He billproposed by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in April last year, was the subject of considerable controversy and, in a heavily modified version.
Voting to legalize the possession and consumption of cannabis
The project finally received votes in favor of the deputies of the government coalition of social democrats, greens and liberals, as well as the left. The opposition Christian Democrats and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), on the other hand, They voted against.
“I myself was against legalization for many years, but it is Science that now says that we must follow this path,” the social democrat Lauterbach highlighted in his speech.
The minister advocated avoiding “punitivism and tabooing” and for not “criminalizing the young people whose lives we have destroyed because we have not protected them from the black market.” Lauterbach He summarized the law by pointing out that, on the one hand, it legalizes self-consumption, thereby creating an “alternative” to the black market.
While increasing penalties for traffickers who sell cannabis to minors and plans campaigns to raise awareness among adolescents of the special danger that comes with consumption while the brain is still growing.
The opinion of the conservative opposition on the legalization of the possession and consumption of cannabis
The conservative opposition attacked the government’s plans and stated that not only will it have the opposite effect to the desired one, but it will serve to further alienate citizens who think that the coalition only focuses on issues of “identity” and avoids important issues.
“You seriously maintain as the minister responsible for the health of children and young people that with legalization we are going to reduce consumption among children and adolescents. “It’s the biggest nonsense I’ve ever heard.”post the Christian Democrat deputy Tino Sorge.
When will the law on possession and consumption of cannabis in Germany come into force?
Starting in April, when will it come in the new law comes into force, Those over 18 years of age will be able to grow at home A maximum of three cannabis plants for self-consumption or possess 50 grams of flowers dried in their private space (a maximum of 25 grams if they are in public space).
Furthermore, as of the month of July the creation of ‘clubs’ with up to 500 members will be legal that they will be able to grow cannabis collectively and non-commercially and exchange it among themselves for private consumption.
Restrictions on the possession and consumption of cannabis
On the other hand, sentences for possession or self-cultivation for quantities of up to 25 grams will be removed from the criminal records of those convicted retroactively.
ANDConsumption in public will be subject to a series of restrictions, since it will continue to be illegal within a radius of 100 meters of the entry points to educational centers and sports facilities, while in pedestrian areas smoking will not be allowed until after 7:00 p.m. GMT.
Later than 18 months later of the entry into force of the new law an evaluation will be carried out to determine what effect it is having on the health of children and adolescents.
The concern of the new law on the legalization of cannabis
While jurists warned of the considerable burden that the review of up to 100,000 cannabis-related crimes, Medical associations warned of the risk that the drug poses precisely to young people.
Klaus Reinhardt, president of the Hartmann League of Physicians, expressed his concern that legalization lead more people to experiment with cannabis, which if consumed regularly before the age of 25 can cause irreversible damage to brain development.
Besides, pro-cannabis associations They have a real explosion of self-consumption clubs, between 3,000 and 4,000 the first year, according to what the president of the Association of Cannabis Social Clubs, Steffen Geyer, told ‘RND’.
Geyer highlighted that there are already at least 300 groups in the process of establishing itself as a club waiting for the law to come into force.
Source: Ambito
