Is the traffic light coalition taking a big step towards cannabis legalization today? Karl Lauterbach presents plans. Some things are known in advance.
- Cannabis legalization: Health Minister Lauterbach gives a press conference.
- Lauterbach puts Cannabis “Key Points” before: Paper leaked with some changes.
- Cannabis Legalization topic in traffic light cabinet: Bayern warns that supporters also see problems
Update from October 26, 11:45 a.m.: The Dutch cannabis regulation is “unsuccessful”, explains Lauterbach in response to a journalist’s question, one explicitly does not want to imitate it; the planned regulations are much stricter. He also answered the question of whether he himself had ever consumed cannabis: “I can only say that I have actually tried it before” but he is “not a user” and would not benefit from the regulation, emphasizes the Minister of Health .
Update from October 26, 11:36 am: “We want to reform cannabis consumption from a health perspective,” explains Lauterbach, four million people would have used cannabis in 2021, and a quarter of 18 to 24 year olds would be affected. The aim is therefore to drive out the black market. Lauterbach mentions the following “key points”:
- Cultivation, possession and consumption should be free of punishment within regulated limits; only adults should be allowed to possess 20-30 grams of cannabis.
- It is being examined whether a THC limit is possible for 18 to 21-year-old consumers, the current papers do not yet contain this point.
- Cultivation and distribution are to be controlled by the state, production is to be licensed and regulated in Germany.
- It is not planned, but under examination, whether “other dosage forms”, such as “edibles”, will be permitted.
- According to Lauterbach, the cornerstones are still going to the European Commission today. If a preliminary examination in Brussels promises infringement proceedings, no draft law will be developed from the plans.
Lauterbach explains cannabis plans: Cabinet decides key points
Update from October 26, 11:34 am: Lauterbach’s first important message: The cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has actually decided on the cornerstones of cannabis legalization. However, it is not a “major breakthrough in drug policy” – it remains to be seen whether the results will stand up to international law, he admits.
The aim is a “decriminalization of cannabis consumption” in order to improve child and youth protection and health protection. Recently, cannabis consumption has increased, but so has the THC content. “The starting point is: child and youth protection are not adequately provided”, at the same time there is a flourishing black market and addiction problems among adults, says Lauterbach.
Update from October 26, 11:32 am: Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is expected to make a statement at the federal press conference at any moment. The SPD politician will present the traffic light plans for cannabis legalization. We summarize the most important information for you in the news ticker.
Cannabis legalization: That’s what Lauterbach wants to announce today
preliminary report: Berlin – The traffic light cabinet will meet on Wednesday (October 26) – and decisions will also be made. A controversial agreement on the port of Hamburg was already doing the rounds in the morning. The meeting should also mark a step towards cannabis legalization: Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to present the plans in the morning (11.30 a.m.).
It is not yet about a concrete legislative procedure, but first about the adoption of “key points”, i.e. the basic features of the project. A concrete draft law should only come when it becomes apparent that there are no legal objections from the EU to the planned release of cannabis – which is by no means certain.
Lauterbach presents cannabis ‘key points’ – paper leaked with some changes
Some of the key points mentioned have already leaked out in advance: The dpa quoted from a corresponding paper on Monday night. It appears to contain some differences to information from late last week:
- Cannabis and the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) should no longer be classified as narcotics in the future.
- The acquisition and possession of a maximum of 20 to 30 grams of “pleasure cannabis” for personal consumption should be exempt from punishment, regardless of the specific THC content. A THC limit should be avoided because of too much effort and possible criminal prosecution.
- Private self-cultivation is allowed to a limited extent – “three female flowering plants per adult”. These must be protected from access by children and young people.
- The sale should happen in “licensed specialist shops” – access only from the age of 18 – and possibly pharmacies. Advertising for cannabis products is prohibited. The amount that can be sold per customer is limited. There will initially not be a mail order business. Trading without a license remains a punishable offence.
- “Because of the increased risk of cannabis-related brain damage in adolescence” it should be examined whether there should be a THC upper limit for buyers under 21 years of age.
- In addition to the sales tax on sales, a separate “cannabis tax” is planned, which is based on the THC content. The aim is a final consumer price “which comes close to the black market price”.
- Cannabis products for smoking and inhalation or ingestion in the form of capsules, sprays or drops should be allowed for sale. So-called edibles, such as cookies or sweets with cannabis, initially not.
- Education, prevention, advice and treatment options are to be expanded. It is particularly necessary to “introduce low-threshold and comprehensive early intervention programs for consumption reflection for young people who use drugs”.
- The traffic light wants to collect and analyze data on the social impact of the cannabis release. After four years, the regulations are to be evaluated and, if necessary, adjusted, especially with a view to health, child and youth protection and road safety.
Cannabis legalization topic in the traffic light cabinet: Bavaria warns, supporters also see problems
Bavaria reiterated its criticism of the traffic light coalition’s project. “The federal government’s legalization plans are a dangerous signal not only for Germany, but also for the whole of Europe,” said Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU). Augsburg General. “Cannabis has powerful mood and cognition altering effects,” he warned. Consumption harbors “significant and sometimes irreversible health and social risks”. Holetschek also feared that legalization in Germany would also attract cannabis fans from other European countries. “Therefore, the federal government must ensure that no incentives are created for drug tourism to Germany.”
Criticism of the plans practiced at the request of Merkur.de most recently also cannabis lobbyists. “Domestic production alone will hardly be able to meet demand from day one,” says cannabis entrepreneur Niklas Kouparanis IPPEN.MEDIA. “If home cultivation booms in this case, this leads to less controlled and regulated products instead of more security for consumers.” Salary went “by the reality”, emphasized the managing director of the hemp association, Georg Wurth. (dpa/fn)
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