Tag: Germany

Germans went to the polls last Sunday, returning a not-so-surprising result. What will this new government mean for cannabis reform?

There is a new day in Germany. For the first time in 16 years, Angela Merkel is no longer the Chancellor of the largest and most powerful country in Europe. Beyond this, Sunday’s election means a defeat, at least by the number of seats held, for the CDU – the centre-right party that has held power since 1949 (at least on the Western side of the country).

What this shifting alliance means for cannabis reform is now a topic that has spread across at least the German if not European industry. What is certain, no matter what is that there will be some kind of change – although of course, any specifics must wait for the ruling government alliance to be formed.

Who that could be is still up in the air – but the SPD has already indicated that they are interested in entering an alliance with the Green Party – and both are far more friendly to at least basic cannabis reform than the CDU has ever been.

Here are the basic issues on the table.

1. The entire cannabis debate must be re-examined and redefined. This includes both of the low hanging fruit at this juncture including removing CBD from the federal Narcotics Act as well as decriminalization of all cannabis possession. The patient count in Germany has continued to climb despite a lot of resistance and patient hurdles which have still not been solved.
2. If the SPD forms an alliance with either or the Greens and FDP, one thing is certain. Recreational cannabis trials are going to be on the agenda here in a matter of 18-24 months, particularly as both Switzerland and Luxembourg are now hurtling towards the same – although in the case of Luxembourg, there appears to be a new impetus to slowing down that trial based on concerns in some quarters about “chaos” ensuing at the Luxembourgian borders with their European neighbours. If Germany changes its cannabis policy, this will be less of a legitimate excuse (not that this carries any weight now).

Regardless of the particulars and the timeline, this is still unbelievably good news. The biggest possible roadblock might be that the SPD might bring the CDU into the governing coalition. The CDU have been glacial so far in their acceptance of the entire issue.

Even in this scenario however, with so many of the other parties in favour of at least basic and logical steps forward, the next steps of cannabis reform are likely to unfold now far more easily – and with it carry the seeds of change across Europe and the EU.

Big changes are on the way in the German cannabis industry. Be sure to stay tuned to the International Cannabis Business Conference blog for more updates.

Until now, the CDU seemed to be quite isolated with its position on a possible new regulation. While the SPD, the Greens, the FDP and the Left all call for legalization, or at least model projects, in their election campaign programs, the CDU does not mention a possible new regulation of cannabis in a single syllable. Also to an inquiry of krautinvest.de the press office of the CDU answers only with short reference to the current government program.

A few weeks before the election, the CDU member of parliament Erwin Rüddel, who is also the chairman of the health committee of the German Bundestag, sits on a panel with Dirk Heidenblut (SPD), Werner Graf (Greens), Dr. Wieland Schinnenburg (FDP) and Niema Movassat (Left) at the International Cannabis Business Conference – in a rather lost position, one would think.

Far from it. In the interview with krautinvest.de Rüddel makes possible coalition partners hope for compromises, suggests at least model projects as solution. Especially when the CDU would have to negotiate with two other parties, the CDU politician does not seem to believe in maintaining the status quo. And: Even the great challenges of our time – such as Corona, Afghanistan or Corona – he does not let pass as an excuse to put off a possible cannabis re-regulation: “We are a parliament based on the division of labor and accordingly there are also the necessary capacities.”

It will be interesting to see whether possible coalition partners agree to model projects (or push for fundamental legalization) and what these would look like in detail. Should it come to that, a first small market for recreational cannabis is likely to develop in Germany under state control. After all, flowers have to be cultivated or imported, stored and distributed.

krautinvest.de: Five parties are currently being considered for a new government. In all conceivable coalitions, the CDU is the only party that is against any form of legalization. Is legalization completely out of the question if the CDU is in government?

Erwin Rüddel: The CDU/CSU is somewhat isolated in its stance on this issue. That’s why I’d be surprised if the issue didn’t come up in the coalition negotiations after the upcoming federal elections, especially if the CDU/CSU were to negotiate with two other parties. In my view, model projects would be a conceivable compromise.

krautinvest.de: You personally have already hinted at such model projects recently. Can you briefly specify the conditions?

Erwin Rüddel: In any case, such a project would have to be implemented in a well-selected region with a defined group of people entitled to access it, and the dispensing would have to be linked to addiction prevention and counseling. This is done in a similar way in Uruguay, for example. It is important that the THC content of the cannabis distributed is controlled. The biggest problem I see is the involvement of 15- to 18-year-olds. Of course, they should not be able to legally purchase cannabis for consumption, but this group is exactly the one where prevention work is most important and should therefore be taken into account in the evaluation.

krautinvest.de: Could you imagine further new regulations beyond the model projects?

Erwin Rüddel: For me, such a model project would be an open-ended introduction to the topic: Either we get confirmation of the reservations about cannabis or we learn that things should be approached somewhat differently than is the case today. After an appropriate evaluation, further steps can then follow.

krautinvest.de: Hand on heart: How strongly do opinions differ on this topic within the CDU?

Erwin Rüddel: There are certainly very different opinions in our group. In general, however, I have the feeling that the attitude to this issue is more open than it was a few years ago.

krautinvest.de: In addition, the challenges are currently great: climate change, Corona, Afghanistan – does a new regulation of cannabis fall completely under the table, because the concerns are much greater elsewhere and the parties prioritize other areas?

Erwin Rüddel: The fact that we are facing very great challenges does not mean that we cannot tackle other issues. We are a parliament based on the division of labor, and the necessary capacities exist accordingly.

This interview has been first published on krautinvest.de and syndicated with special permission.

In recent years Germany has taken over the title of ‘cannabis capital of Europe’, at least from a cannabis industry perspective. Germany’s medical cannabis industry is booming, and with domestic production ramping up, more industry growth is on the way.

However, on the adult-use side of the cannabis policy equation, Germany is still lagging behind a handful of other countries. Uruguay and Canada have already legalized cannabis for adult use, although each country has its own model.

Legal decisions in countries like Mexico and Italy have carved out some legal protections for adult-use cannabis consumers in those nations, and several countries are pursuing adult-use cannabis pilot programs in some fashion.

German lawmakers rejected an adult-use cannabis legalization measure late last year, although, with a federal election looming support for adult-use legalization could increase depending on the results and who is in office post-election.

Decriminalization On The Horizon

Separate from the push to legalize cannabis for adult use is an effort to at least decriminalize a personal amount of cannabis flower. That is a policy change that appears to be supported by Germany’s federal drug commissioner. Per Spiegle (translated from German):

Now the drug commissioner of the federal government, Daniela Ludwig ( CSU ), has advocated prosecuting cannabis possession up to a personal use limit of six grams nationwide as an administrative offense – and no longer as a criminal offense.

“In my opinion, a limit of six grams would be acceptable – nationwide,” the government representative told the editorial network Germany (RND). ”A limit value above which the possession of cannabis should continue to be punished as a criminal offense and not as an administrative offense must be set with care, because it has a certain signal effect and an influence on consumer behavior.”

Ludwig is advocating for decriminalization in Germany as a compromise between those that want to legalize cannabis for adult use and those that want cannabis to only be legal for medical purposes.

Decriminalization Does Not Go Far Enough

Decriminalizing cannabis up to 6 grams is not as straightforward of a policy as it may seem to some people. Does the 6-gram limit only apply to dried cannabis flower? What about concentrates, edibles, transdermal patches, tinctures, etc.?

Years ago, cannabis decriminalization was more straightforward because the variety of cannabis products was largely limited, and a flower-only decriminalization policy was more encompassing of what consumers had in their possession. That is not the case now, including in Germany.

Those concerns are in addition to the flaws in the basic premise that cannabis decriminalization is a good public policy. Sure, decriminalization is better than outright prohibition and treating cannabis possession as a crime, however, it’s still not ideal.

An ideal national cannabis policy involves embracing the emerging cannabis industry to not only save public funds that were previously being wasted on enforcing prohibition, but also to reap the economic benefits of a booming industry such as job creation, stimulating local economies, and public revenue generation via taxes and fees.

To hammer home that point, consider alcohol decriminalization versus a regulated adult-use alcohol industry. Obviously, there’s a major difference between the two, and one is clearly better than the other. The same is true for cannabis in Germany, and beyond.

A new poll suggests a majority of Germans support the medical use of cannabis as the city of Dusseldorf removes its ban on hemp products. Is more reform on the way?

The German cannabis reform discussion is clearly progressing – but it is proceeding slowly and in curious ways. Unlike in other countries, the driver of reform here is both federal and medical – meaning that the plant as medicine must be slotted into existing pharmaceutical and medical procedures. The reason is that Germany changed its law in 2017 to mandate that cannabis as medicine must be compensated by public health insurance if prescribed by a doctor.

Since then, the battle has raged, and in different ways and different levels. Patients are still fighting to get basic access. However, on the hemp and CBD front, things have stayed strange. Part of the reason is that many German authorities are hostile, generally, to the idea of cannabis reform – even on a local level (as seen in the United States, frequently over the last thirty years of cannabis reform). See California as a perfect example of the same.

However, in the German version of the same, it is hemp that authorities attacked first – in part because the regulated hemp market has clearly staked out territory that appears to be intimidating to those who oppose all kinds of cannabis reform. Indeed, the city of Dusseldorf banned hemp sales – a move which has just been successfully overturned in court. That said, the company involved still had to bear the legal costs.

A new survey by the German research institute Civey has found that 43% of Germans believe that cannabis should only be legal for medical purposes. Only 36% believe that it should be fully legalized, regulated, and taxed. That said, of the 15% who still believe that cannabis should be illegal for all purposes, the vast majority believe that those who use the drug should also be punished.

These numbers, however, seem very familiar to Americans if not Canadians who watched the entire conversation if not poll numbers like these flip drastically upon the introduction of recreational state markets – starting with Colorado and Washington State as of 2014.

As of this April, a Pew Research Center poll found that as of this year a whopping 90% of Americans want Prohibition to end and either medical and or recreational cannabis to be legal. This has changed drastically in the last decade. As of 2011, only 50% of Americans supported cannabis reform, according to Gallup.

Be sure to book your tickets to the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe this summer!