Cannabis Legalization in Germany May Be Coming Soon
In late 2021, the current German coalition signaled that cannabis legalization in Germany remained a priority. However, competing priorities including COVID and then the invasion of Ukraine pushed that to the backburner. Now, there are signs that cannabis legalization in Germany is closer to becoming a reality.
“A question that people keep asking me: ‘When will Bubatz [German street slang for cannabis] be legal? I would say: soon,” tweeted German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on April 6.
Originally, Lauterbach was opposed to legalization but slowly became pro-legalization, he said. He now believes that the dangers of criminalizing cannabis now outweigh the risks of cannabis legalization in Germany.
“I’ve always been opposed to cannabis legalization, but I revised my position about a year ago,” Lauterbach said.
There is a growing realization in Germany that cannabis legalization is the pathway to reducing crime and better protecting youth, as it has done in Canada.
Other ministers including Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann confirmed that the legalization process is underway. Buschmann said that he planning a consultation process with the German Ministry of Health and other departments.
If successful, Germany could become the second EU nation to legalize recreational cannabis after Malta, which legalized cannabis in December 2021. (Note: the Forbes article linked to below erroneously suggests that Germany would be the first European country to legalize recreational cannabis.) Germany is already the largest medical cannabis market in Europe.
Cannabis Legalization in Germany Could Be Worth Billions – LPC
According to a study by the University of Düsseldorf, cannabis legalization in Germany could bring in over 3 billion Euros ($4 billion). Further, the cannabis industry could provide 27,000 jobs. It would be the largest legal recreational cannabis market in the world.
However, there are a lot of details to be worked out. Questions such as allowing homegrown cannabis and maximum cannabis THC levels are on the table. Also to be discussed would be cannabis marketing rules, which likely will not be as strict as those in Canada.
One thing is certain though: cannabis legalization in Germany is yet another step in the global trend.
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