Luxembourg is the first European country to legalize the production and consumption of marijuana to counter the illegal market. Starting tomorrow, 18+ will be allowed to grow up to four cannabis plants at home or in the garden for personal use. The seeds will be available for purchase in stores, or online, without no limit to the quantity or level of tetrahydrocannabinol (Thc), the psychoactive principle. “We thought we had to act. We have a problem with drugs and cannabis is the most used, occupying a large part of the illegal market,” said the Justice Minister. Sam Tanson.
For home growers, the space for their plants will be limited to their place of residence. There remains a ban on consumption and transport in public and trade, except for seeds. But even these rules will soften because it will no longer be considered a crime to carry a quantity of less than 3 grams: it will be classified as illegal. The fines would be reduced to just 25 euros compared to previous figures which ranged from 251 to 2,500 euros. “Above the set amount, however, nothing changes,” Tanson warned. “Nothing changes for motorists either: there is still zero tolerance”.
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“The idea is that a consumer is not in an illegal situation by consuming cannabis in a way that does not support the entire illegal chain from production to transport to sale. We want to do everything possible to move further and further away from the illegal market. “According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, cannabis is the most widely used drug in the country with a percentage of 32.7%, especially between 15 and 34 years old. And banning it only made it more attractive to young people, the health minister said Etienne Schneider when in 2019 he announced to the American newspaper Politico the great plan of Luxembourg. The aim was to get the bill approved within two years, which is not difficult given that all three parties that make up the ruling coalition were in favor of legalization.
And in fact, two years later, the small country of 530,000 inhabitants took the first step towards a bigger project. The government has in fact provided for the formation of a state-regulated production and distribution system to guarantee the quality of the product. Revenues from sales will be invested “mainly in prevention, education and health care in the vast field of addictions,” say government sources reported by the British newspaper. Guardian.
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In the United States, on the same day, the State of New York instead announced the green light for the cultivation of medical marijuana at home. According to the measure, it will be possible to grow up to six plants purchased only at an authorized dispensary and after approval by a doctor. Medical marijuana was legalized in New York in 2014 but has been difficult to find, at least so far. Recreational marijuana has been legal since last March with the “Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act” which decriminalizes the possession of cannabis up to 85 grams and the cultivation of up to 12 plants for medical purposes.
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But leading the way in legalizing marijuana was Uruguay in 2013, followed by Canada in 2018. These, along with Luxembourg and 11 US states, are the only ones to violate a United Nations drug control convention. which commits the signatories to restrict “exclusively for medical and scientific purposes the production, manufacture, export, distribution of imports, trade, occupation and possession of drugs” including cannabis.
While in the Netherlands, the European country with which confrontation immediately comes to mind, possession and trade are technically illegal. It has a “tolerance policy” whereby recreational use is widely accepted within certain limits. The hope of the Luxembourg government is that other European countries will join in the fight against the illegal marijuana market and follow its example as “to date, all drug policies have had no effect,” Schneider told Politico. In Italy, the Council of Ministers approved the decree law extending the deadline for submitting signatures on the referendum for the legalization of cannabis from 30 September to 31 October.
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