Second phase of cannabis legalization in Germany in jeopardy

Germany's long-planned «second pillar» is in danger of being abandoned by the government due to current political obstacles at both national and EU level.

With the growing political importance of right-wing parties in Germany's regional elections, and the expectation that they will have a much greater voice in government in the coming months, the race is now on to push through the second half of its cannabis liberalization project.

Meanwhile, a growing number of municipalities are expressing an interest in participating in the model projects to be set up under the second pillar.

What is the second pillar?

The second pillar, which was first announced in the summer of 2023, is the traffic light coalition's response to the the European Commission's refusal to launch a commercial market for adults.

Various reports suggest that the European Commission has informed the German government that these plans would violate numerous EU laws such as the Shengen agreement, potentially putting the country under threat of infringement proceedings.

The architects of the bill then proposed two distinct «pillars that would enable the project's main objectives to be achieved without infringing European legislation.

The second pillar would enable «pilot projects» to be launched, in which the free sale of cannabis for adult use would be authorized for a limited period, in order to scientifically study the effects on various areas, including the black market, health and youth protection.

This strategy is already being successfully applied in Switzerland, where seven pilot projects are underway in different states.

What's the status of the bill?

A bill was originally scheduled for late summer 2023, but has now been postponed until April 2024.

While it was initially envisaged that a separate secondary law would have to be implemented to launch Pillar 2, as Business of Cannabis reported in May, It is now expected to be regulated under the current CanG Act, which means that a separate law will not be needed to pass it.

According to Chapter 1, Section 2, paragraph 4 of the current Cannabis Act, «anyone wishing to possess, cultivate, produce, import, export, acquire, receive, deliver or transmit cannabis for scientific purposes, extract cannabinoids from the cannabis plant or trade in cannabis for scientific purposes must obtain a permit».

In April's bill, entitled «Ordinance on the Scientific Responsibility of Cannabis Consumers» (KCanWV), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food (BLE) designated itself as the authority responsible for licensing, monitoring and implementing regulations.

The cannabis is no longer considered a narcotic since the adoption of the first pillar, responsibility for supervising cannabis model projects would pass from the BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices), which traditionally deals with narcotics issues, to the BLE.

However, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), of which the BLE is an executive agency, is reportedly still awaiting a bill from Karl Lauterbach, the bill's architect and head of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).

Addressing at LTO, A BMEL spokesman said that «the bill is to be drafted under the direction of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG)», adding that the BMG was to be contacted to find out how the project was progressing.

Mr. Lauterbach's office said (and has reportedly been saying for months): «The federal government's work on preparing the second pillar involves complex technical and legal issues and requires coordination between the ministries concerned. This coordination has not yet been finalized».

Ates Gürpinar, drug policy spokesman for the Left Party in the Bundestag, told LTO that he «no longer expects the Second Pillar Act to be passed by the end of the legislative period».

With Lauterbach suggesting that the bill be submitted in advance to the EC for analysis, a process that usually takes months, and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz declaring his intention to withdraw cannabis legalization if his party wins the next federal election, time appears to be running out for the bill.

Support from the Länder

Earlier this month, the city of Wiesbaden announced its intention to take part in a national model project to test the sale of cannabis in pharmacies.

Minister of Health, Milena Löbcke, signed a declaration of intent to support this initiative, The project, which involves collaboration with the Cannabis Research Germany association, will be scientifically supervised by the Interdisciplinary Addiction Research Center in Hamburg. The project, which involves collaboration with the «Cannabis Research Germany» association, will be scientifically supervised by the Hamburg Centre for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research.

Wiesbaden will focus on experimenting with the sale of cannabis in pharmacies, as part of a wider initiative involving up to 25 cities in Germany. To prepare for the project, the city is setting up a «Cannabis Coordination Office» and has already attracted the interest of several large pharmacies. The program will, however, be governed by strict rules.

In May 2024, a study by German newspaper publisher Die Welt suggested that’at least 11 German cities were planning to become model regions for the second pillar, including Bremen, Hanover, Bonn, Frankfurt, Munich, Tübingen, Leipzig, Schwerin, Offenbach, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden.

However, the cities of Nuremberg, Freiburg, Aachen, Essen and Eisenach have all declared that they have no wish to participate as model regions in the second pillar pilot projects.

The research proposal is due to be submitted to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in October.