wants, among other things, to reduce their control effort. But he sticks to one thing.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is approaching the states to get the controversial legalization of cannabis over the final hurdle in the Federal Council. “I assume that we will be able to do that on Friday,” said the SPD politician in Berlin. “However, we will really fight for every single abstention or approval here, so I remain confident that we can get past the mediation committee.” The government is also submitting a protocol declaration to the Federal Council, which, among other things, guarantees increased prevention and more flexible implementation rules.
Lauterbach emphasized: “I am fighting to ensure that the law is actually passed. It depends on each individual federal state.” He is in direct contact with the Prime Ministers and has prepared the protocol statement in which many of the states’ concerns were addressed.
The law passed by the Bundestag will finally come before the Bundesrat this Friday. It doesn’t require approval there, but the state chamber could call the joint mediation committee with the Bundestag and thus slow down the process. Lauterbach had made it clear that a complete blockade of the Union could then be expected and that the project could die. Specifically, possession and cultivation of the drug will be permitted for adults to consume themselves from April 1st, with numerous requirements. Associations for collective cultivation can also start on July 1st.
Youth protection should be improved
In the protocol statement, the government assures the states, among other things, of support in prevention and education and names several programs and projects. “The expansion of prevention offerings is of outstanding importance for improved child and youth protection,” says the statement. The Germany editorial network and the online legal magazine Legal Tribune Online first reported on it.
Specifically, the inspection of cannabis cultivation clubs should no longer have to be carried out annually, but only at “regular” intervals, according to the paper. This gives the countries “sufficiently flexible and risk-based scope for action” when it comes to controls. This is intended to reduce the enforcement burden on the states.
It should also be made clear that a large number of cultivation associations may not operate in the same location or in the same property. This should prevent the creation of commercial “plantations” with comparable large-scale cultivation areas. These points had previously been raised as demands by the Federal Council committees.
In addition, Lauterbach promises long-term money for prevention. The planned increase in funding by six million euros in the current year should be continued in subsequent years. In addition, a further 1.5 million euros would be made available for addiction prevention this year. The federal government also guarantees the development of a model curriculum for training prevention officers of the cultivation associations.
In the statement, the federal government reiterates that a planned amnesty for cases that are supposed to be legal in the future is necessary for reasons of justice. She points out that prison compensation is therefore unlikely. Concerns had been raised from the federal states that the judiciary would be overloaded due to the resulting case reviews.