Luxembourg's new government wants to legalize cannabis

Luxembourg's parliamentary elections took place on October 14. The ruling coalition retained its parliamentary majority in the Chamber of Deputies, the sole chamber of the Luxembourg Parliament, with 31 seats out of 60. The three parties - the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), the Liberal Democratic Party and the Greens - are negotiating to form a new government and a new coalition agreement. Some information has already leaked out, including the three parties' agreement to legalize recreational cannabis.

No surprise

Luxembourg recently launched its medical cannabis program. Last March, a survey showed that’a majority of the Luxembourg population supported legalization of recreational cannabis. This broad support was demonstrated again this summer, when an online petition calling for the legalization of recreational cannabis surpassed the 4,500-signature threshold in less than 24 hours. With the election campaign in full swing, the various parties had to take a stand on the issue, and all three coalition parties were in favor of such measures.

According to the public radio service Radio 100.7, This is a recurring theme for the Greens, who have long advocated legalization with a state monopoly. Adult consumption and sales would be authorized, but subject to strict regulations. The PD and LSAP have a similar position, and they're not the only ones. MP David Wagner declares that the party would like to extend legalization to other drugs. He sees drug prohibition as arbitrary and would like to replace penal policies with controlled regulation. For its part, the Christian Social People's Party, which won the most seats but is excluded from the coalition, has not taken a position against legalization, but fears «cannabis tourism» from border countries.

In short, a large part of the electorate and the political sphere is in favor of regulating recreational cannabis. Still according to Radio 100.7, Eugène Berger, chairman of the Democratic Party's parliamentary group, said: «It's something that all the parties are thinking about. The Liberal Party believes that »it would be surprising if an article in favor of legalization were not included. Among the Socialists, the chairman of the LSAP parliamentary group, Alex Bodry, also believes that the time has come to raise the question of legalizing recreational cannabis. He is «personally« in favor of partial legalization.

When?

For the moment, it's not clear how or when cannabis will be legalized in Luxembourg, but it looks like it will be on the agenda of the new government. The new government has not yet given any further details on the issue, and it seems that it is not making it a top priority. The proposal was recently put forward by the Health Commission, and we'll soon know whether it has been adopted. approved by the coalition negotiations, which ended today after nine meetings.

The new government and coalition agreement have not yet been finalized. Not all ministerial posts have been allocated, and the agreement is due to be presented today by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel (DP), together with delegation leaders Corinne Cahen (DP), Étienne Schneider (LSAP) and Félix Braz (Déi Gréng). The text will undergo a full re-reading next week, and we already know that it will include a 100 euro gross increase in the minimum wage, which is already almost 2,000 euros, and two extra days' vacation.

So it's still a little early to start packing, even though the Luxembourg media are already talking about the future legalization.