Company
Grass legal: Cannabis fans celebrate new freedoms
Activists are celebrating legalization in numerous places in Germany today. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Supporters celebrate, opponents throw their hands over their heads. As of today, smoking weed is legal in Germany. The new rules come with conditions. The criticism does not go away.
At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, supporters celebrated the new freedoms with a so-called smoke-in starting at midnight. According to a dpa reporter, hundreds of people gathered in front of the Berlin landmark, demonstratively lit joints and danced to reggae music in an exuberant mood.
Lauterbach: Historic opportunity
Opponents of legalization reiterated their sharp criticism at the start. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach defended the new rules: “Today we are ending a failed ban policy,” said the SPD politician to the dpa in Berlin. This is a historic opportunity. “From now on we are combining a real alternative to the black market with better child and youth protection. Things could not continue as before,” added the minister.
The government argues that cannabis consumption has increased despite the ban, that the black market is growing and that cannabis purchased there may be associated with increased health risks. The active ingredient content is unknown and it could contain toxic additives and impurities.
Legalization in two steps
Now, as a first step, the possession, private cultivation and consumption of certain amounts of cannabis will be permitted for adults. From July, in a second step, so-called cultivation associations will be allowed to grow cannabis under strict conditions under state control and distribute it to their members. At the same time, the law provides for measures to prevent addiction.
When the changes came into force, cannabis disappeared from the list of prohibited substances in the Narcotics Act. Adults are now allowed to carry up to 25 grams of the drug in public and a maximum of 50 grams at home. It is also permitted to have up to three cannabis plants in the living area. Smoking weed is allowed in public, but not near children and young people, schools, daycare centers, playgrounds and sports fields and not in pedestrian zones during the day.
Violations can be punished with heavy fines. Passing on the drug – with the exception of clubs – remains a punishable offense, especially if passed on to minors there is a risk of imprisonment. Anyone under the age of 18 is not allowed to consume cannabis.
Union: Black day for child protection
The CDU and CSU reiterated their strict rejection of legalization. The health policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Tino Sorge (CDU), told the dpa: “In fact, April 1st is a historic day. It will go down in history as the day on which the traffic lights announced an unprecedented economic stimulus program for the black market “In the coming weeks, illegal cannabis from old stocks will flood the market.” Sorge called legalization in its current form a risk to internal security. “We will reverse them after a change of government.”
CSU General Secretary Martin Huber called legalization a serious mistake. April 1st is a lucky day for dealers and a black day for child protection. For Bavaria he announced a “maximum strict interpretation of the cannabis rules and intensive controls”. “We don’t want to become a stoner stronghold.” Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had already made similar statements.
The German Police Union criticizes this. This would put the authorities and police in a position where they would have to monitor very closely, said the Bavarian state chairman Jürgen Köhnlein. However, precise administrative regulations and personnel were missing. There are significantly more offenses in the Cannabis Act for administrative offenses and criminal offenses than before. “It will be very, very complicated,” said Köhnlein.
Medical concerns
Legalization was preceded by decades of debate. During the consultation process on the law that has now come into force, medical associations also expressed major concerns, especially with regard to health risks for children, adolescents and young adults. Cannabis remains legally taboo for people under 18 years of age. The German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, for example, had pointed out that brain maturation is only complete in the mid-20s and that earlier cannabis consumption increases the risk of psychosis.
The law requires that the effects of cannabis release be examined by “independent third parties”. A first report that specifically looks at the effects on child and youth protection and the consumer behavior of children and young people is due to be presented in autumn next year.
With the opening for private cultivation of cannabis and the cultivation associations that will be possible from July, the legalization is overall significantly narrower than the traffic light originally planned. The plan to enable the free sale of cannabis and cannabis products in special shops, such as in the USA or Canada, is currently on hold. EU legal concerns contradict this.