Germany presented this Wednesday (26) plans to legalize the cannabis in a move promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government that would make it one of the first countries in Europe to legalize marijuana.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented a key document on legislation planned to regulate the controlled distribution and recreational use of cannabis among adults. Acquiring and possessing up to 20 to 30 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption would also be legal.
The coalition government struck a deal last year to introduce legislation during its four-year term to allow controlled distribution of cannabis in licensed stores.
Lauterbach did not give a timeline for the plan, which would make Germany the second European Union country to legalize cannabis after Malta.
Many European countries, including Germany, have already legalized cannabis for limited medical purposes. The use of cannabis for medical purposes has been legal in Germany since 2017. Others have decriminalized its general use while failing to make it legal.
According to the document, private self-cultivation would be allowed to a limited extent. Ongoing investigations and criminal prosecutions linked to cases that are no longer illegal would be closed.
The government also plans to introduce an excise tax, as well as develop cannabis-related education and prevention work.
Legalizing cannabis could bring Germany annual tax revenue and cost savings of around €4.7 billion ($4.7 billion) and create 27,000 new jobs, according to a survey last year.
About 4 million people used marijuana in Germany last year, 25% of whom were between the ages of 18 and 24, Lauterbach said, adding that legalization would end the illegal marijuana market.
reactions
Germany will submit the document to the European Commission for pre-assessment and will only draft a law when the Commission gives its approval, the minister added. The decision has already provoked mixed reactions in Europe’s biggest economy.
Germany’s pharmacists association warned of the health risks of legalizing cannabis and said it would put pharmacies into medical conflict.
Pharmacists are healthcare professionals, so “a potential competitive situation with purely commercial suppliers is viewed particularly critically,” Thomas Preis, head of the North Rhine Pharmacists’ Association, told the Rheinische Post.
The legalization plan was not well received by all federal states. The Bavarian Health Minister, for example, has warned that Germany should not become a drug tourism destination in Europe.
“Consumption involves significant and sometimes irreversible health and social risks – and any form of trivialization is completely irresponsible,” Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
But the “Greens of Germany” said decades of cannabis prohibition have only exacerbated the risks, adding that the legal trade will better protect young people and health.
“Because very restrictive conditions for the legal market only promote the illegal cannabis market particularly strong,” lawmaker Kirsten Kappert-Gonther said Wednesday.
Lars Mueller, chief executive of German cannabis company SynBiotic, said Wednesday’s step was “almost like winning the lottery” for his company.
“When the time comes, we will be able to offer franchise-like models for cannabis stores in addition to our own stores,” said Mueller.
(Edited by Rachel More and Miranda Murray)
Source: CNN Brasil
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