Drug commissioner wants alcohol only from the age of 18

Drug commissioner wants alcohol only from the age of 18

Young people aged 16 and over can currently legally buy alcohol such as beer and wine in Germany – but this should soon be over. At least when it comes to the new federal drug commissioner, Burkhard Blienert.

The federal government’s drug commissioner, Burkhard Blienert, advocates new regulations for the sale of beer or wine to young people. “For me, there are many medical arguments in favor of raising the legal age for beer, wine and sparkling wine to 18,” said the SPD politician to “Welt” (Friday). “We’ll see what’s politically possible. In any case, what isn’t really possible is so-called accompanied drinking.”

“Must to a regulated controlled use of tobacco and alcohol”

According to the Youth Protection Act, young people from the age of 14 may drink beer, wine or sparkling wine in the presence of a person with custody. “We have to gradually move from a free rampant growth to a regulated, controlled use of tobacco and alcohol. The availability is too low a threshold,” says Blienert.

He also called it “paradoxical that you can buy tobacco from vending machines around the clock, almost anywhere. We also need a well-founded debate on this.”

The drug commissioner said alcohol and tobacco should not be advertised. It was “necessary to clearly limit the advertising opportunities for alcohol and tobacco. I also think advertising for gambling is inappropriate.”

Here, however, “the responsibility lies not with the federal government, but with the states”. In addition to the controlled sale of cannabis, Blienert called for a “realignment of drug policy”. The focus should be “health, not criminal law”.

Source: Stern

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