Cannabis partially legalised in Germany after long delays 

After multiple delays, the planned legalisation of cannabis consumption in Germany has cleared its final hurdle – the Bundesrat (Federal Council). However, there are expectations of further resistance at the local level.

 The law allows private cultivation of up to three cannabis plants and the possession of up to 25 grams of marijuana. Alternatively, individuals not inclined to cultivate could join Cannabis Social Clubs, where cultivation happens collectively.

The journey toward partial cannabis legalization in Germany has been protracted. Pushed by the FDP (Renew) and the Greens (Greens/EFA), it was enshrined in the coalition agreement and stood out as a key pledge of the federal government. 

Nevertheless, it faced repeated postponements, initially due to concerns from the SPD (S&D), and later due to disagreements within the Bundesrat – the upper house of parliament. Earlier this week, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD/S&D) even cautioned about the potential demise of the law in the Bundesrat.

Although the upper house couldn’t outright block the law, it could have indefinitely stalled it by convening a mediation committee. 

Now, the flagship initiative of the Federal Government has overcome its last opposition. But discontent at the state level is already surfacing, not among the prospective cannabis clubs, but within the political arena, particularly in the Bundesrat comprising the 16 federated states.

Some states, predominantly led by conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/EPP), want to indefinitely delay the law by advocating for a mediation committee between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.

Saxony’s Minister-President, Michael Kretschmer (CDU), declared over the weekend his intent “never to allow this law to exit the mediation committee.”

Confronted with opposition, even from his own party, Health Minister Lauterbach engaged with the states once more before the vote.

As per Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, the German government has committed to amending the law before the vote on cannabis cultivation legalization in July, with the aim of streamlining bureaucracy and constraining the outsourcing of cultivation to commercial entities.