Germany: Hemp Party to be launched in September

The Hemp Party, aka the «True Social Democrats», will be officially formed on September 15 in Lippstadt (North Rhine-Westphalia). The party program has already been online and, in addition to the cannabis legalization, the party sees itself as the new alternative for left-wing voters.

A party centered around cannabis...

With regard to cannabis, the party advocates complete decriminalization and state regulation, as with alcohol. It also calls for retroactive decriminalization, which would erase criminal records linked to cannabis-related offenses.

Under the program, every adult will be allowed to buy cannabis and grow it for his or her own use, but is encouraged to do so through cannabis cooperatives that would promote the exchange of knowledge. Pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies would also be allowed to use the cooperatives' cannabis for medical purposes. Research into medical cannabis is also considered a priority.

The party also advocates the benefits of hemp in multiple fields as a sustainable alternative to our consumption patterns: «Hemp should be an integral part of our lifestyle in agriculture, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, health, industry and textiles, making us largely independent of fossil resources.»

...but not only

However, it refuses to be taken as a mono-thematic party. On the website we read: «Our concept is more economically thought-through than the concepts of any other party. We shape capitalism, use its engine and subordinate it to the interests of all. We are the only party capable of solving the mega-problems that other parties only manage: poverty, low wages, low pensions, unemployment, subjugation of life to the needs of the economy, public debt, financial speculation, real estate speculation...»

Indeed, the program not only extols the virtues of hemp, but also addresses societal issues from the perspective of social justice, with the introduction of an unconditional minimum income of 2,000 euros and the abolition of taxes on capital of less than 30 million euros. It is also politically revolutionary, with temporary civilian parliaments, randomly chosen deputies and non-party chancellors directly elected by the people.

The Party sees itself as an alternative to traditional parties, and aims to fill the «left-wing vacuum» whose disillusioned voters have turned to the far-right AFD. It presents itself as a citizen's party, imposing no membership requirements and offering free membership. The party is financed by donations. A similar party already exists in Austria.