Germany One Step Closer to Adult-Use Legalization
By Ryan Fingerhut
Yesterday, August 16th, 2023, Germany’s Bundeskabinett passed a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis use and non-profit commercial cultivation. The Bundeskabinett is Germany’s executive branch and is composed of a coalition of Germany’s currently post powerful political parties: Scholz's Social Democratic Party, Alliance 90/The Greens, and the Free Democratic Party. So, while the legislation must still successfully pass through Germany’s parliament, the passage of the bill is all but assured. If the bill eventually does go through, the most populous EU nation will be joining a handful of other European countries to have loosened rules and regulations around cannabis.
The language in the bill would legalize cannabis possession for German residents who are 18 and older, with individuals allowed to acquire up to 25 grams of cannabis flower (or the equivalent in cannabis products) per day. For persons between 18 and 21 years of age, the monthly limit is 30 grams, but for those 21 years or older that limit is increased to 50 grams. To acquire that cannabis, Germans will need to join nonprofit “cannabis clubs”, which will have a maximum of 500 individual members. These cannabis clubs will then cultivate and process cannabis for their members’ personal consumption. The cost of the club’s cultivation and processing of cannabis would be covered through membership fees that are based on each member’s individual use. To ensure that this system does not become a for-profit business in all but name, a problem that has plagued similar models in the U.S. and Spain, individuals are strictly limited to membership in a single club.
Not everything about this bill is pro-cannabis, however. The bill also includes funding for a campaign to raise awareness on the risks of cannabis consumption. This program is targeted at young adults and teenagers and is expected to curb the rising use of cannabis among young adults, which has increased by 25% since 2021 according to Germany’s health ministry. The government also plans on banning any cannabis advertising or sponsoring of any sort. This is meant to assuage the worries of Germany’s more conservative law makers, who point to a UN narcotics watchdog report from March 2023 which credits the German government’s moves to legalize cannabis with a rise in Germany’s cannabis consumption and associated health issues. Other criticism of the proposed bill has come from Germany’s hemp association, which believes the non-profit model will not be able to compete with the black market. These critiques may lead to further changes as the bill passes through parliament, but what is certain is that legal adult-use cannabis in Germany, at least in some form, is now a major step closer to being reality.