Yo, peeps! Check it out. Germany’s coalition government just dropped a bombshell last week. They reached a deal on cannabis legalization, and guess what? This new law is about to hit the streets in the spring!
But hold up, fam. Don’t get too excited just yet. The proposal still needs to go through the country’s parliament for a vote, and that’s expected to go down later this month.
According to the homies at Zeit, a German publication, the government coalition made up of the SPD, Greens, and FDP is all on board with this cannabis legalization gig. They’re saying the law could kick in on April 1st, but it needs some official approval from the Bundestag and Bundesrat first.
And get this, y’all. Karl Lauterbach, Germany’s federal health minister, is straight-up aiming for that parliament approval in the week from February 19th to 23rd. Dude is ready to make it happen!
Lauterbach took to Twitter to drop some knowledge on us. He was all hype about the agreement within the coalition groups, saying that they’re gonna fight against that black market and decriminalize weed. Plus, they’re gonna make sure minors are protected. The old drug policy has failed, so it’s time for a fresh start!
This whole situation lines up with what they call the “Traffic Light coalition” plan that they laid out late last year. In November, the SPD, Greens, and FDP announced that they had a major breakthrough in their negotiations for this new cannabis law.
They were so stoked that Kirsten Kappert-Gonther from the Green Party couldn’t help but post about it on social media. She said they’re finally putting an end to that wack ban policy and focusing on youth and health protection. No more criminalization, y’all!
But let me tell you, this road to legalization in Germany hasn’t been all smooth, my friends. They’ve had to jump through some serious hoops. The coalition government had to revise their plan ’cause it was risking a breach of those EU laws. And they’ve been catching criticism left and right from opposition parties and even within their own government.
But yo, it looks like last week’s agreement means they’ve worked out all those issues. Germany is about to enter a whole new era of cannabis legalization, my dudes.
The coalition leaders straight-up said that these regulations are a massive milestone for a modern drug policy that focuses on prevention and improving health, especially for the young’uns. They’re hyped!
Forbes is saying that this agreement clears the way for personal use legalization in Germany. If everything goes according to plan, Germany will be the third European Union member state to legalize weed for personal use, following in the footsteps of Malta and Luxembourg.
But yo, don’t get too comfortable yet. There might still be some revisions to the proposed legislation to address concerns raised by the SPD. They wanna make sure they’re keeping an eye on that illicit market, my fam.
Forbes also mentioned that lawmakers recently made some changes to the bill to ease restrictions. They’re raising home possession limits and eliminating the possibility of jail time for slightly exceeding the limit. That’s what’s up!
And get this, the government coalition is also planning to introduce pilot programs for commercial sales. They’ll unveil those after submitting everything to the European Commission.
If everything goes down as expected, peeps will be able to light up legally by April 1st. Adults can grow their own stash at home and have a little bit on hand. Plus, starting from July 1st, cannabis clubs will get the green light.
So there you have it, y’all. Germany is about to blaze a trail with their new cannabis legalization law. It’s about damn time!