The Federal Council is voting today on the partial legalization of cannabis – it can wave it through or stop it. The decriminalization of the drug has been a concern for the federal and state governments for months. Why the criticism continues.
At the beginning of the week, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) was in alarm mode. “The law is once again on a knife edge, but we will fight for it all week and I hope we can still get it passed on Friday.” In the previous days, it became increasingly likely that the Federal Council would send the cannabis law to the Mediation Committee – a committee of the Federal Council and the Bundestag to negotiate compromises.
Criticism of the cannabis law from different countries is very different. The Union Prime Ministers strictly reject the law. Partial legalization is too dangerous for young people’s health. They fear that the number of drug addicts will increase significantly.
In addition to this general rejection, there were increasing concerns from SPD-led states and Green-led Baden-Württemberg. Ministers from various traffic light parties advocated changing individual provisions and, above all, postponing the start of the law.
This is a dangerous mix for Lauterbach. “The countries that don’t want it and also countries that want changes could join forces,” he fears. “And if it goes to the mediation committee, then there are possibilities to let the law starve to death.” The Health Minister worries that the law could get stuck in committee and ultimately fail.
Dobrindt: The law cannot be “improved”
Various voices from the Union’s ranks suggested exactly that and fueled Lauterbach’s alarm. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer wrote on Platform
The regional group leader of the CSU in the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, made similar comments in an interview with ARD capital studio. “The fact that the Federal Council is likely to appeal to the Mediation Committee is just a sign of how wrong this law is. Nevertheless, we in the Mediation Committee will not work to turn this bad cannabis law into a less bad cannabis law. This cannot be improved. This cannabis law is actually no longer allowed to reach the public eye from the mediation committee.”
Concessions to the countries
Due to these and similar statements, the mood among the traffic light parties in the federal states seems to have changed in the last few meters before the Federal Council meeting. The Saxon Health Minister from the SPD, Petra Köpping, said: “We as the SPD cannot do anything with us as the SPD, calling the mediation committee out of purely power-political considerations.”
Despite concerns at one point or another in the law, none of them want partial cannabis legalization to be completely overturned. Lauterbach is also trying to win over critics with concessions to the states: the rules will be tightened for the planned cannabis cultivation associations. In addition, the SPD minister promises more money for prevention work.
burden on the judiciary
The sticking point, however, remains how cannabis judgments from the past should be dealt with. According to the law, thousands of verdicts on offenses that will no longer be punishable in the future must be reviewed. But that would overburden the judiciary, say the states.
Nevertheless, Lauterbach’s alarm at the beginning of the week turned into confidence at the end of the week. “I assume that we will pass this on Friday. But it is actually a difficult law. And we will, however, fight for every single abstention or approval.” Today’s Federal Council meeting will show whether he wins this fight.
Jan Zimmermann, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, March 22, 2024 6:30 a.m