intoxicants
Berlin Greens want to decriminalize hard party drugs
Participants hold a giant joint labeled ‘Legalization’ at the 23rd Hanfparade for legalization of cannabis. photo
© Jörg Carstensen/dpa
In Berlin, the legalization of cannabis has been demanded for some time. Now the Greens in the capital are even going one step further.
The Berlin Greens not only want to legalize cannabis, but also decriminalize hard party drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines in the capital. “The right to intoxication should be a matter of course in a city of freedom like Berlin, it works even without the mentality of a Bavarian village police,” said Greens parliamentary group leader Werner Graf on Friday shortly before the so-called Hanfparade on Saturday in Berlin.
Criminal proceedings should therefore be stopped in Berlin even for possession of small amounts of hard drugs – as is the case with cannabis products such as marijuana and cannabis. In some other federal states, this is common with a gram of cocaine or a little ecstasy.
The Greens also want the police not to even investigate cannabis finds weighing up to 15 grams. The “Joint in the Park” should no longer be pursued by the police and the cannabis should no longer be confiscated. Criminal law is the “wrong answer for harmless potheads,” said Graf. “The criminalization of drug users is a relic from the last millennium and must end.”
If the police currently find marijuana on someone in Berlin, they initiate an investigation. If the amount found is less than 10 grams, the public prosecutor’s office will generally stop the investigation and if it is less than 15 grams, it will usually be stopped. The police work “actually for the dustbin”, according to the Greens.
The federal government, made up of SPD, Greens and FDP, plans to partially allow cannabis and to introduce controlled sales of the drug to adults for recreational purposes in certain shops. A bill is expected to be presented by the end of the year.