Luxembourg: the first details of the plan to legalize recreational cannabis

Luxembourg is preparing to legalize recreational cannabis and, as such, is interested in legalization efforts in other countries. Upon their return from Canada, Luxembourg’s ministers of health and justice, Étienne Schneider and Félix Braz, announced last Friday their intention to present a legalization plan this fall. On that occasion, they revealed some initial details inspired by the Canadian model.

Learning from Others

From May 13 to 15, the two ministers in charge of the legalization plan met with their Canadian counterparts to discuss the regulations in effect in their countries. They also met with Bill Blair, Canada’s Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, and visited the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, the Canadian Institute for Health Research, and a cannabis production facility.

«This visit is part of a series of initiatives, fact-finding missions, and analyses that have already been carried out or are planned, notably in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Uruguay,‘ according to the government's press release regarding the visit. The goal of these studies is to develop a Luxembourg model that incorporates the best aspects of neighboring countries« legal frameworks: »We can learn from the experiences of other countries and avoid making mistakes right from the start,” the two ministers explained.

Like Justin Trudeau’s government before them, the two ministers emphasize that the legalization of cannabis «is not intended to promote its use, but to ensure the production of high-quality cannabis with a view to safeguarding public health, as well as to combat the black market.» They believe that legalization will «steer consumers away from the illicit market, significantly reduce the associated mental and physical health risks, and combat crime at the supply level.».

Initial details

Besides, we already know that:

• The THC content could be limited to 5%
• The legal age will be set at 18 or 19
• The sale of cannabis would be permitted only to residents (of legal age) in order to limit the impact on neighboring countries
• Possession of cannabis would be decriminalized for minors if the amount is less than 5 grams
• The possession limit on public roads for adults would be set at 30 grams

The two ministers are to meet with all relevant parties (addiction specialists, law enforcement officials, legal experts) as part of a working group in order to present a well-developed plan to the Cabinet by the end of the year. Once the plan is adopted by the Cabinet, it will be presented to Parliament in the form of a bill. Lawmakers will have to approve it, either as is or with amendments, for cannabis to become legal. This will take some time, but the government has emphasized that cannabis will be legalized during this legislative session—that is, before 2023.