Politicians want to use legalization to curb uncontrolled trade and consumption on the black market and thus organized crime. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also wants to increase the protection of minors – the previous control policy has failed. There is currently “a lot of control, a lot of convictions, a booming black market and no success,” said the minister.
Cannabis is to be removed from the list of prohibited substances in the Narcotics Act. In the future, adults will be allowed to have up to 25 grams of cannabis with them in public. At home, possession of up to 50 grams and up to three female flowering plants per adult are permitted. Exceeding five grams (on the go) or ten grams (at home) will be punished as an administrative offense. Possession of larger quantities carries a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine.
In addition to private cultivation, distribution is initially only possible through non-profit cultivation associations or cannabis clubs – such as in some regions of Spain and Malta. The clubs are allowed to distribute a maximum of 50 grams of cannabis per month per member for their own consumption. The minimum age for membership is 18 years old, a maximum of 500 members are allowed per club, their place of residence must be in Germany. If members are under 21 years old, they receive a maximum of 30 grams per month, the cannabis must not exceed a THC content of ten percent. The clubs must Nominate youth protection, addiction and prevention officers and are not allowed to advertise. They must also maintain a minimum distance of 100 meters from schools and other children’s and youth facilities as well as playgrounds. Membership in several clubs is prohibited. The consumption of cannabis in the cultivation associations is not permitted.
Purchasing, possessing and cultivating cannabis remains prohibited for minors, but will not be prosecuted. Minor cannabis users should be offered participation in intervention and prevention programs. Giving cannabis to minors remains a criminal offense. If young people are caught with cannabis, the police have to inform the parents and, in difficult cases, contact the youth welfare offices.
Cannabis consumption is prohibited within a radius of 100 meters around schools, daycare centers, playgrounds and public sports facilities. According to the draft law, smoking weed is not allowed in pedestrian zones between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Dealing with cannabis remains a punishable offense, even for minors. To protect minors, some penalties are being increased. For example, the distribution of cannabis to minors will be punished with at least two years in prison instead of the previous one year.
The Federal Ministry of Transport should soon propose a limit value for the cannabis active ingredient THC in order to establish a regulation similar to the 0.5 per mille limit for alcohol. There is currently a strict ban on driving a car or motorcycle under the influence of cannabis. There is a risk of a fine of at least 500 euros, a driving ban for months, two points in Flensburg and – in the worst case – the revocation of your driving license.
In a second step, commercial cannabis supply chains will be tested in municipalities in several federal states, from production through distribution to sale in specialist shops. The plan is to test sales in pharmacies or state-licensed stores in model regions. It is not yet clear which regions will be selected for this. Several cities – for example Berlin, Bremen and Schwerin – have already expressed interest. Bavaria, on the other hand, is strictly against the plans – the state fears drug tourism. The projects should be scientifically supported, limited to five years and limited to the residents of these communities. According to the Federal Government, this second step of the planned legalization should take place in coordination with the EU.
According to the law, sales tax and a consumption tax (“cannabis tax”) are due on cannabis products.
Cannabis is the Latin name for the hemp plant, which has been used as a raw material for thousands of years. Intoxicants can be obtained from the female plants – marijuana from dried plant parts (usually flowers), hashish and hashish oil from the extracted resin of the female flowers. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is responsible for the intoxicating effect.
THC affects the central nervous system. In small doses it can cause euphoria, loss of anxiety, sedation and sleepiness and is therefore often compared to the effects of alcohol. THC can also suppress nausea and the urge to vomit. The effect is explained by the fact that the herbal THC unbalances the body’s own cannabis receptors. The human body has its own cannabis system (endocannabinoids), which is part of the nervous system and regulates many bodily functions.
Since 2017, the use of cannabis as medicine has been permitted in justified individual cases. Since then, cannabis medicines, which are available by prescription, have primarily been used to treat pain. Active ingredient content and composition are checked regularly. The content of the existing regulations on medical cannabis should remain essentially unchanged after the new law is passed.
According to experts, long-term cannabis consumption is associated with mental, social and physical risks. Based on current knowledge, however, it is assumed that serious brain damage such as that caused by alcohol is not caused. However, various studies provide evidence of a connection between regular cannabis consumption and psychosis, according to which the risk increases significantly with highly potent cannabis (THC content over 10 percent). The danger of cannabis establishing itself as a “gateway drug” has long been controversial. However, according to German Addiction Help (DHS), only a small proportion of cannabis users switch to harder drugs in the long term.
In contrast to legal addictive substances such as tobacco and alcohol, cannabis is currently considered an illegal substance in Germany, which, along with drugs such as heroin and MDMA (“Ecstasy”), falls under the Narcotics Act (BtMG). This means that any possession of cannabis and cannabis products (hashish, marijuana) is currently still a punishable offense. If the amount is small and is intended for personal use, the public prosecutor can refrain from prosecuting the person. The limits up to how many grams an amount is classified as low vary depending on the federal state.
Yes. Previous convictions for possession or personal cultivation of up to 25 grams or a maximum of three plants can be deleted from the Federal Central Register upon request. Corresponding ongoing criminal and investigation proceedings will also be ended.
The law in its current form is no relief for the judiciary, says Lower Saxony’s Justice Minister Kathrin Wahlmann (SPD). “As a result of the planned retroactive impunity, our colleagues at the public prosecutor’s office would have to manually evaluate a massive flood of files in order to determine whether further criminal prosecution should be stopped without further ado,” said Wahlmann. This is not about a few cases, but about hundreds of thousands of files. Courts would have to re-examine and, if necessary, redefine the overall sentences imposed, which also included violations of the BtMG. In Lower Saxony alone, 16,000 cases would have to be examined, and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to the Ministry of Justice, around 6,400 open cases would have to be examined.
Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) considers the cannabis legalization law to be poorly crafted: “The current draft is botch because it is a bad compromise.” The law is not practical. The actual goal of achieving improvements and relief through a controlled levy will fail in practice. The checks on the planned cannabis clubs are not at all practical for the police and the regulatory authorities. “There is also no sensible prevention work for children and young people. That was an essential promise. But there is neither extra money for it nor are the structures in this area being improved.”
The judges’ association criticizes, among other things, that the law is “too detailed” and would place an additional burden on the judiciary because it would lead to many court proceedings. The police union (GdP) also fears that the federal government’s cannabis plans will result in a significant additional burden. The associations of pediatric and adolescent doctors warn of the health risks for young people. Their mental health and development opportunities would be jeopardized by partial legalization. Critics also expressed doubts that the release of cannabis would succeed as hoped in curbing drug crime and the black market or preventing the switch to harder drugs.
The professional association of pediatricians considers partial legalization for people under 25 to be problematic because the human brain only matures at around this age. Regular cannabis consumption permanently disrupts brain development, says association head Thomas Fischbach. The World Drug Report suggests a connection between increased cannabis consumption and an increase in mental disorders and attributes this to the increasing legalization of cannabis worldwide. The release trivializes a drug “that has been proven to be addictive and can lead to serious developmental damage – especially in adolescents and young adults,” says the President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt. He pointed to incurable damage to the brain’s development process by the age of 25. There was a risk of psychosis, depression and anxiety disorders.
According to the Schengen Protocol, every EU country is obliged to prohibit the illicit trade and export of all kinds of addictive and psychotropic substances under penalty of punishment. An exception only applies to private consumption. The Netherlands, for example, has been using this regulation for many years with its so-called coffee shops, where sales for personal consumption are only tolerated. The Czech Republic also wants to largely legalize cannabis for personal use by 2025.