According to Finance Minister Lindner, the partial legalization of cannabis is “responsible”. The law does not lead to chaos, he showed Report from Berlin convinced. Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Haseloff sees it differently.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner is clearly behind the partial legalization of cannabis. The FDP leader said he sees the plans adopted as a responsible model Report from Berlin. Especially when it comes to preventing crime and protecting health, controlled distribution is better than referring people to the black market, says Lindner.
Lindner sees no arguments for a possible stop of the law by the Federal President, as the Union parties are demanding. The intention of legalization was not to push consumers onto the black market and into the arms of dealers who would then offer other and more dangerous substances. The finance minister explained that the legalization plan was “responsible” within this framework.
Improvements only within the usual framework
When asked whether the traffic light government was considering possible improvements to the law because legalization could lead to chaos, Lindner replied: “It does not lead to chaos.”
He emphasized again that the law had been implemented in a responsible manner. However, it is important for every political and legislative project to be reconsidered if practical experience shows that it does not work. However, this applies expressly in general and not explicitly to the partial legalization of cannabis.
“Right to intoxicate” is not the goal of the plans
The warnings from the state interior and state justice ministers also gave Lindner no reason to worry that the traffic light government would fall on the feet of the project. He assumes that Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), also with the participation of Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP), has made a good proposal for the law. The focus of the plans is “not the right to intoxication”, but rather about overcoming the prevailing unsatisfactory state of dealing with cannabis.
“Cannabis is not without danger,” emphasized Lindner. However, millions of people in the country consume cannabis on the black market without any health education or control. The drug needs to be handled responsibly, so consumption can no longer take place in a gray area.
Haseloff sees complete overwhelm
The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Rainer Haseloff, sees it completely differently. The CDU politician emphasized Report from Berlin, that there is a clear problem with the implementation of the law. None of the countries could implement the project on time by April 1st. He sees all the accompanying companies and authorities as being completely overwhelmed.
“And as a result, we have the problem that we will certainly have this topic on the agenda again in the Federal Council in the next few months – simply because reality forces us to touch on this relevant law again,” said Haseloff.
The Federal Council passed the law passed by the Bundestag on partial cannabis legalization on Friday. Despite a lot of criticism, there was no majority in the state chamber to call the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat. This would have initially prevented the law from coming into force on April 1st. This allows the possession and cultivation of the drug by adults with numerous requirements for personal consumption – a turning point in German drug policy.