Thorsten Frei in the ntv early start
CDU wants to withdraw cannabis approval after election victory
April 2, 2024, 11:38 a.m
Smoking weed is now allowed in Germany. For some this is a reason to celebrate, for others it is a big mistake. CDU politician Thorsten Frei promises that the Union will reverse the law if it comes into government responsibility.
Thorsten Frei, the parliamentary managing director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, reiterates that the Union would like to reverse cannabis legalization after an election victory. “A path that no other country in Europe is taking is definitely a wrong path. And that’s why we would have to reverse this law,” said Frei on the ntv program Frühstart. The CDU and CSU have considerable doubts about the usefulness of the law. “If you talk to experts, whether they are doctors, psychologists, but also police officers or judges and prosecutors, they all point out that the alleged goals cannot be achieved and that there will be massive extra work for the police and judiciary. And that’s why we reject this law.”
Sometimes rolling back laws can also be a way of moving things forward, says the CDU politician. “Where things are going in the wrong direction, we have to change course. If we are successful in the next federal election, then that would also be a verdict on the traffic light policy of the last two and a half years. You have to say, that is one Politics that people in Germany don’t want.” According to Frei, withdrawing the cannabis law would “undoubtedly be a hard point” in possible coalition negotiations. “There are many points that are important to us and there are some things that this coalition has already done in this legislative period that cannot last for us.”
“Cannabis has no place in road traffic”
With regard to road traffic, the Union’s parliamentary manager warns against “experiments with safety”. “It is undisputed that the consumption of cannabis, that the THC in the drug changes perception, also slows down the ability to react. And this creates dangers not only for the vehicle drivers who are on drugs, but for all road users who are involved in it Come into contact. And that’s why I believe that cannabis and drugs of any kind have no place there.”
Frei advocates not increasing the tolerance value. “The current regulation is basically that nothing is allowed, but that we only have limits in the courts that are used as a rule of thumb for possible penalties. I wouldn’t change anything about that.”