Health
Cannabis release: Kühnert takes the Greens to task
The partial legalization of cannabis for adults is on the Federal Council’s agenda on Friday. photo
© Christian Charisius/dpa
The planned partial release of the drug cannabis is highly controversial. On Friday, the Federal Council will decide whether the law has to go to the mediation committee – and possibly disappear into obscurity.
In the dispute over the When it comes to cannabis legalization, SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert holds the Greens in particular accountable for ensuring that the law gets passed in the Federal Council.
“I hope that many states that are still undecided will vote for abstention and not for the mediation committee. To be clear: the Greens wanted this law particularly urgently, they are involved in eleven state governments – it would not be easy to explain that the party , which fought hardest for it, ultimately failed to persuade its state governments to at least abstain,” said Kühnert to the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”.
A lot of criticism
The partial legalization of cannabis for adults is on the Federal Council’s agenda on Friday. The state chamber cannot reject the law, but can appeal to the mediation committee. A conciliation procedure would at least delay the reform. Union-led countries have announced that they want to use a mediation process for a blockade. But there is also criticism from SPD-led states and states with green government participation, as well as from municipalities. Numerous experts have also expressed concerns: pediatricians, criminal lawyers, police experts.
The police union (GdP) appealed to the states to call the mediation committee. “If the Federal Council does not step on the brakes, the police, customs, judicial authorities and youth welfare offices will immediately be overwhelmed due to the lack of transition periods,” said GdP deputy chairman Alexander Poitz to the editorial network Germany (RND). “Sufficient and appropriate preparation for the new legal situation from April 1st is simply not possible.”
Sager: Health authorities burdened
From the perspective of the city council, many of the provisions of the law cannot be monitored. City Council President Markus Lewe (CDU) referred in the Funke media group’s newspapers to the complicated cultivation regulations and the ban on cannabis consumption in the vicinity of schools, playgrounds and sports facilities.
The district council declared that the health authorities should be responsible for monitoring cultivation. “It is unclear how many cultivation associations will emerge and need to be controlled. This will place further strain on the health authorities and make it more difficult to carry out existing tasks,” said President Reinhard Sager (CDU) to the RND.