German Government Pushes Cannabis Legalization Vote to 2024

In the latest setback for an adult-use cannabis legalization bill in Germany, the Bundestag will not take up the legislation for a vote until next year.

Government officials reportedly reached an agreement on the legislation late last month and a vote was expected sometime in December. Members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) have since expressed opposition to the bill, again delaying the vote, according to German news outlet Der Spiegel. 

The delay means that the three parties that make up the German government coalition—the SPD, the Free Democratic Party and the Greens—will have additional time to negotiate the details of the regulatory framework.

“There was never an agreement with the internal politicians of the SPD parliamentary group,” Sebastian Fiedler, a member of the SPD, told Spiegel. “If the cannabis legalization law were to be voted on now, there would be a significant proportion of no votes from the SPD parliamentary group, including my own.”

Fiedler added that he has been expressing his “domestic political concerns publicly for six months” and said “there is still a lot of need for discussion” on the legalization proposal.

However, a spokesman for the SPD told the news outlet he is confident the Bundestag will pass the bill “promptly” in the new year.

Dirk Heidenblut, the SPD health politician responsible for cannabis policy in his parliamentary group, said Dec. 2 on Instagram that the legalization bill is supported among specialist politicians but not by parliamentary group leadership. He also noted that the delayed vote will not impact the law’s targeted effective date of April 2024.

Germany’s initial plans to federally legalize adult-use cannabis leaked to the media in October 2022. The leaked “cornerstone paper,” which was being circulated among government officials at the time, was the result of a monthslong inquiry by Burkhard Blienert, Germany’s commissioner on narcotic drugs.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented the cornerstone paper on the initial legalization proposal to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet last fall, and noted that the government would only proceed with its plan if the European Union approved it.

Talks between Berlin and the EU’s executive commission then resulted in German officials revising their approach to cannabis legalization; while the initial proposal would have allowed cannabis sales through licensed shops, the latest version of the legislation would instead allow home cultivation and distribution through nonprofit organizations called “cannabis clubs.”

In July, German officials unveiled a draft bill that laid out the first pillar of a two-pillar approach to legalization that would allow adults 18 and older to possess cannabis for personal use and grow up to three plants at home. The legislation would also establish the cannabis clubs, where members could receive a limited amount of cannabis.

The second pillar of legalization is expected to roll out regional pilot programs for commercial cannabis supply chains.

The legalization bill was initially expected to pass the Bundestag and take effect before the end of the year before a vote on the legislation was postponed until December.

The delay was meant to provide time for government officials to further tweak the legislation; the latest version doubles the amount of dried cannabis that adults can possess from 25 to 50 grams, as well as reduces the exclusion zone for cannabis consumption around day care centers, playgrounds and schools from 200 to 100 meters. The revised bill also reduces the criminal penalties for exceeding legal possession limits.

The provisions concerning cannabis possession and home cultivation are slated to take effect April 1, 2024, while the cannabis clubs are expected to be operational by July.

Fiedler told Spiegel that criminal policy consequences have not been properly considered in the latest iteration of the bill.

“It would be a big mistake to allow uncontrolled home cultivation for adults in the first step without any conditions,” he said. “The law has no impact on organized crime and therefore misses a core goal.”

Fiedler also said it is “outrageous” that the minimum distance of cannabis consumption from schools and day care centers has been cut in half, and expressed concerns that there are no regulations governing cannabis use in other types of facilities.

“The fact that there should be no rules for airports and other areas is absurd,” he told Spiegel.