Tag: Luxembourg

Luxembourg became the second country in Europe to adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization law when lawmakers approved the public policy change in 2023. Malta became the first nation in Europe to adopt national legalization in 2021.

At the time of Luxembourg’s approval, the European nation was the fourth legalized country on the planet, with Uruguay becoming the first legalized country in 2013 followed by Canada in 2018. Germany has also since legalized cannabis for adult use, as has South Africa (both in 2024).

Luxembourg’s model is the most restrictive of the countries that have adopted a national legalization measure. Adults in Luxembourg can cultivate up to four plants in their private residences, however, they can only possess up to three grams of cannabis, and sourcing models like cultivation associations and pilot trials remain prohibited.

According to a poll that market research firm ILRES recently conducted on behalf of Luxembourg’s Health Ministry, nearly half of residents in Luxembourg have consumed cannabis at least one time in their lives.

“46.3% of Luxembourg residents have tried cannabis at some point in their life, the ILRES poll released Monday estimates. That includes 14.2% who have used the drug in the past year and 7.8% in the past month.” stated Luxembourg Times in its local reporting.

“Although just under seven in ten people growing cannabis at home said they started cultivating after it became legal, they still amounted to just 11.5% of recent cannabis users.” the outlet also stated.

Luxembourg became the fourth nation to ever pass a national adult-use cannabis law when it did so earlier this year. Luxembourg joined its European counterpart, Malta, which passed a national measure in late 2021. The other two legalized nations are Uruguay (2013) and Canada (2018).

Out of the four countries, Luxembourg’s legalization model is the most restrictive. It only provides for legal personal cultivation (4 plants per adult household), decriminalized possession (up to 3 grams away from the home, still punishable by a fine at the discretion of the public prosecutor’s office), and private consumption.

That legalization model is a far cry from what is found in Canada, where cultivation by adults is also permitted in most parts of the country, yet personal possession is permitted without the threat of a fine, and commercial cannabis sales are permitted in many forms.

Cannabis advocates were hopeful that Luxembourg’s law would be treated as a step in the right direction versus being a final destination, however, there appear to be no changes on the horizon to the nation’s new law.

The current CSV-DP government recently published a document outlining its priorities for the coming years, and while recently adopted cannabis policies are not expected to regress in the coming years, they are not expected to progress either.

According to the CSV-DP government’s professed priorities, personal cultivation will remain legal even though CSV voted against it when the measure was considered in the Chamber, and any reform beyond that limited scope will remain off the table, at least for now.

Luxembourg, like every other nation in Europe, is not considering its approach to cannabis policy in a vacuum. Several other countries are working to modernize their own cannabis policies, not the least of which is Luxembourg’s neighbor Germany.

Lawmakers in Luxembourg may want to cling to the status quo right now, but that will become increasingly more difficult as the cannabis policy landscape continues to evolve across the European continent.

Luxembourg joined the short list of nations that have implemented a national, adult-use cannabis legalization law that is not based on a low-THC model. The only other nations to do so prior to Luxembourg are Uruguay, Canada, and Malta.

Compared to its predecessors, Luxembourg’s legalization model is more limited. First and foremost, there is no commerce component to Luxembourg’s new adult-use cannabis law. All sales are still strictly prohibited.

What is now legal in Luxembourg as of late this week is for adults to possess up to three grams of cannabis and to cultivate up to four plants in a secure location within their private residence. Home cultivation, and presumably gifting between adults, are the only legal ways to obtain cannabis in Luxembourg.

The only other country in Europe right now to explicitly allow such activity to occur is Malta. Malta passed an adult-use legalization measure in late 2021, and while the cannabis club provision of the law has yet to materialize, eventually noncommercial cannabis clubs will be allowed in Malta, unlike in Luxembourg.

Additionally, Malta permits adults to possess up to 50 grams of cannabis in their home, and 7 grams while away from their home, which is considerably more than what is now allowed in Luxembourg. Adults in Malta are also allowed to cultivate up to 4 plants in their private residences, versus the 3 plant limit in Luxembourg.

Before Luxembourg implemented its legalization model, Malta was easily the most restrictive legal nation on earth. Comparatively, Canada has the most robust legalization model on earth, followed by Uruguay. Both nations permit nationwide possession, sales, and cultivation, however, Uruguay limits legal sales to residents.

The elephant in the legalization room is still Germany, which continues to trend toward passing its own national legalization law. Once that happens it will likely open up the floodgates in Europe and beyond to varying forms of legalization.

Not too long ago, what legalization ‘looked like’ in the minds of many cannabis enthusiasts was much more uniform than what is actually playing out in reality. It may be a while before we see two countries with identical cannabis legalization models, and for that matter, we may never see two countries with carbon-copy national cannabis policies. Only time will tell.

For now, Luxembourg’s law is worthy of celebration, as long as people keep it in the proper context.

At one point in time, towards the end of the last decade, Luxembourg seemed to be a sure bet to become the first country in Europe to pass a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. After all, a coalition agreement included the reform.

Unfortunately, time has proven that agreement’s legalization provision to be essentially worthless, as it’s now the year 2023 and Luxembourg doesn’t appear to be trending towards legalization any time soon. While other countries on the continent are moving in the right direction, particularly Germany, Luxembourg’s reform efforts seem to be frozen in time.

Being that the government previously touted its legalization plans to such a significant degree, delays in legalization actually happening is resulting in confusion among the nation’s citizens, and recently the nation’s Minister of Health expressed doubts that legalization would happen at all under the current legislature. Per L’Essentiel (translated to English):

On Tuesday, the Minister of Health, Paulette Lenert, admitted that everything may not be voted on under this legislature . Three stages are planned: personal cultivation (four plants authorized), professional production and finally sale of recreational cannabis. “For now, I see this legislation as a total failure. It’s legal, no it’s not… People are all confused,” says Flo, who points out that four plants, depending on the THC level (with psychoactive effects) or the size of the pot used, “that means everything and nothing”.

That is far from an encouraging tone from Luxembourg’s Health Minister. There appears to be no timetable for consideration for any of the three stages mentioned, let alone implementation. Meanwhile, Luxembourg’s neighbor Germany is expected to see a legalization measure formally introduced this year, with sales possibly beginning in 2024.

Malta has already passed an adult-use legalization measure, and applications for non-profit cannabis clubs are expected to start rolling in next month. As legalization continues to spread across the continent, the pressure will continue to build around Luxembourg’s lawmakers, and it’s a safe assumption that their continued foot-dragging will becoming increasingly scrutinized by the citizenry.

Luxembourg was once thought to have the best chance of passing Europe’s first nationwide adult-use cannabis legalization measure. Of course, that ‘historic first’ never materialized in Luxembourg and the actual first country to pass such a measure was eventually Malta, which did so near the end of 2021.

Even though Luxembourg failed to become the first to pass a legalization measure, there was still quite a bit of hope that legalization would still become a reality in the European nation in the near future. Unfortunately, the chances of legalization happening any time soon in Luxembourg seem to be getting worse with every passing month.

Earlier this month we reported on grievances aired by the general prosecutors office, which cited concerns about ‘contradictions, unequal treatment, lack of clarity, oversights, serious error of logic or even the door wide open to abuse.’

While it is not shocking to see political delay tactics and reefer madness rhetoric being incorporated by cannabis opponents, it is disheartening to a degree to see supporters of cannabis reform changing their tones and the type of wording they use to describe the current effort in Luxembourg. Per RTL Today (translated to English):

Minister of Justice Sam Tanson once again defended the government’s decision to regulate recreational cannabis consumption, pointing out that this was already included in the governing coalition’s programme before the last national elections in 2018.

The initial plan of the coalition between the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), and the Green Party (déi Gréng) was to legalise cannabis.

However, Tanson explained that because the government does not want to allow cannabis consumption in public spaces, they now prefer to talk about “regulation” rather than “legalisation.” In addition, cannabis will be “decriminalised,” as residents will be permitted to carry up to 3 grammes of marijuana.

In addition to permitting possession of up to 3 grams, the current proposal being circulated in Luxembourg’s political circles would also permit the cultivation of up to four plants. For contextual purposes, Germany is considering legalizing possession of up to 30 grams of cannabis and the cultivation of up to three plants, and Malta currently permits the possession of up to 7 grams of cannabis and four plants.

Luxembourg was once thought to have the best chance of passing Europe’s first nationwide adult-use cannabis legalization measure. Of course, that ‘historic first’ never materialized in Luxembourg and the actual first country to pass such a measure was eventually Malta, which did so near the end of 2021.

Even though Luxembourg failed to become the first to pass a legalization measure, there was still quite a bit of hope that legalization would still become a reality in the European nation in the near future. Unfortunately, the chances of legalization happening any time soon in Luxembourg seem to be getting worse with every passing month.

Earlier this month we reported on grievances aired by the general prosecutors office, which cited concerns about ‘contradictions, unequal treatment, lack of clarity, oversights, serious error of logic or even the door wide open to abuse.’

While it is not shocking to see political delay tactics and reefer madness rhetoric being incorporated by cannabis opponents, it is disheartening to a degree to see supporters of cannabis reform changing their tones and the type of wording they use to describe the current effort in Luxembourg. Per RTL Today (translated to English):

Minister of Justice Sam Tanson once again defended the government’s decision to regulate recreational cannabis consumption, pointing out that this was already included in the governing coalition’s programme before the last national elections in 2018.

The initial plan of the coalition between the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), and the Green Party (déi Gréng) was to legalise cannabis.

However, Tanson explained that because the government does not want to allow cannabis consumption in public spaces, they now prefer to talk about “regulation” rather than “legalisation.” In addition, cannabis will be “decriminalised,” as residents will be permitted to carry up to 3 grammes of marijuana.

In addition to permitting possession of up to 3 grams, the current proposal being circulated in Luxembourg’s political circles would also permit the cultivation of up to four plants. For contextual purposes, Germany is considering legalizing possession of up to 30 grams of cannabis and the cultivation of up to three plants, and Malta currently permits the possession of up to 7 grams of cannabis and four plants.

Back in 2018 the potential for legalization to occur in Luxembourg seemed fairly strong, with the coalition government including cannabis legalization in its coalition agreement that year. At the time, no European country had ever passed a nationwide adult-use cannabis legalization measure. Luxembourg seemed poised to make history.

Of course, multiple years have gone by and yet cannabis prohibition remains the law of the land in Luxembourg. If/when Luxembourg ever passes an adult-use legalization measure, it will no longer be the first to do so on the continent, as that ship already sailed in Malta late last year when lawmakers passed a limited legalization measure that permits home cultivation, and eventually, private non-profit cannabis clubs.

Not only has Luxembourg failed to pass a legalization measure, what was originally proposed in the coalition agreement has since been watered down quite a bit, with the latest version of legalization floating around Luxembourg political circles only involving home cultivation and use, which is obviously more akin to Malta’s legalization model versus something like Canada’s or what is currently being proposed in Germany.

And yet, even that limited legalization model seems to be facing uncertainty at the moment. Per excerpts from Le Quotidien (translated to English):

The judicial authorities are calling for a “thorough review” of the bill which aims to legalize the cultivation and consumption of cannabis at home. From beginning to end, shortcomings are detected.

The list of “difficulties and incongruities” highlighted in particular by the general prosecutor’s office is long: contradictions, unequal treatment, lack of clarity, oversights, serious error of logic or even the door wide open to abuse.

In short, the Minister of Justice, Sam Tanson, is sent back to his studies. The first Advocate General, Serge Wagner, is the most severe. He calls for a “thorough review” of the text, which is not ready to be put to the vote of the deputies anytime soon.

As I previously touched on, Malta has already passed a legalization measure that is somewhat similar to what is being floated in Luxembourg, with adult households being able to legally cultivate up to four plants. If Malta can make it work, why can’t Luxembourg?

As with every country in Europe that is holding cannabis reform discussions, they are not doing so in a vacuum. Germany is pursuing a legalization plan that is exponentially more robust compared to what is currently being floated in Luxembourg, and the two countries obviously share a border.

The opposition arguments being made in Luxembourg are already flimsy to say the least, and after legalization moves forward in neighboring Germany, those arguments will become even less tenable.

For a brief time, it was expected that Luxembourg would become the first country in Europe to pass a national adult-use legalization measure. As we now know, that title actually went to Malta, which passed such a measure late last year.

The push for legalization continues in Luxembourg, with details recently surfacing regarding what the country’s legalization model will entail. It appears that Luxembourg’s model will largely revolve around home cultivation, and possession will be mostly treated in a decriminalized fashion.

Households will be able to cultivate up to 4 plants, however, all of the harvested cannabis has to remain in private. People caught possessing less than 3 grams outside of their home will be subjected to a 145 euro fine. Anything beyond possession of 3 grams will be considered intent to distribute.

Lawmakers in Luxembourg are indicating that further reform will occur, yet there is no timeline for any additional reforms. Given how long it has taken Luxembourg to get to this point, and considering that even this limited legalization bill has yet to be approved, it’s anyone’s guess how long it will take for the country to implement a more robust legalization framework.

For what it is worth, Luxembourg has apparently set up a meeting to take place next month that will be solely dedicated to legalization policy discussions, and Luxembourg has invited other European nations to join. Per Luremburger Wort (translated to English):

However, it was also a good thing that the new German government was moving in the same direction when it came to drug policy. ”We now have strong allies in the greater region and the Netherlands and Malta are also going down this path. We are no longer alone.” In July, Luxembourg invites like-minded EU countries to a meeting.

As mentioned in the excerpt, Germany, which shares a border with Luxembourg, is expected to legalize cannabis for adult use this year, and its model will be considerably more robust compared to what is currently being pursued in Luxembourg.

In addition to including a home cultivation provision, German lawmakers are expected to roll out what will instantly become the largest regulated adult-use sales model on earth.

It’s unclear which nations will take up Luxembourg on its invite, however, it’s likely a safe bet to assume that if other European countries join the meeting there will be a wide away of approaches to legalization policy expressed in the meeting. Hopefully the meeting boosts momentum for legalization and yields favorable results across the continent.