Germany Hosts Five Other European Nations At Joint Marijuana Meeting To Discuss Legalization Experiences

German officials are convening a multi-national conference where leaders will share their experiences with legalizing and regulating marijuana, with a focus on public health and mitigating the illicit market. At the same time, however, certain parties within Germany are pushing to overturn the country’s recently enacted cannabis legalization law.

Representatives from Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Switzerland were invited by German Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues Burkhard Blienert to the meeting in Berlin on Monday and Tuesday to “exchange experiences in regulating cannabis for non-medical purposes.”

This is the third year in a row that the European nations have held a marijuana-centered “international ministerial.” And it comes as Germany continues to implement its own legalization law that took effect in April, with plans to eventually expand to allow a commercial market pilot program.

The focus of the meetings this week “is on the first experiences with the regulation of cannabis for non-medical purposes as well as the topics of prevention and evidence,” a press release from the ministry says, according to a translation.

“Despite decades of prohibition and criminal prosecution, cannabis was and is one of the most commonly consumed psychoactive substances in Europe and worldwide,” Blienert said. “Its availability, use and—due to the ever-increasing THC content—its danger to health have steadily increased over the last decade. It was clear that something had to happen.”

Wir haben mit dem #KCanG auch europaweit einen völlig neuen Weg eingeschlagen. Jetzt ist wichtig, zu evaluieren und den Austausch mit gleichgesinnten Staaten zu festigen. Ich habe deshalb ministerielle VertreterInnen aus CHE, CZE, MLT, NLD, LUX eingeladen: https://t.co/HK6OQxapeQpic.twitter.com/j3WTDRXc85

— Sucht- und Drogenbeauftragter der Bundesregierung (@BdB_SD_Blienert) November 18, 2024

“I am sure that through evidence-based prevention, increased education and the decriminalization of home cultivation implemented in Germany with the Consumer Cannabis Act, we will succeed in reducing the health risks associated with the consumption of cannabis for non-medical purposes to a considerable extent,” he said. “We will also significantly reduce the illegal trade.”

“As optimistic as I am, I would like to stress one thing: we are entering new territory. And that is why it is important to evaluate all steps comprehensively and to establish a close exchange of experience with all other European states that have taken or will take comparable steps. That is why I have invited you to Berlin this week.”

As German officials have been working to implement their own cannabis law, however, lawmakers debated the policy on the floor of the Bundestag last week, with conservative parties pledging to overturn the reform if they win a majority following an election that is expected in February amid the collapse of the country’s governing coalition.

Kristine Lütke of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) called the effort by the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union “absurd and out of touch with reality.”

1/ Heute setzt die CDU/CSU ein einziges Thema auf die Tagesordnung: Cannabis. Während unsere Wirtschaft schrumpft und dringend einen Turnaround braucht, beschäftigt man sich mit ideologischen Angriffen auf Konsumenten. Absurd und an der Realität vorbei.

— Kristine Lütke MdB (@kristine_lutke) November 15, 2024

Green MP Kirsten Kappert-Gonther said that the conservative faction “has an irritatingly obsessive relationship to the topic [of] Cannabis.”

“One thing is clear: Decriminalization was long overdue Legal alternatives to the black market protect consumers and increase safety,” she said. “What is needed now are licensed specialist shops instead of bans!”

Die Union hat ein irritierend obsezessives Verhältnis zum Thema #Cannabis Dabei ist klar:Die Entkriminalisierung war überfällig Legale Alternativen zum Schwarzmarkt schützen Konsumierende u erhöhen die Sicherheit Was es jetzt braucht, sind lizensierte Fachgeschäfte statt Verbote!

— Kirsten Kappert-Gonther (@KirstenKappert) November 15, 2024

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who spearheaded the legalization push in Germany, said the country “fundamentally changed our drug policy on cannabis, and the law “deserves a chance” to be implemented.

„Wir haben unsere Drogenpolitik bei #Cannabis grundsätzlich geändert: Weg von Verboten, hin zu #Aufklärung und mehr Sicherheit. Dieses Gesetz hat eine Chance verdient“, sagte @Karl_Lauterbach im #Bundestag bei der Aktuellen Stunde zum Cannabis-Gesetz. pic.twitter.com/3x09OJldI5

— Bundesgesundheitsministerium (@BMG_Bund) November 15, 2024

Meanwhile, the countries that are participating in the ministerial have varying cannabis policies. Malta, for example, became the first European country to enact cannabis legalization in 2021. Luxembourg followed suit, with the reform officially taking effect last year.

Government officials from several countries, including the U.S., also met in Germany last November to discuss international marijuana policy issues as the host nation works to enact legalization.

A group of German lawmakers, as well as Blienert, separately visited the U.S. and toured California cannabis businesses in 2022 to inform their country’s approach to legalization.

The visit came after top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held their first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization in 2022.

A novel international survey released in 2022 found majority support for legalization in several key European countries, including Germany.

Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) drug control body recently reiterated that it considers legalizing marijuana for non-medical or scientific purposes a violation of international treaties, though it also said it appreciates that Germany’s government scaled back its cannabis plan ahead of the vote.

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German Lawmakers Reach Agreement On Revised Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Final Vote Expected Next Week

German lawmakers have reached an agreement to revise a marijuana legalization bill, relaxing certain provisions that were challenged by cannabis reform supporters and setting the stage for a final vote in the national parliament next week.

Advocates were disappointed when a planned vote in the Bundestag was postponed last week, but there’s renewed optimism that the legislation as agreed upon by the traffic light coalition will advance, with legalization proposed to come into effect next spring.

A Green Party lawmaker, Kirsten Kappert-Gonther, said on Monday that following “intensive negotiations,” the bill is being changed in several key ways that will “make the law even better,” according to a translation.

Ich freue mich sehr über die erreichten Änderungen im parlamentarischen Verfahren: Reduzierung der Konsumverbote auf 100M; Erlaubte Menge im Eigenanbau 50 G getrocknetes Cannabis; Änderung der Fahrerlaubnisverordnung mit angemessenem Grenzwert durch @bmdv bis Frühjahr 2024 2/5

— Kirsten Kappert-Gonther (@KirstenKappert) November 27, 2023

“In the negotiations, we managed to find practical regulations that guarantee the protection of young people and health and make the decriminalization of adult consumers a reality,” she said.

Most of the amendments to the legislation are designed to loosen restrictions that faced opposition from advocates and supporters in the Bundestag.

For example, possessing slightly more cannabis than the allowable amount will not be automatically treated as a criminal offense punishable by jail time. Instead, possession of between 25 and 30 grams will be considered an administrative violation.

Similarly, the possession limit for home grown marijuana will be increased from 25 to 50 grams, with the same administrative violation stipulation applied to possession of between 50 and 60 grams.

The rules for public consumption are also being revised. The bill now says that people cannot publicly use cannabis within eyesight of a school, with a 100-meter minimum distance, as RND and Legal Tribune Online reported. The limit was previously 200 meters.

Lawmakers further agreed to stagger the implementation of the reform, making possession and home cultivation legal for adults beginning in April. Social clubs that could distribute marijuana to members could now start to open in July.

Other revisions departed with the theme of loosening restrictions. Negotiators agreed to adopt a change that would strengthen criminal penalties for underage sales, for instance.

Lawmaker Kristine Lütke, a member of the Bundestag in the Free Democratic Party (FDP), said the new changes “make the law even better and bring relief for consumers.”

Diese Änderungen machen das Gesetz noch besser und bringen Erleichterungen für Konsumentinnen & Konsumenten. Als nächstes steht der Beschluss im #Bundestag an! 💪 (3/3)

— Kristine Lütke MdB (@kristine_lutke) November 27, 2023

Officials are also planning to introduce a complementary second measure down the line that would establish pilot programs for commercial sales in cities throughout the country. That legislation is expected to be unveiled after its submitted to the European Commission for review.

After the Bundestag passes the legalization measure, Kappert-Gonther said legislators will “continue working together on Pillar 2” which concerns the commercial sales pilot program.

After next week’s vote, it is expected to be several months before the bill is taken up in the Bundesrat, a separate legislative body that represents German states. Members of the Bundesrat tried to block the proposed reform in September but ultimately failed.

The Bundestag, meanwhile, had previously already delayed its first debate on the legislation, which was held last month, ostensibly due to the conflict in Israel and Palestine.

Lawmakers in the Bundestag recently held a hearing in the Health Committee, at which opponents criticized some elements of the proposal. The body also heard a competing policy proposal from The Union, a political alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), that would not legalize marijuana but instead “improve health protection and strengthen education, prevention and research,” Kappert-Gonther said at the time.

The legalization proposal is being spearheaded by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who  first shared details about the revised legalization plan last April. The following month, he distributed the legislative text to cabinet officials. The health minister responded to early criticism of the bill from medical and law enforcement groups by emphasizing that the reform would be coupled with a “major campaign” to educate the public about the risks of using cannabis.

Germany’s Federal Cabinet approved the initial framework for a legalization measure late last year, but the government wanted to get sign-off from the EU to ensure that enacting the reform wouldn’t put them in violation of their international obligations.

The framework was the product of months of review and negotiations within the German administration and the traffic light coalition government. Officials took a first step toward legalization last summer, kicking off a series of hearings meant to help inform legislation to end prohibition in the country.

Government officials from multiple countries, including the U.S., also met in Germany last week to discuss international marijuana policy issues as the host nation works to enact legalization.

A group of German lawmakers, as well as Narcotics Drugs Commissioner Burkhard Blienert, separately visited the U.S. and toured California cannabis businesses last year to inform their country’s approach to legalization.

The visit came about two months after top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held a first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization.

Leaders of the coalition government said in 2021 that they had reached an agreement to end cannabis prohibition and enact regulations for a legal industry, and they first previewed certain details of that plan last year.

A novel international survey that was released last year found majority support for legalization in several key European countries, including Germany.

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German Lawmakers Delay Marijuana Legalization Bill Debate Due To Conflict In Israel

German lawmakers say that initial consideration of a bill to legalize marijuana will be delayed until at least next week due to the ongoing conflict in Israel that’s shifted international attention—though one legislator outlined a revised schedule that still puts the country on track to enact the first part of the government’s legal cannabis plan by early next year.

While Germany’s federal parliament, called the Bundestag, was scheduled to take up the cannabis reform legislation for a first reading on Friday, the scheduled debate has been postponed until next week, according to Carmen Wegge and Dirk Heidenblut of the Social Democratic Party.

They said the “global political situation” is the reason for the delay, but lawmakers “will make sure that everything gets done somehow in the next week,” according to a translation.

Das Cannabis Gesetz wird aufgrund der internationalen Lage wohl erst nächste Woche in der ersten Lesung im Bundestag sein. Wir gehen davon aus, dass es dadurch zu keinen zeitlichen Verzögerungen kommt. Und selbstverständlich sind wir solidarisch mit Israel. pic.twitter.com/9TXkaGEjb3

— Carmen Wegge (@CarmenWegge) October 10, 2023

But Thorsten Frei, a member of the minority Christian Democratic Union that falls outside of the majority traffic light coalition government, told the Legal Tribune Online that the decision to cancel Friday’s planned debate was “surprising” and was more about internal concerns about the legislation than the foreign war.

According to RND, the temporarily delay for initial debate on the bill could jeopardize the broader legislative schedule to get the reform enacted before a deadline of December 15. If lawmakers don’t get it across the finish line by that time, legalization would need to wait until February 2024 at earliest.

However, Kristine Lütke of the Free Democratic Party outlined the revised schedule in a post on Wednesday and suggested the timeline as amended still puts the legislature in a position to get the reform into law by the beginning of next year.

She said the first reading in the Bundestag will take place next week. Then the Health Committee will take it up November 6. The second and third (final) reading will occur on November 16, Lütke said.

Aktueller #Cannabis Zeitplan im #Bundestag:

1. Lesung des CannG – nächste Woche

Anhörung im Gesundheitsausschuss – 6.11.2023

2./3. Lesung des CannG – 16.11.2023

Mögliches in Kraft treten: Januar 2024

— Kristine Lütke MdB (@kristine_lutke) October 11, 2023

The scheduled action came after opponents to the reform bill failed to muster enough support to block the measure in Germany’s legislative body representing individual states, which is called the Bundesrat, last month.

A translation of a notice published on the official Bundestag site says that “discussion of the initiative was removed from the agenda” for Friday, but it did not explain the reason for the delay.

In a separate statement posted on Thursday, the Bundestag noted that state representatives are concerned about “high financial consequences for the states due to control and enforcement as well as prevention and intervention tasks” with “control of cultivation associations is given as an example.”

But “the federal government does not share the Bundesrat’s concerns about the enforcement effort,” the post says.

“The estimated total number of 3,000 cultivation associations will probably only be reached after five years,” it continues. “The states could gradually adjust their personnel and material resources capacities. In addition, the federal government expects decriminalization to make major savings for the states through fewer criminal charges and fewer criminal proceedings. The funds saved could be used for monitoring grower associations and for addiction prevention.”

Opponents in the federal Bundestag also have a motion to block consideration of the legalization bill that is expected to be considered at the Health Committee meeting on November 6.

The legalization measure is being spearheaded by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. The proposal, which was unveiled in July, would allow adults to legally possess cannabis and cultivate a maximum of three plants for personal use.

It would also create social clubs that could distribute marijuana to members, with purchase limits for people over the age of 21 of 25 grams of cannabis per day—up to a total of 50 grams per month—and a lower 30 grams per month limit for those between the ages of 18 and 21.

Those facilities could not be located within 200 meters of a school, and each given city or district could only have one club for every 6,000 residents, and there would be a limit of 500 members per club. A social club permit would be valid for up to seven years, with the possibility of receiving an extension after five years. Membership to the clubs would have to last at least two months under the draft bill.

A summary of the legislation also outlines estimates of the costs of implementing and regulating the program, as well as savings from reduced enforcement and new revenue that’s expected to be created through wage taxes from people working at cannabis clubs.

Officials are also planning to introduce a complementary second measure that would establish pilot programs for commercial sales in cities throughout the country. That legislation is expected to be unveiled after its submitted to the European Commission for review.

The measure as previously described by officials would allow cannabis sales at retailers in select jurisdictions as part of the pilot program that would allow the country to assess further reform over five years. Specifically, officials would study the impact of the shops on consumption trends and the illicit market. Localities would need to opt in to allow the stores to operate.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Several medical and law enforcement associations have voiced opposition to the legalization proposal, but Lauterbach, the health minister, has emphasized that the reform will be coupled with a “major campaign” to educate the public about the risks of using cannabis.

He first shared details about the revised legalization plan in April. The next month, he distributed the legislative text to cabinet officials.

Formal legislation detailing the government’s previously announced framework was initially set to be released by the end of the first quarter of 2023, but that timeline was extended “due to scheduling reasons” as officials worked to revise it in order to avoid a potential conflict with international laws.

Lawmakers who have pushed the government for far-reaching cannabis legalization policies reacted mostly positively to the government’s April announcement spelling out certain policy proposals, though some did point out areas they’d like to see improved.

The health minister said in March that German officials had received “very good feedback” from the EU on the prior reform framework.

Germany’s Federal Cabinet approved the initial framework for a legalization measure late last year, but the government wanted to get sign-off from the EU to ensure that enacting the reform wouldn’t put them in violation of their international obligations.

The framework was the product of months of review and negotiations within the German administration and the country’s “traffic light” coalition government. Officials took a first step toward legalization last summer, kicking off a series of hearings meant to help inform legislation to end prohibition in the country.

A group of German lawmakers, as well as Narcotics Drugs Commissioner Burkhard Blienert, visited the U.S. and toured California cannabis businesses last year to inform their country’s approach to legalization.

The visit came about two months after top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held a first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization.

Leaders of the coalition government said in 2021 that they had reached an agreement to end cannabis prohibition and enact regulations for a legal industry, and they first previewed certain details of that plan last year.

A novel international survey that was released last year found majority support for legalization  in several key European countries, including Germany.

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