GermanyPlans to liberalize cannabis will not be as comprehensive as people had hoped. At least for now, Amsterdam-style cafés may be a pipe dream after talks with the EU. Instead, it is News agency reports That the diluted plan would use state-controlled non-profit social clubs. If you are a German resident and at least 18 years old, you can join one and buy up to 25g per day (or up to 50g per month). However, if you’re in the 18-21 age group, that number is limited to 30 grams for adults under 21.
Germany has allowed the sale of cannabis to medical patients since 2017. The cannabis liberalization plan is one of several social reform projects proposed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition which he plans to establish when he takes office in December 2021.
In addition, these cannabis clubs have a maximum of 500 members. Clubs can grow their own cannabis for their members to enjoy. Individuals can also grow, but it is limited to three plants per person. You are only allowed to join one club, and the authorities can limit how many clubs there are. The clubs expenses will be covered by membership fees, on a sliding scale, depending on the amount of cannabis used by the members.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said German officials also plan to set up regional testing projects to sell cannabis through “commercial supply chains”. The final proposal is a watered down proposal initially proposed in October, which would allow cannabis to be sold to adults across the country on licensed vessels.
German ministers say the scaled-down plan for liberalization resulted from restrictions put in place by the European Union. Not everyone is ready to embrace the brave new world of cannabis legalization. Just as across the pond in the United States, conservative politicians oppose liberalizing cannabis, saying that relaxing restrictions is dangerous, the BBC reports. For example, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder tweeted that legalizing drugs was “simply the wrong path to go”, adding that “drug clubs” did not solve any problems but created new ones. As a result, in a related outcome, Germany had to make concessions.
While Germany’s new cannabis plan isn’t the ideal outcome for cannabis advocates, it’s still a huge step in the right direction. Twenty-five grams equals an ounce of cannabis. The goal of liberalizing German cannabis laws is to try to stop the black market. However, the country is advised to look out for places like California, where the illegal market continues to thrive due to red tape and high entry barriers to the legal market. If any state or country really wants to eradicate illegal weed, it is best to put in place a realistic plan that meets the desires of consumers.
The downsizing plan comes after meetings with the European Union’s executive committee. the News agency It was reported that the Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, said that EU law “sets limits that we have to respect, but I will also say that we push them.” Özdemir also noted that the draft legislation will be finalized this month and that “consumption will become legal already this year.” The next step is to implement five-year tests of regulated commercial supply chains in selected regions that have not yet been selected.
The plans still need to get approval from the lower house of the German parliament (officials have said that ratification from the upper house is not necessary). That chamber represents Germany’s 16 state governments, including the centre-right’s primary and more conservative opposition bloc, which opposes liberalization of cannabis laws. However, the health minister argued that Germany’s current policies had failed and added that their goal was to create safer products. “We’re not creating a problem,” said Lauterbach. “We’re trying to solve a problem.”
