The German government is clearly moving forward with plans to legalize the plant. A delegation of Bundestag members is currently touring California – and last week two members of the SPD gave a progress report via Instagram

If there was a portrait of the in-progress discussion over German cannabis legalization to be sketched, it would be this. Very earnestly, very soberly and very deliberately, lawmakers are trying to both research North American cannabis markets and give the German people a general idea of where the legislation is heading.

SPD Informal Briefing Via Social Media

Last week, two members of the SPD, Carmen Wegge and Dirk Heidenblut went on Instagram to give an update into how legalization legislation was progressing. There were few surprises – starting with the fact that the government does not believe that international law – of either the EU or global kind – will derail the legalization initiative.

Beyond this, they both stated that they expect the draft legislation to be introduced either at the end of this year or early next, and the legislation to pass by next summer.

Home grow is very likely to be included in all of this. Online sales are almost certainly not going to be allowed. The Bundestag is also looking at both pharmacies and social clubs beyond dispensaries for legal sales.

Beyond this, it is also likely that cannabis will be allowed to be both domestically grown and imported, and that decriminalization will be part of the final legislation – not be implemented beforehand.

German Bundestag Delegation in California

As reported in the German zeitung Tagesschau, the Bundestag is keeping busy during the California leg of their North American cannabis research tour. The delegation is visiting as many as three cities a day to understand how the state has implemented recreational reform.

The takeaways? That the legal cultivation of cannabis is not profitable in the American model, and that the black market is still its biggest competition. Further, while they were impressed by the range of edibles available and are not ruling this aspect of the rec market out at home, candy that appeals to children, like gummy bears, is likely to be excluded.

Beyond this, the fragmented nature of regulation, from town to town is not likely to be a part of the approach in Germany. A national approach is something that seems to be more attractive.

In the last week, government officials from both Germany and Thailand have echoed a similar sentiment

In every movement, there comes a so-called “tipping point” when the majority of people understand that there is no way to preserve the status quo. In his famous book of the same name, Malcolm Gladwell defines a “tipping point” as “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point” of an evolving situation that leads to a new and irreversible development.

That moment appears at this point, to have come for cannabis legalization.,

Last week, albeit on opposite sides of the globe, both Thai ministers and German elected representatives said the same thing.

Thailand right now is trying to figure out how to keep the cannabis genie in the medical bottle (and are largely realizing that they are failing). That said, there is no way, according to Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul that renewing legislation criminalizing the drug and those who use it, can be reinstated.

In Germany, where a group of lawmakers have just gone to North America to see for themselves what reform looks like in both Canada and Canada, even the AfD (extreme right-wing party) representative on the trip echoed the same sentiment.

The time, in other words, has finally come.

How it all moves forward, however, is still very unclear.

The Devil Is in The Details

In both Thailand and Germany, lawmakers are realizing that legalization is an unstoppable force – but how to regulate the same is still a tricky question. Even if the same causes a backlash from more conservative elements in society.

In Thailand, this has meant the delay of a bill fully legalizing medical use because some fear that this will be seen as a blank slate to allow recreational use. That said, the Health Minister believes that classifying cannabis as a narcotic will only create a much larger problem and criminalize people who the government does not wish to punish.

In Germany, the current debate, beyond when the recreational legalization will pass, is how to phase in reform. Some believe that decriminalization should come first. Others believe that decrim and full legalization should happen at the same time. The latter is also the growing feeling in France.

One thing is for sure, no matter the final path to full and final legalization of cannabis. Nobody wants to keep the status quo. And that is a major victory for both the industry and reform advocates.