Germany is taking a revised approach to cannabis legalization, with government officials presenting new adult-use legislation April 12 that scales back sales through licensed shops and would instead allow for home cultivation and distribution through nonprofit organizations called “cannabis clubs.”
A cornerstone paper leaked in October 2022 revealed that the German government aimed to decriminalize the purchase and possession of cannabis, as well as legalize sales through licensed retailers.
Germany legalized medical cannabis in 2017, and the coalition that came to power in December 2021 unveiled its support for additional policy reform during its campaign.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach formally presented the cornerstone paper on Germany’s initial plans for a legalization bill in late October, and said from the beginning that the government would only proceed with its original proposal if it were approved by the European Union.
Since Germany’s initial adult-use cannabis legalization plans were revealed last fall, Berlin has held talks on the proposal with the EU’s executive commission and German officials have decided to alter their approach based on these discussions, according to the Associated Press.
Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir told AP that EU law “sets us limits we must respect” but added that German officials “are pushing” forward on adult-use legalization as best they can.
The revised legislation would legalize the possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal use and allow individuals to grow up to three plants at home, AP reported.
Germans 18 and older could join nonprofit “cannabis clubs” that would grow cannabis for members’ personal use, according to the news outlet. Each club could have a maximum of 500 members, who could buy up to 25 grams per day or up to 50 grams per month, but adults under the age of 21 would be limited to 30 grams per month, AP reported.
The legislation prohibits membership in multiple clubs, according to the news outlet, and authorities would be permitted to limit the number of total clubs.
Membership fees would fund the cannabis clubs, AP reported, and the fees would be staggered based on how much cannabis members consume.
Özdemir told the news outlet that the government will finalize the draft legislation this month and that cannabis consumption will be legal before the end of this year.
The government plans to roll out a regional pilot program for a commercial cannabis supply chain this fall, according to AP. This would include five-year tests of regulated, commercial adult-use sales in select regions, although Lauterbach said many details, including which regions would be outlined in the plan, have yet to be determined.
German officials hope that the pilot program will eventually lead the EU to change its policy and approve the government’s initial plan to allow licensed adult-use cannabis sales, AP reported.
Niklas Kouparanis, CEO of Bloomwell Group, one of Germany’s largest medical cannabis operators, is disappointed in the government’s decision to pull back on some of its initial legalization plans.
“The latest news on the postponement of full-scale adult-use cannabis legalization shows that cannabis is still stigmatized and the double standard that exists around the world, especially when compared to the legalization of alcohol,” Kouparanis said in a public statement on Wednesday. “Decriminalization is not legalization. Penalties for cannabis will be significantly relaxed in the future, but decriminalization does not take away the fact that cannabis will still be deemed a narcotic.”
He added that this week’s decision only serves to benefit the illicit market, and called on Lauterbach to move ahead with the government’s initial legalization proposal.
“On one hand, the announcement of decriminalization in Germany ushers in a new era of progressive drug policy, but unfortunately, we are still postponing the end of cannabis prohibition,” Kouparanis said. “We urge Karl Lauterbach not to turn back, nor take half-measures. Through the cannabis social clubs and home growing provisions envisioned in Pillar One of his cornerstone paper, he actually won’t be pushing back on the illicit market, which is an issue that needs to be addressed on our road towards adult-use legalization. Decriminalization without full legalization will instead promote the illicit market.”
The revised adult-use legislation now awaits approval in the German parliament’s lower house, but passage is not required in the upper house, which represents Germany’s 16 state governments, many of which have opposed cannabis legalization, according to AP.
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