German opposition leader lobbies EU to block cannabis legalization

On Wednesday, a senior German opposition figure put pressure on the European Union (EU) executive to block the plans to legalize cannabis in Germany.

Germany's health minister unveiled the legalization plan last month, but said the government would check with the European Commission whether the plan complies with European laws. Minister Karl Lauterbach said the government would only legislate «on this basis» if it got the green light.

The center-right Union bloc, the main opposition party, denounced the project by the socially liberal tripartite coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Klaus Holetschek, Minister of Health in Bavaria's conservative state government, met the European Union's Director General for Migration and Home Affairs in Brussels on Wednesday to urge the EU to veto the bill.

Klaus Holetschek said he had told EU official Monique Pariat that «the German government's planned legalization of cannabis not only endangers health, but I'm convinced it also violates European law». He argued that two European agreements oblige Germany and other member countries to criminalize the production and sale of drugs such as cannabis, in this case the 1990 Schengen Convention and the 2004 EU Framework Decision on combating drug trafficking.

For Holetscheck, «it is therefore not possible to legalize the recreational cannabis trade on a national basis - even if it were strictly regulated by the state.» or for scientific purposes is prohibited in all member states.»

«Bavaria is strictly against the legalization of cannabis and will also do everything possible at the federal level to prevent the law if it comes to that,» Holetschek stressed, remarks reported by the daily newspaper Bild.

The government's plan calls for cannabis to be grown under license and sold to adults at authorized sales outlets, in order to combat the black market. Individuals would be allowed to grow up to 3 plants and buy or possess 20-30 grams of cannabis.

Karl Lauterbach, the Federal Minister of Health, said the new rules could serve as a «model for Europe».