German Cannabis Social Club Association presents alternative cannabis law

The German Association of Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCD), founded last October, while it welcomes the government’s intention to legalize cannabis, it rejects the bill approved by the government, which she considers too strict and unnecessarily complex.

Our Position on the #RefCanG It's clear: #Cannabis Social clubs are always associations, communities based on shared ideals, non-commercial, and democratically run from the grassroots up.
The bill is "Prohibition 2.0" and reinforces the stigma that we need to combat.https://t.co/Dq9w878Wsw

— CSCDachverband (@CSCDachverband) August 30, 2023

Criticism of the Bill and a Call for Realistic Adjustments

The CSCD opposes the current bill, which it considers unconstitutional too strict and unnecessarily complicated. According to the association, the project paints a distorted picture of cannabis users by portraying them as potential risk factors and attributing to them a propensity for illegal behavior.

The organization believes there is an urgent need to correct the misrepresentation of cannabis users which has long been the norm.

As the democratically elected representatives of stakeholders, the CSCD presented «AltCanG» earlier this week—an alternative bill for the controlled use of cannabis and amendments to other regulations. This proposal aims to address the shortcomings of the government’s bill and make its implementation easier and more understandable for citizens.

A Comprehensive Approach to Personal Responsibility and Disease Prevention

The AltCanG proposal, which can be found in its entirety on their website, would allow adults to use cannabis responsibly and independently.

Their bill authorizes private cultivation, noncommercial community cultivation, and the controlled distribution of recreational cannabis to adults within associations. These provisions are modeled after those that apply to tobacco cultivation, which is more harmful to health.

The proposal also encourages the reduction of bureaucracy in the management of industrial hemp and facilitates its economic use. At the same time, the commercial use of cannabis for non-medical purposes remains restricted to prevent intoxication. Health risks would be reduced through information, counseling, and prevention, while cannabis-related education and prevention efforts are specifically strengthened.

Will their proposal have an impact? Early last week, the parties in the German coalition indicated that they wanted to further amend and expand the cannabis law approved by the government, adding the edibles, by allowing use within clubs and reducing penalties for possession, among other things.