“The joint is glossed over”
Traffic light parties continue exploring – police unions warn of cannabis legalization
Rainer Wendt, chairman of the German Police Union (DPolG), warns of more traffic accidents in the event of a possible legalization of cannabis.
© Ronny Hartmann / Picture Alliance
There is still a long way to go before a possible traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. However, several police unions have already issued a warning to the investigating parties.
On Tuesday, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP will continue to talk about the formation of the first traffic light coalition at the federal level. The close circle of exploratory teams meets again in Berlin. After the discussion, which is scheduled to last around four hours, the parties will probably want to comment publicly on the status of the deliberations around noon. A decision for or against coalition negotiations is not yet expected – another meeting is scheduled for Friday.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the general secretaries of the parties want to continue working in a small group, while SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz travels to Washington to meet the G20 finance ministers. The aim is to take stock of the interim balance at the end of the week – and to decide whether to enter into coalition negotiations with three people. In parallel to the traffic light negotiations, the Greens and the FDP have kept the possibility of a Jamaica coalition with the Union open. Due to the election results, the SPD will be the strongest force in the Bundestag in the future.
Police unionists warn against cannabis legalization
Meanwhile, police unions warned negotiators from the SPD, Greens and FDP against legalizing cannabis. The federal chairman of the police union (GdP), Oliver Malchow, told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ) that it made no sense to open the door to another “dangerous and often trivialized” drug in addition to the legal but dangerous alcohol . “It has to be an end to glossing over the joint,” he said. The consumption of cannabis can lead to considerable health problems and social conflicts, especially among young people.
The chairman of the German Police Union (DPolG), Rainer Wendt, told the newspaper that cannabis is not only a dangerous gateway drug, but also a danger, especially for young people, because its composition cannot be controlled. Wendt fears fatal consequences, especially in road traffic: “If people with stoned people soon take part in road traffic, we will have a problem.” Accidents with innocent injured people are already occurring again and again because of cannabis consumption; the control by the police is completely inadequate.
The hemp association calls for the legalization of cannabis. In their Bundestag election program, the Greens announced that they wanted to enable “regulated sales of cannabis in licensed specialist shops”. In its program, the FDP called for the controlled release of cannabis. The SPD advocates a “regulated charge” to adults initially in model projects.
See in the video: How dangerous is cannabis use really? And should the state regulate the sale of the drug? In the DISKUTHEK Georg Wurth (German Hemp Association), Wiebke Winter (Junge Union), Sebastian Fiedler (Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter) and Dominik Forster (ex-junkie and author) argue about addiction caused by smoking weed, psychosis and health as well as the pros and cons Contra arguments for legalization in Germany.