cannabis
Medical President for revision of the cannabis law
The traffic light coalition wants to legalize cannabis with precise rules. photo
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
The Bundestag has set the course for the controversial release of cannabis. But there is still a stop in the Federal Council – will the states simply let the law pass?
After the Bundestag decision for a partial legalization of Cannabis is the last hurdle in the Federal Council. Medical President Klaus Reinhardt spoke out in favor of stopping implementation there. “Ultimately, the federal states have to implement the law,” he told the Germany editorial network.
They also have considerable concerns because of warnings from the medical profession, judiciary, police and educators. “The right place to articulate these concerns is the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat.” There, the law needs to be fundamentally reconsidered, free from party-political constraints, said Reinhardt.
Concerns about short notice
On Friday, the Bundestag decided on a controlled release of the drug with a clear majority. According to the traffic light coalition law, ownership and cultivation should become legal for adults for personal consumption on April 1st with numerous requirements. Non-commercial “growing associations” should also be permitted. The law is scheduled to come before the Federal Council on March 22nd. It does not require approval, but the state chamber could in principle call the mediation committee and slow down the process.
Concerns have already been raised from the federal states about the short deadline until April 1st. North Rhine-Westphalia wants to lobby the Federal Council to ensure that the law does not come into force until later. “The remaining time of just five weeks is not nearly enough for the public prosecutor’s offices and courts in North Rhine-Westphalia to be able to implement the regulations for retroactive remission of sentences on time,” said Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach (Greens) on Friday. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, it would have to be examined in tens of thousands of cases whether penalties imposed should be remitted in whole or in part. Hamburg’s Justice Senator Anna Gallina (Greens) also criticized the adoption of the law “without giving the states sufficient time to prepare for implementation.”