The traffic light is working on the cannabis law. In an interview, drug commissioner Burkhard Blienert talks about criticism and “legitimate information from a medical perspective”.
Berlin – The traffic light disagrees on many things: traffic, environment, social issues or migration – the positions of the SPD, Greens and FDP are drifting apart on a number of points. When it comes to drug policy, there is actually a consensus: cannabis should become legal. The trio agreed on this quite easily in the coalition agreement after they had previously actively pushed for a new drug policy during the election campaign. But more than two years later, the law has still not been passed.
Cannabis legalization: “It’s more complex than many people might have initially imagined”
The coalition agreement actually says: “We are introducing the controlled supply of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes in licensed shops.” The traffic light has now had to scrap these plans, also because of international law. Instead of nationwide legalization, a two-pillar model is currently planned.
In the first pillar, home cultivation and distribution in cultivation associations, the so-called cannabis social clubs, should be permitted. In addition, the possession of 25 grams for personal use should remain unpunished. In the medium term, pillar two plans to sell through specialist shops, but only in selected model regions. But whether this will happen is unclear. “It is more complex than many people might have imagined at the beginning,” says Federal Drug Commissioner Burkhard Blienert in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA. “But we are at the finish line.”
![Burkhard Blienert, Federal Government Commissioner for Drug and Addiction Issues.](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/33/645/33645500-burkhard-blienert-beauftragter-der-bundesregierung-fuer-drogen-und-suchtfragen-2QCVcfrD7xBG.jpg)
Blienert sees “legitimate advice from a medical perspective” when it comes to the question of cannabis age
The traffic light repeatedly promised 2023 as the start date of the cannabis law. Then it became January 1st, now April 1st is planned. Everything was negotiated in November, but at the end of the year some SPD politicians spoke up. “If the cannabis legalization law were to be voted on now, there would be a significant proportion of no votes from the SPD parliamentary group. Including my own,” said domestic politician Sebastian Fiedler in the Mirror. Criticism also comes from the eight SPD state interior ministers, who along with their state colleagues spoke out against the plans. Among other things, they see an additional burden on the authorities.
For Blienert, this criticism does not endanger the cannabis law: “This makes it clear once again how diverse the topic is being discussed. In the SPD we are always a party of open and tough debates and I can understand that with such a comprehensive bill there was a further need for discussion and clarification.”
There was a public hearing on the topic in the Bundestag in November. Several associations from the hemp association to the police and doctors had their say. Pediatricians and adolescent doctors as well as the German Medical Association reject the cannabis law due to the protection of minors. Blienert says: “There is legitimate evidence from a medical perspective that cannabis consumption under the age of 25 can be extremely unhealthy and associated with long-term psychological and physical damage. This is particularly due to the brain not yet fully maturing.
“Very early starting age for cannabis”: From 12 and 13 in Hamburg, Berlin or Frankfurt
The federal government wants to allow consumption from the age of 18. There are several reasons for this, says Blienert. “Above all, with a higher age limit we would not have been able to ensure health protection and would not have done enough to counteract the black market.” There is already a “very early starting age for cannabis”. Specifically: “We know from studies in Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg, for example, that young people try cannabis at the age of 12 and 13. Overall, cannabis consumption among young people under the age of 18 is significant in Germany.” According to Blienert, around 340,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have smoked weed at least once in the past few months. “The trend has been increasing for a good ten years.”
Youth protection groups argue that this group would consume more after the implementation of the cannabis law. Blienert doesn't think so: “There is a certain amount of experimental use among young people, that also applies to other drugs, that's what you have to assume.” In Canada, for example, it increased slightly shortly after regulation, but then fell again just as quickly. “If we decriminalize, in my opinion it will lead to better prevention and more youth and health protection. Because at the moment it is hardly possible to talk openly about the drug at school or in youth work, especially with young people who have already tried it, because criminal law is always involved.” (as)
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