It is a historic day in German drug policy: The Bundestag has approved the legalization of cannabis. 407 MPs voted for the law, 226 against.
It provides for controlled release with numerous specifications and rules. Cultivation and possession of certain quantities for personal consumption should therefore be permitted for adults from April 1st. From July 1st, clubs for the non-commercial cultivation of cannabis will be allowed to open.
The traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP sees the previous, significantly more restrictive drug policy as a failure. She hopes that the radical change will improve health protection, strengthen child and youth protection and curb the illegal market for cannabis.
Legalization is highly controversial. The interior ministers of the federal states recently warned against this across party lines and questioned control options. There are to be feared “serious negative effects on the fight against organized crime, the protection of children and young people and health protection”. In doing so, they addressed concerns that are also shared by medical associations, lawyers, criminal investigators and the police union.
Resistance in the SPD, but approval from the left and BSW
Within the ruling SPD, some parliamentarians also have objections to cannabis legalization. The Union and the AfD have clearly spoken out against it.
However, not only large parts of the traffic light coalition voted for legalization, but also MPs from the Left and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance. Both groups had already voted in favor of the project in a vote in the health committee.
After the approval of the Bundestag, the law will finally come before the Bundesrat on March 22nd. It does not require approval there, but the state chamber can appeal to the mediation committee and thus delay legalization.