EU regulations seem to have gotten in the way of cannabis legalization in Germany. Contrary to popular belief, cannabis production is not even legal in the Netherlands.
20:10•Updated 20:12
The German government announced on Wednesday that the legalization of cannabis will not proceed in the country, despite previous optimism. Forbes reporting on the matter says (you switch to another service)that the country’s health minister by Karl Lauterbach according to which the bill legalizing the sale of cannabis had to be re-evaluated.
In the original proposal, people over the age of 18 would have been allowed to possess 20-30 grams of cannabis, which would have been allowed to be sold in authorized stores.
Politico by (you switch to another service) However, the European Commission stood in the way of Germany’s legalization dreams.
The German government has been in discussions with the EU Commission for months about its original bill. According to the publication, politicians, companies and users eagerly awaited the outcome of the discussions.
After all, Germany rejected the idea of legalizing cannabis. Politico reports that Lauterbach commented that after speaking with the commission, the government came to the conclusion that the bill would not bring the government closer to its goals.
On Wednesday, however, the government introduced a new, weaker bill regarding cannabis.
According to it, adults are allowed to grow three plants at home and buying cannabis from so-called “cannabis clubs” will be allowed. In addition, possession of a maximum of 25 grams will become legal.
Legal sales, on the other hand, are to be tried in Germany in a regional pilot program for four years. According to Reuters, the program will monitor the effects of commercial distribution on public health. According to Forbes, the experiment would be similar to what Switzerland and the Netherlands have undertaken.
Contrary to popular belief, cannabis production is not legal in the Netherlands. Although cannabis can be sold with a government permit in so-called coffee shops, the sellers obtain their products secretly. This year, however, the Netherlands has Forbes by (you switch to another service) a pilot program for legal sales is about to start. In addition, an experiment is already underway, the purpose of which is to produce cannabis legally for recreational use.