2024-07-30 10:56:46
Cannabis has been partially legalized in Germany since April. Friedrich Merz promises that this will change quickly after the federal election next year.
Friedrich Merz has announced that he will reverse the traffic light coalition’s cannabis law after taking over the government. This should be one of the CDU’s first measures if the party emerges as the winner in the 2025 federal election. The CDU leader told “Welt am Sonntag”.
“The legalization of cannabis is currently triggering an explosion of drug-related crime and organized crime with gang wars that we can hardly imagine being more brutal,” Merz claimed.
“The Dutch, who have tolerated consumption for years, are stunned by what is currently happening in Germany,” Merz told “Welt am Sonntag”. “And that is why – as in other areas – rapid action is required after the change of government.”
The party leader sees a clear connection between partial legalization and gang crime. “This was foreseeable when legal cultivation was not yet taking place, but the possession of large quantities had already been legalized beforehand.”
The traffic light coalition’s cannabis law came into force on April 1. It allows the possession of up to 50 grams of cannabis in private spaces (25 grams in public spaces) and the cultivation of three plants per person. Since July 1, up to 500 adults have been allowed to join cannabis clubs and organize cultivation together.
However, this is only theoretical so far. In practice, it is still impossible for the new cannabis clubs to grow hemp in many places. This depends largely on the federal states.
For example, 14 applications for the establishment of cannabis cultivation communities have been received in Berlin so far, reports the news agency dpa. However, the applications are not being processed in Berlin for the time being because there is no corresponding regulation. According to a spokeswoman for the Pankow district office, the heads of the district’s public order offices have agreed to accept applications but not to process them, but rather “to put them on hold for the time being due to a lack of adequate jurisdiction regulations”.
The six clubs in Saarland have the same problem; their approval has so far been ruled out due to a lack of training. The responsible state ministry is still waiting for the federal government to draw up a curriculum for training prevention officers. This is expected to happen in August, reports the “Saarbrücker Zeitung”.
Things are different in Lower Saxony. The first cannabis club there received approval on July 8. Agriculture Minister Miriam Staudte (Greens) personally handed over the permit to the “Cannabis Social Club” in Ganderkesee.
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