exclusive
Cannabis is partially legal. But what applies to road traffic? A paper from the Federal Ministry of Transport now shows that strict rules could apply in the future, especially for novice drivers.
The Cannabis Act has been in force for almost a month, partially legalizing cannabis consumption in Germany. A new regulation for road traffic is still open.
The parliamentary process for the pending changes to the Road Traffic Act has now begun. The traffic light factions have received a so-called formulation aid from the Federal Ministry of Transport ARD capital studio is present. In the future, in addition to an existing limit for alcohol, there will also be a limit for the cannabis active ingredient THC in the law. The ministry followed the recommendation of the expert commission. At the end of March, they recommended a limit of 3.5 ng/ml blood serum.
The Federal Ministry of Transport speaks of a conservative approach that the experts in the working group chose. This will now be dealt with in the Bundestag in the parliamentary procedure. However, Parliamentary State Secretary Oliver Luksic warns against this ARD capital studio: “Until this and the subsequent adjustment to the Road Traffic Act are completed, the existing case law will continue to apply.”
Strict rules for novice drivers
One point in the formulation aid is particularly challenging. After internal traffic light discussions, an absolute ban on cannabis for novice drivers made it into the paper. As with alcohol, a limit of 0.0 should apply.
Specifically, the wording aid states: “Anyone who intentionally or negligently consumes the substance tetrahydrocannabinol while driving a motor vehicle on the road during the probationary period according to §2a or before the age of 21 (…) or (…) sets off on the journey is acting in an administrative offense , although he is under the effect (…) of the substance tetrahydrocannabinol.”
Danger of residual amounts in the blood
The problem is that alcohol breaks down in the body more quickly than THC, so novice drivers are only not allowed to drive a car in direct connection with consumption. Because the active ingredient in cannabis can be detected in the blood for much longer, this rule would probably lead to a complete ban on cannabis consumption for all novice drivers and people under the age of 21.
Cannabis consumption and driving would de facto be mutually exclusive, even if there was no direct temporal connection between consumption and driving. There would always be a risk of still having residual amounts of THC in the blood.
Greens: Ban through the back door
The Greens speak of a “ban through the back door”. MP Swantje Michaelsen said this ARD capital studio: “The limit value of 3.5 ng/ml THC in blood serum suggested by the expert commission is a very strict value. With regard to the probability of failure symptoms, it corresponds to around 0.2 per mille for alcohol and thus to the regulation that applies to alcohol according to case law applies to novice drivers. For this reason, there is no need for special regulations for novice drivers.
The German Hemp Association sees it similarly. However, managing director Georg Wurth still sees a need for more details. Dem ARD capital studio Wurth said it would initially remain unclear what distances new drivers would have to keep between consumption and driving if the law came into force. The formulation aid does not further define when it can be assumed “whether those affected are under the effects of THC”. In case of doubt, courts would ultimately have to deal with this.
ADAC welcomes draft
The ADAC, on the other hand, welcomes the draft from the Federal Ministry of Transport. Company spokesman Andreas Hölzel said this ARD capital studio, it is crucial for road safety that there is sufficient time between consumption and the journey. A lower limit would therefore “severely restrict the consumption of cannabis”. For the ADAC, however, the general rule is “if you drive, you don’t smoke weed”.