Tumult in the Bundestag, mediation committee threatens

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Cannabis is actually said to have a calming and decelerating effect. However, this only applies to consumption and not to dealing with the issue in parliament. There were apparently tumultuous scenes in the health committee responsible for the controversial Cannabis Act (CanG) on Wednesday, according to participants LTO reported. Also the Berlin Tagesspiegel takes up the incidents.

Before the CanG – with the of LTO The changes already presented compared to the government draft – were decided at midday, so that nothing stands in the way of the final adoption on Friday. According to reports, there were heated discussions in the committee. According to traffic light circles, the Union organized a slapstick that had never been seen before. The stumbling block was that the chairwoman of the committee, the Green MP Kirsten Kappert-Gonther, as the project’s rapporteur, was also supposed to moderate the discussion on the agenda item as the meeting chair. The MdB of the Union and AfD therefore denied her “neutrality” to a certain extent. Kappert-Gonther then passed on leadership to Union MP Hubert Hüppe (CDU) during the meeting.

“Overdue paradigm shift”

In terms of content, Green health politician Janosch Dahmen defended the planned partial legalization of cannabis as an “overdue paradigm shift”. “There can’t be a simple ‘business as usual’,” said the member of the Bundestag on Wednesday dpa. “We have to adapt cannabis drug policy to social reality in order to combat the black market and, in particular, to protect children and young people.” As a doctor, father and politician, he is very concerned that the prohibition policies of the past have massively increased the risks associated with cannabis. The aim is to make consumption and access safer for informed adults by preventing the distribution of contaminated substances. This can be achieved by creating legal alternatives through limited home cultivation and cultivation associations, as provided for in the CanG.

The health policy spokesman for the Union faction, Tino Sorge (CDU), said, however dpa: “In terms of health, family and domestic policy, the law is a historic mistake. The traffic light brings cannabis into the vicinity of children and young people and acts like a state drug dealer.” That is irresponsible. He appeals to undecided members of the traffic light coalition to vote against the law in the Bundestag this Friday.

At the end of the heated meeting, the Health Committee approved the legislative plans with the changes agreed within the coalition in November. Home cultivation and possession of certain quantities should therefore be permitted for adults from April 1st. Clubs for non-commercial cultivation will be allowed on July 1st. Numerous rules and specifications are provided for practical implementation.

Appeal to the mediation committee likely

However, whether the regulations, especially on decriminalization, will even come into effect on April 1st is more up in the air than ever. Because if the Bundestag approves the CanG on Friday, as expected, the Federal Council will still have to deal with the project, which does not require approval. According to information from coalition circles, it is now considered quite likely that the mediation committee will be called on March 22nd. The main reason for this is that a disproportionate burden on the criminal justice system is expected in these countries.

The coalition could have addressed these concerns with a more generous deadline for entry into force. According to reports, the states would then refrain from invoking the exclusion from mediation. However, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) rejected an extended implementation period.

It is now expected behind closed doors that the law will not come into force on April 1st. Rather, intensive negotiations with the countries are expected until the summer.

with material from dpa