A draft law allowing people to legally use and grow marijuana will be submitted to the German parliament. But there are a lot of objections to marijuana legalization, not only from conservative opposition parties, but also from within the federal government.
German Health Minister Robert Lauterbach (Karl Lauterbach) will release a controversial draft of recreational cannabis
legalization on Wednesday (August 16). The German cabinet had previously discussed this.
Lawmakers who support legal use want to have legalized it this year, but they face resistance from conservatives.
German Health Minister Robert Lauterbach (Karl Lauterbach) will release a controversial draft of recreational cannabis legalization on Wednesday (August 16). The German cabinet had previously discussed this.
Lawmakers who support legal use want to have legalized it this year, but they face resistance from conservatives.
What does the new draft law contain?
The draft law makes it legal for people over 18 years old to possess up to 25 grams of marijuana and to grow no more than three plants for personal use.
The draft also provided that marijuana could be purchased through so-called marijuana clubs.
However, the draft stipulates that cannabis products should not be used in and around cannabis clubs (within 250 meters around them).
SPD MP: 'We don't need this law
Several lawmakers had already expressed their reservations about the bill's draft law. These include Hamburg Interior Minister Got (Andy Grote), from the Social Democratic Party
(SPD) of German Chancellor Scholz.
"If there's anything we don't need, it's the law," Grote told the NDR."
He said the experience in other countries shows that marijuana legalization leads to a large increase in marijuana consumption, with a variety of risks and side effects.
Mr.Grott also questioned whether the legalization of recreational marijuana would lead to fewer black-market deals, as advocates often claim."There may still be a lot of demand for illegal marijuana because it is stronger and cheaper, and the black market and the legal market will be confused," he said."
Grote also said that regulation of marijuana use would require "a comprehensive official marijuana surveillance body" to ensure that all of its regulations are followed.
Opposition MP: The government could harm children and teenagers
Some conservative lawmakers in the federal states have also stepped out against the proposed marijuana legalization bill. Schuster (Armin Schuster), the interior minister of the opposition Christian Democratic League (CDU) in the eastern state of Saxony, told the German Editorial Network (RND) that the law would be "completely out of control" and accuse the government of potentially damaging the mental health of children and adolescents.
The draft will be debated by the lower house of the German Parliament (the Bundestag) after the summer recess, with some changes likely to be made during the debate.
According to the German health ministry, the upper house of parliament (the Federal Senate) will also discuss it, although the bill does not require approval by the Senate.