Germany: the future «Tricolor» coalition agrees to legalize cannabis

According to the German newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), the potential future «traffic light» coalition» would agree to legalize cannabis and regulate its sale for recreational purposes.

These are the findings of the «Health and Care» working group, including WAZ obtained a copy. «We are introducing the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes in licensed stores,» the SPD, Greens and FDP MPs write in the document.

«This would make it possible to control quality, prevent the transmission of contaminated substances and guarantee the protection of young people.»

According to the report, the new law would require a major evaluation four years later to assess its implementation and effects. Until now, the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes has been banned in Germany, but its consumption has been largely decriminalized.

The three parties also want to develop «drugchecking» models and harm reduction measures. Visit drugchecking enables consumers to have the chemical composition of illegally purchased drugs checked, and to be warned of the presence of particularly dangerous components.

At the same time, the parties want to tighten marketing and sponsorship regulations for alcohol, nicotine and cannabis. «We always measure regulations against new scientific knowledge and adapt health protection measures to it,» reads the working group's document.

In their election manifestos, the three potential partners in a «tricolor light» coalition had all declared themselves in one way or another in favor of the legal, regulated sale of cannabis to adults. To date, cannabis can only be marketed and sold in Germany for medical purposes.

The arguments in favor of legalization are largely the same among the SPD, the Greens and the FDP - and have nothing to do with it. with financial impact for the treasury Controlled sales would dry up the illegal black market, providing better protection for young people and more effective addiction prevention, without criminalizing millions of cannabis users.

As Alfredo Pascual, formerly a journalist with MJBizDaily Germany, points out, the next steps are likely to take some time. The new government must first be confirmed, which should happen before the end of the year. The bill will then have to be put on paper and voted on by the German Parliament, then possibly by the more conservative Federal Council.

Other obstacles could also arise. Unlike Canada, which already had a strong medical cannabis industry before legalization for adults, Germany is not currently in a position to produce cannabis for the recreational market. Recreational cannabis cannot be traded internationally or between European states. The country will therefore have to anticipate this point, as well as that of future points of sale, if it really wants to be in a position to attack the black market.

Germany could also face pressure from neighbouring countries, as was the case with Luxembourg, which after announcing full legalization was limited to legalizing self-production.

Nevertheless, with Malta moves ahead with legalization, the Netherlands to introduce controlled cannabis production, Switzerland which launched its pilot tests cannabis distribution and two Commissions that have given the green light to legalization, l’Italy, where decriminalization is supported by a citizen referendum, or the Lithuania votes to decriminalize all drugs, drug regulation is largely a matter for European states.