The speed is such a thing in the traffic light coalition. Some push forward, others prefer to take their time. That’s how it was when the corona measures were relaxed. And so it seems with the new mammoth task of legalizing cannabis. While Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) speaks cautiously of a first draft law in the second half of the year, Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) cannot go fast enough: Legalization in spring 2023 is possible – maybe even earlier.
Is it realistic that you can legally buy a joint in Germany in 2023? Both experts and members of the government have serious doubts about this. The Federal Government intends to begin technical preparations shortly. There’s a lot to talk about: where will the cannabis come from? How much THC should it contain? How much will it cost? Who can sell it?
Even in the coalition, there seems to be little agreement on what legalization should look like in practice. If you talk to Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus, the health policy spokeswoman for the FDP, you get the impression that the mountain of tasks is large, but can be managed in a short time. She “strongly assumes” that the first joints will be sold legally in the spring of next year, she says Süddeutsche Zeitung. “We’ll push for it.” The biggest challenge is the bureaucracy, the least problem is the cultivation, according to Aschenberg-Dugnus. She herself visited a cannabis plant in Neumünster some time ago, in a white protective suit, she says it was like a “high security wing”. There they assured her that production could be ramped up quickly: “Maybe it’s not 100 percent enough at the beginning,” she says. “But in general, cultivation should remain here in Germany.”
A major difficulty is building supply chains with quality-assured cannabis
Legalization as early as 2023? The SPD health politician Dirk Heidenblut has to smile briefly before he says: “I would commit myself to 2024 at the earliest.” If there is a draft law at the end of this year, it will take a few more months before the law is implemented, and only then can the construction of the infrastructure begin – which, in his opinion, is not going to be done quickly. The biggest difficulty with legalization? “I can’t just name one point,” he says. But one of the biggest is the supply chain: “Where do we get so much legal, quality-controlled cannabis from so quickly?” He couldn’t imagine growing only in Germany: “I don’t think we’ll have huge cannabis fields here anytime soon.”
Cultivation, distribution, prevention – there are many construction sites that the government now has to tackle. Each of these issues is complex and has pitfalls. But there is another point that causes abdominal pain for experts: the legal basis. According to lawyers, a legal sale of cannabis, as Germany is planning, violates international law and various EU agreements. So is legalization even legally possible? And could she ultimately fail?
It’s possible, says Robin Hofmann. The assistant professor of criminal law and criminology at the University of Maastricht wonders why so far hardly a word has been said about the fact that Germany is clearly opposed to international law with the planned legalization. The first is the UN Convention on Narcotics. It was created in 1961 to regulate the availability of drugs. “Even if production and sales were completely state-controlled, Germany would be violating the agreement,” says Hofmann. Other countries like Canada or Uruguay, where cannabis is legal, would tolerate a breach of contract. It is unlikely that Germany will simply ignore the agreement – it would have to leave.
It’s getting much more complicated with EU law, says Bernhard Wegener, Professor of European Law at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Accordingly, only the private use of cannabis is permitted in the EU countries. “This certainly does not cover a legalization of trade on a larger scale,” he says. Hofmann also warns of the consequences: “There is a high risk that there will be infringement proceedings,” he says. “That will end up at the European Court of Justice, and if it doesn’t make a 180-degree turn in its case law, the German law will share the fate of the car toll.”
A majority at European level seems a long way off
The only solution is to change the European legal act, says Wegener. “But I doubt that you will get the appropriate majorities.” While there are some European countries that advocate legalization, there are also a number of states that firmly reject it. “All in all, quite a lot of stumbling blocks,” summarizes the law professor.
Stumbling blocks that were probably too big for little Luxemburg. There, too, the government wanted to legalize the cannabis trade on a large scale and become a pioneer in Europe. What remains is a “light legalization”: only cultivation for personal use is permitted – four hemp plants per household. The reason for the withdrawal: the incompatibility with EU law.
“Legalization is a highly complex matter,” says legal expert Hofmann. “There are really good reasons for this. But why does it have to be so fast now?” He advises testing the legalization in model regions first. To find out how consumer behavior is changing and how the black market is reacting. “After all, it’s about health, especially young people. A little more caution would do the whole thing good.”