Ekeomah Atuonwu
According to Germany’s health minister, the country intends to legalize adult possession of up to 30g of cannabis for recreational use as well as up to three private plants. He noted that this move might create a precedent for the rest of Europe.
“If this law comes to pass, it would be the most liberal project to legalise cannabis in Europe, but also the most regulated market”, the Karl Lauterbach said at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday. “It could be a model for Europe.”
The Social Democrat lawmaker stated that the main objective of legalizing cannabis in Germany was to better protect young people who were already using the drug in increasing numbers after obtaining it on the illegal market.
Germany is to detail its ideas to the European Commission this week in an effort to reduce the possibility that a cannabis law could eventually be challenged in European courts.
Lauterbach stated that the government would not attempt to move through with the legalization of cannabis on the basis of the German model if the commission made it very apparent that it was incompatible with EU law. He stated that a draft bill will be presented in the first quarter of 2023 if Brussels granted it the go-ahead.
According to the plans’ general framework, it will soon be allowed to buy and possess up to 30g of cannabis for recreational use, either in your home or in public. Additionally, it would be permitted to grow up to three plants in your home.
Lauterbach stated that the adoption of a general upper limit on the concentration of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, as well as the legalization of cannabis edibles, such as gums or baked products, were both still being considered but were improbable. For those between the ages of 18 and 23, a THC upper limit is thought to be more plausible.
Although the association of German pharmacists has spoken out against the drug’s legalization and cautioned that it would drive them into competition with other commercial suppliers, the sale of cannabis products would likely take place in permitted institutions like pharmacies.
