Friday 19th November 2021
Union railed against plans
Cannabis legalization is causing a stir
The controlled release of cannabis is likely to come soon. But the topic continues to cause high tension. While Green leader Baerbock rejects a final agreement already reached by the traffic light parties, the CDU and CSU are raging.
Before the weekend, details of a possible legalization of cannabis became known from the traffic light coalition negotiations, but an agreement has not yet been reached. Several media recently reported on a paper by the health working group of the SPD, Greens and FDP. It says: “We are introducing the controlled supply of cannabis to adults for consumption in licensed shops.” This could control the quality, prevent the transfer of contaminated substances and ensure the protection of minors. Such a paper was also available to the German Press Agency. It goes on to say that after four years the relevant cannabis law should be checked for “social impact”.
Green leader Annalena Baerbock rejected reports that the traffic light parties had already agreed on legalization, but back: “Nothing is united before everything is united,” she said, when asked about the issue, before further talks with top Negotiators from the SPD and FDP. The three parties are currently discussing the final version of a coalition agreement in top rounds. The aim is to form a government in the second week of December. So far, details from the negotiations have barely leaked out because strict secrecy has been agreed in order not to burden the negotiations with public debates. “Anyone caught leaking is thrown out,” said Green MEP Sven Giegold.
A legalization of cannabis is one of the topics on which a relatively problem-free agreement between the three parties seems possible: Both the FDP and the Greens are in favor of legalization and “sale in licensed specialist shops”, as they had made clear in the election campaign. The SPD is also open, but is more cautious: In the SPD election program, there was talk of a “regulated charge” to adults initially in model projects.
Legalization “enables us to have a regulated and taxed levy, controllable quality and effective protection of minors through education,” tweeted the Bundestag office of FDP MP Lars Lindemann on Friday.
Criticism came from the Union. North Rhine-Westphalia’s CDU Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst said on RTL / ntv’s “Frühstart” program: “I think we really have other worries. I don’t need this decision.” Wüst cited regulations in the Netherlands as a negative example. It was not possible there to ban cannabis from the illegal area of drug trafficking. Clan crime related to the cannabis trade has exploded.
CSU General Secretary Markus Blume called the possible legalization of cannabis a “dangerous experiment”. The effect as a gateway drug is played down. The previous CSU Federal Drug Commissioner Daniela Ludwig warned of a “fatal dam break for drug and addiction policy. The signal that cannabis is socially acceptable and can be bought in specialist shops is dangerous.” It turns a drug that is harmful to health into a lifestyle product.